How Do You Cope with Tinnitus?

What are ways to help cope with tinnitus? Whats helps you that could possibly help others, including me?

 

Mostly I just try to get on with my life the best that I can and do stuff that makes me happy. Seeing my friends, competing and attending poetry slam competition, spending time with my family and so on. I know it's damn hard but in the end that's what got me back on track again because I had something that gave my life purpose. And that gave me the strength to carry on.
Other than that I mask my T on days where it's too loud for me to bear. Which is very rare now a days. Luckily. I usually mask it by listening to some kind of low music that I enjoy

 

One of the older members suggested seeing tinnitus as part of yourself, just as you would a leg or an eye. I try to pretend I've been reborn into this chronic pain/tinnitus body that's just different from other people. And it's okay that I'm different. Just like everyone else I deserve to not only survive but also find happiness.

The old me is dead. This is a new person.

 

@Striveon I am new to tinnitus like yourself... I have it since almost 3 weeks and I can tell you how I cope with it:

1) I think about it as something temporary. This helps my brain focus less on it because it does not have the same power as something both annoying and permanent. This works for me... on the opposite spectrum you could think 'hey this is my life from now on... so I better learn to live with it'. Whatever works, the most important thing is to stop thinking about it 24/7 and continue with life (while being cautious not to make it worse of course, advice on how to do this you can find all over this forum, but the most important 2 are: no headphones, no loud noise exposure).

2) Among the things that I've read about tinnitus, one was about celebrities that have it. You would be surprised how many musicians live with this... I was a big Red Hot Chili Peppers fan as a teenager and recently found out that Anthony Kiedis, their main vocal had tinnitus for years. It makes me feel a bit better that I know we have something in common .

3) Read the positivity thread and success stories on this forum. It helped me a lot when I was down...

4) Maybe you had some other annoying condition that you thought will never go away but it did. For example I had chronic prostatitis for aproximately 7 years... Like tinnitus it is a condition that in most cases is 'invisible' to the doctors because there's nothing wrong that can be observed on a prostate exam, it is not life threatening - only a nuisance, there is no cure, it's super annoying, people become suicidal, you can't get much sleep because of it (think about waking up to pee 4 to 6 times per night), you have discomfort in your groin that never goes away, there's always the fear that it might get worse, etc. I tried a lot of alternative treatments and protocols for the first 2 years... nothing worked until at some point I just accepted it and moved on with my life while making just a set of small changes (not much sense listing them here because they are specific to chronic prostatitis). With time I started getting better and better and now I have been free of any symptoms for more than 2 years. The morale of the story is sometimes your body just heals on its own when the time comes and if you allow it... (it might not sound like a lot, but having a chronic condition before helps me cope with tinnitus).

Hope it helps,

Cheers

SkyHigh

 

During the first few months after onset, a sound machine had helped me mask T to allow me to fall asleep.

 

ReSound Relief is a great Tinnitus app with beautiful soundscapes already created or you can create your own soothing sounds. This helps greatly at night.
Try to stay away from caffeine, def avoid anything with Aspartame, too much salt and drink lots of water. I have found the more I exercise, the more tired I feel at night, which helps greatly with insomnia at times, which often causes my spikes.

Good Luck!

 

I am amazed with your inspirational story and advices, thank you. You truly gave me motivations , I am glad you healed from chronic prostatitis, give it some time and hopefully your tinnitus will heal also. Thank you. I really hope tinnitus gets better :/ it's very distressing but hopefully adaptation, with time it lowers or there is an internal issue causiing the tinnitus. Cheers also.

 

I am glad you are living life and not letting tinnitus hold you back! Keep on doing great, thank you for your advices, I hope one day I get to where you're at I admire you, it gives me hope that I can also accustom to tinnitus and continue on with a happy life. Thank You!

 

I will definitely check out the app and that's a great idea, exercising to fall asleep, I love exercising but I'm in a very depressed distressed state, hopefully I can cope soon. Thank You for your advice! I hope you continue doing great.

 

That is so true! I am glad you view tinnitus that way, it gives me some hope that I will eventually get on that level. Thank you for your advice!

 

I'm going to look into masking machines, since I can't sleep at night :/

 

I have
https://www.amazon.com/Cherry-Koala-Concentration-Relaxation-Sufferers/dp/B01FRW2WBA

It is ok, but I am not completely happy with it. I like only one sound on it.

@Michael Leigh has been recommending machines made by Sound Oasis.

 

i listen to classical music. My T is quite severe so its hard to even hear the beautiful notes.

 

I know this isn't a healthy solution and is usually a source for derision, but personally, following health problems I have a greater interest in food. As of right now, eating what I want feels like a source of control in my life. If my ears are kind of broken then I'd like to indulge some of my other senses.

I don't see things long term. I live in the now. I'm depressed and food helps dull that pain.

 

Thank you, though I wouldn't count myself as inspiration material. I'm a mess.

 

Hi @Striveon You’ll gradually cope better over time as you habituate. Just hang in there!

Prayer got me through the toughest times but the below helped.

Emotional acceptance of Tinnitus
Seeking support from loved ones
Reduce alcohol/caffeine
Exercise
Meditation
Hypnosis
Counseling
Anti Anxiety supplements
Etc

 

Thank you, it all sounds very helpful. So far all hard to right now, but I hope one day to be able to get there, I'm glad you were able to habituated, cheers.

 

I was extremely depressed from it in the beginning too. I am very sorry for what you are going through but it will get better. Expect T to be a roller coaster ride with plenty of ups and downs!
I have good days and there are definitely plenty of days where I wake up and it’s incredibly spiked. Those days I must work extra hard at finding masking tools or ways to focus on anything but the tinnitus.
I am currently taking an iron supplement as well as just started doing Apple Cider Vinegar, as I’ve read there has been great success with these for some... It’s worth a try! I am determined to find “my best cure” or what makes it the least noticeable.

Good luck and hang in there. It’s super overwhelming in the beginning but as with anything, you can slowly adjust to having tinnitus, and find what works best for you to habituate. My first year was rough but as time has passed, it’s gotten so much easier to cope, especially knowing there have been lots of days where it was very low and manageable!

 

Thank you for sharing your response and success to coping with tinnitus. I hope you continue to do great and hopefully as months or years go by, your tinnitus decreases! I hope one day I am able to habituate or I hope tinnitus goes away in about 4 to 5 months because it did to two of my family members, I have hopes! Thank you once again