How to Habituate to Tinnitus

As someone that has lived with tinnitus for close to 34 years and has beyond intrusive tinnitus 24/7, I wanted to comment on this thread. Living life with tinnitus requires a game plan, we have to find ways to adapt and adjust. That very first instance of that low-hum, old-classic tv tone can change things in our lives. I got my first instance and it was very very low, but i did not know how to understand it or deal with it. From day one I started talking to people, seeing my audiologist and trying to understand what is really going on. I did all I could to get a grip on this new noise that I was hearing.

All of this was close to 34 years ago, when my tinnitus was barely heard and only heard in a complete silent room.

Now, this thing is super loud and very bad. The thing was this, habituation for me was the fact that my ears rang and they rang very loud. It did not stop, get lower or become silent. It rang/rings non-stop 24 hours a day.

In all of this, I have had to make lots of changes to my life, they were very hard and still are hard. I was very much into people and meeting good people. I had to try to eliminate loud scenes, and loud people. My ears and my ringing matter to me and they matter a lot. To others it might not matter, it's my ears that ring 24/7 a day not theirs. I used to get frustrated that some people would not care, but not anymore. I am ok with it, I do my best to bring supportive, loving people into my life.

I also accepted that these ears are going to ring like this and I did not get frustrated with it. I use to and it just made my tinnitus louder and it was not helpful at all to me. I always talked it out with people that loved me and cared for me. I learned , WHO was supporting my issue and WHO was not. Stress, emotions at times are just as bad as loud noise for our tinnitus.

I am a super helpful and caring person, my posts still get likes and I don't even post all that much in here anymore.

It was my acceptance, my game plan and my determination to just move forward, even with this horrible ringing that has made the difference in my life.

I think about all of those that suffer from this, it has made life difficult, I am with all of you in this.

For me, the acceptance and using a bit of sound therapy has been very helpful. I still have a good attitude towards my life even with this horrible, beyond intrusive tinnitus.

 

Great to see you back on the forum @fishbone as I've been wondering where you've been? Great post as usual and many thanks.

Please keep coming back as you are someone that knows all there is to know about habituating to tinnitus.

Take care,
Michael

 

I know how you feel Eleanor but please do not despair. Hopefully the generators will be in stock soon, so carry on using low level sound enrichment and keeping a positive attitude.

All the best,
Michael

 

Well said Fishbone.

When I was at my wits' end you kept me going brother.
I was saying “I can’t stand it any longer,” and you were telling me “Dave - yes you can, if I can come through this then so can you.”

I so needed to hear that somebody was prepared to believe that I could do it.

Thank you for then buddy,
and thank you for coming back now Fishbone.

 

May I ask how long it took for your tinnitus to become extremely loud?

I am at the 'hear it in the background in quiet rooms' stage + some ultra-high frequency sounds that can be heard anywhere, so a prognosis would be nice

Great post indeed, you have a lot of strength!

 

The main helpers to habituation:

1) Passing time... It can take years.
2) Listening to music and try to enjoy it through the barrage of noise.
3) Escape depression at any cost: use whatever is needed to avoid falling in the down spiral.
4) Do not get paranoid about normal life noises making worse your tinnitus. My hearing is significantly worse that when I had my onset more than 7 years ago, but the tinnitus has remained about the same (quite loud and variable).
5) Accepting that there is no method or technology at this time that can treat tinnitus (lowering the noise), and one can save all the time, effort and hope wasted on miserable retarded pseudotreatments.
6) Checking Tinnitus Talk less and moving on with your life (even if it is a half life now).
7) Do not talk about tinnitus, because after a few months there is nothing really new to discuss.

 

To InfiniteLoop:

Have you been aware that it was quite recently disclosed that Dr. Shore's ostensibly effective treatment device might be available in the near future?

Thank God we have something new to discuss (and which I will certainly try.)

 

My dear friend Dave,

Thank you, for the kind words. I always tried to support you and be there.
That never stops. If you need me, I am always here for you

 

My tinnitus became bad due to consistent exposure to loud sounds. I did not know much about protecting my ears, so my ringing is at a very loud/intrusive level.

All in all, I still have a positive attitude and still move forward...

 

Thank you Michael

I've been good, even though the ringing is extremely loud, life is ok.

Just living life and trying to enjoy it

 

I read some of your posts. So I know the question was directed at @fishbone but I just wanted to say I hear whistles over fans and white noise and stuff like that too. It’s very difficult to ignore and intrusive.

 

When there is some real breakthrough it will be in the news.

Until now, every year there is some new upcoming treatment or cure that usually fizzles and turns into nothing or disappointment. Lenire is nearly that kind of failure, and as far as I recall Dr. Shore's device is a variation of the same technology. You can think of whether there is going to be a cure soon or not. Noise is going to be your companion no matter what you think.

I am not saying that people should not talk about tinnitus at all. My point is that one should avoid to make it the center of the world, and dominate the conversations. I did that for a while and it was just a beginner's mistake. No one wants to be with someone talking about an invisible illness most of the time.

 

Well said @InfiniteLoop.

Twenty five years ago when I got tinnitus and hyperacusis my hope was that a cure would soon be found. The tinnitus journal I subscribed to regularly featured articles and discussions on new treatments that were on the horizon and mentioned a breakthrough in finding a cure wasn't far away. Whenever a tinnitus seminar or conference was to be held I was elated. Unable to attend due to distance, the next best thing was to acquire a DVD recording, which I did of a two day event.

My eyes were fixed on the TV and listening attentively to ENT doctors, Audiologists and other medical professionals. Each taking their turn at the podium to preside over the seated audience and fellow tinnitus sufferers, relaying to them all they know about tinnitus and using medical terminology to good effect, reinforcing the fact everything they say is true and is to be believed without question.

I wish I knew then what I know now. Medical professionals indeed they are but having knowledge about tinnitus and the way it can affect a person's quality of life I doubt, as most of them have never experienced the condition. If some have it it's likely to be mild.

As time passed my enthusiasm for a cure for tinnitus began to wane. Quite by chance I happened to read a newspaper article that mentioned: 19 out of 20 medical conditions cannot be cured although many can be treated. From that day my focus towards tinnitus changed. Whilst I still welcomed research into tinnitus, my main goal became learning to habituate to it.

Michael

 

@fishbone, may I ask how loud your tinnitus is? Can you hear it in the car and over traffic? You and Dave give me inspiration to carry on no matter what.

 

Good Christ, I don't quite believe what I am reading.

So, before I was severely chastised for describing the limitations of habituation.

And now I am being reprimanded by @InfiniteLoop for being hopeful about Dr. Shore's "Auricle"? And no one is calling out @Michael Leigh for a commentary that so obnoxiously gloats with satisfaction about how every new attempt at a treatment has been a failure?

 

Veterans like myself and Michael Leigh are well aware that there’s nothing out there right now apart from TRT, CBT and MBCT.

So I am not sure that he can be accused of ‘gloating’ in pointing out a state of affairs that is as true today as it was 15 years ago (when I first developed severe, intrusive tinnitus).

Maybe Susan Shore’s device will finally make a difference but we don’t know that yet. Let’s hope so.

Please understand that I am not having a go at you here. I share your frustration and quiet hope that Shore’s invention will help more than just a subset of tinnitus sufferers.

 

Beautifully explained @Sleaford Mod. Thank you for clarifying what I mean. Veterans like us and those seasoned to tinnitus, know there are various treatments to help a person having difficulty managing tinnitus, to live a better quality of life. I have expressed this in many of my posts. Treatment is not necessarily a cure. If one arrives in the future I welcome it wholeheartedly.

Take care,
Michael

 

To Sleaford Mod:

Equating Michael Leigh as an expert (or as a reliable source of information) is tantamount to equating Dr. Pepper with a real Doctor.

 

My normal levels are like this: I can stand by the highway and I still hear it and it's loud.

Take care, my friend

 

Meditation... x

 

Wtf! No progress or lower tinnitus ever? How do you sleep?

I’ve been handling all my ailments, including tinnitus, pharmaceutical free and it’s rough. My body can’t tolerate anything. I basically tel myself “if so and so can do it, then I must as well”.

 

@Michael Leigh, I agree. Habituation involves learning to think calmly and clearly. I recall years ago listening to the psychologist Dorothy Rowe speak. One of the key things she said was that the most difficult thing of all to do when in a state of fear, panic, anxiety, charged emotion etc was to just think with clarity and rationality. Therapies such as CBT can help in defusing the emotional reactivity and bringing calmness and clarity to one's thinking. It need not even be CBT, simple conversation with a good and engaged listener can often bring about similar positive results.

 

Do you hear head noise also?

Is it the frequency that makes it hard to mask?

 

Hello to @fishbone and all of my other Tinnitus Talk friends.

I have mentioned a few times that my wife Sylvie qualified as a clinical hypnotherapist. She just gave me one session when she suggested to me that my tinnitus would gradually fade into the background. She recorded this session onto my iPhone. On succeeding mornings, if I woke up in horrible noise, I would mention that it was loud, and she would say, “Listen to your tape Dave.”

Which I did.

There was no magical cure as such, but over time, it intruded into my consciousness very rarely.

Nowadays I rarely notice it - hence I am rarely visiting here.

The trick is this: Tinnitus can fade into the background, but you have to be prepared to let it.

I honestly believe that a hypnotic suggestion is a good way to get the ball rolling.

Best wishes everybody,
Dave xx
Jazzer

 

Hey sir, when you say that you rarely notice your tinnitus, when you do notice it, is it as loud as ever?

 

Yes - absolutely - no doubt about that. But I just allow it to fade back into the distance again.

The thing is - ‘this method can work for you too.’

I should remind you that I now have Parkinson’s disease - in a sense, I have bigger fish to fry.

 

Michael, you are one of the good people on this board. I love you for it! Keep the posts coming and pray for better treatments or a cure.

 

Thank you for your kind words Ken, they are much appreciated.

I hope to be writing a piece on sound enrichment and white noise generators in the near future.

Take care,
Michael

 

I've been doing this recently, sleeping without my masking and using the power of my mind to fade it out. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I do feel I can forget it most of the time even though I know it's there.

 

Your transformation has been amazing! I remember reading your posts back in the days and reading them now. I (and many others) gave you a push towards moving forward (I'm always trying to help others move forward). I remember at first it was not all that easy for you (it's not all that easy for anyone) but you still kept at it Dave.

Life can throw curve balls at us, we are trying to get a hit and it can be tough. I always believed that If we just keep showing up at the batter's box, we can eventually hit that curve ball and even hit that grand slam home run.

Keep moving forward!