I Guess I'm Getting Habituated...

I developed tinnitus back in October of last year. I went through all of the emotions. The despair, suicidal thoughts, all of that. It was a very dark time in my life.

However, I found something that helped me get habituated. It was this thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/

I put into practice what the author, I Who Love Music, suggested. Instead of lamenting my T, I recognized my feelings toward my T. I would also recognize that there was most likely no cure, no treatment and that I needed to go on with life. Some days it was harder than others. I would recognize how I felt about my T at any given moment when it was bothering me. Most went something like "yeah my T is very loud, but I have x, y and z to do and need to get moving", or "My T bothers me a lot right now but there is no cure, no treatment so I need to get on with life". I've been doing this for several months now and things are much better.

I still have my T. It is as loud as ever (as loud as a normal conversation), but it doesn't effect me like it used to. Some days I have to stop and check if it is still there because I'm too busy doing other things. Do I still miss silence? Very much so. But I have accepted the fact that this is the way things are now and there is no alternative other than to keep carrying on. But the thing is, I notice it much less now.

I still use white noise to go to sleep. I still meditate to help lower my perception of my T. And when my T does bother me, I recognize how I feel about it. Kind of tough to do when your a man and taught not to recognize your own feelings, but it has helped.

So I guess I just wanted to say that there is indeed life after getting T. That there are still good things around you even though you have T. That even though I may never have a moment of silence ever again, that there are still good things in life and to enjoy them in spite of having T. Do I hope that one day there will be a treatment or cure? Sure I do. But I am also OK if there isn't.

When I first came here I was in a very very dark place. Many of you reached out in compassion and that has helped greatly. So this is my way of giving back a little bit for the help and support that I have received here.

And if you are still struggling with T, I respectfully suggest reading this thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/

It worked for me and might work for you...

 

So glad to hear of your success! I'm in Wisconsin and developed my tinnitus around the same time. Thanks for the encouragement!

 

Excellent! This is precisely what you have to do to beat T - calm the limbic system/emotional response to T. Many on here don't like to hear this is what it takes, but I'm glad it worked for you! I'm also starting to meditate. BOL!

 

That is an awesome success story post. Thanks for sharing it. It re-affirms two things to me, that 1) people do get better over time and especially with a successful strategy and 2) the successful method of IWLM once again proves its effectiveness for someone like you who had a tough time at the beginning. I congratulate you and also @I who love music for proving once again that his simple method works.

 

billie48 is right. It takes a strategy. I went through the "Wait and see what happens" phase. It didn't work for me. In fact, it made my T and nerves worse. No, my T is not gone, but now I don't hear it unless I listen for it. And it is loud. The brain is fascinating.