Is it better to mask it or listen to it?

Hey guys!
So I've been reading about TRT and Neuromonics, and Notched Music therapy and CBT. From what I understand about TRT, it recommends enriching your environment 24hrs a day, whereas both Neuromonics and Notched Music suggests 2-4hrs a day. For the past 4 months I've been enriching my environment 24hrs a day by using notched rain sounds, notched white noise, and unnotched rain sounds, and in the last week I got a hearing aid masker as well (set to zero amplification) which also plays white noise. (It's brilliant btw, and you should all get one!!!) I just wonder, am I avoiding habituation if I constantly mask the tinnitus? Should I be spending a fair bit of time in silence whilst working on my anxious thoughts at the same time? That is, practicing CBT whilst being exposed to the noise?

 

I wonder this as well. I don't mask during the day and wonder if doing so would help me habituate more. How are you noise masking hearing aids? Do you hear the T at all through them? Both ears? How often are you wearing these? Just wondering if this should be my next step down the road.

 

Hi Neenie,

I think you would want to aim for habituation. I have not masked at all during waking hours (I've had T for two months now), and it's often unnoticeable for me at this point. Last night I actually forgot to take my iPad (for nighttime ambient sounds) into the bedroom because my T was so quiet throughout the day. Of course, I don't know for certain if I'm habituating or it's going away.

 

From day one I have never masked my tinnitus, even at night,thought to myself if I am going to get used to this tinnitus I'm going to have to hear it so my brain can filter the noise to the background. My tinnitus increased in October, so much so it was uncomfortable to sit in a quiet room, felt like my head was going to explode, but again thought to myself I have got to get used to this increase without masking, two months later I can sit in a quite room, relax, I can sleep well, all because the same constant noise lost it's threat, it has been pushed into the background.

 

Well, from what I read from the TRT book....The masking should be continuous but you shouldn't be suppressing your tinnitus, i.e. covering it up completely. The theory, from what I recall, is the masking is supposed to help your brain put the tinnitus into the background category and thus decrease the time necessary for habituation.

This takes time because a person needs to develop a habituation of reaction and from this a habituation of perception should occur.

 

Lynette:
The hearing aids are great. The brand I have is Phonak. You can barely see or feel it when they're in your ears. It plays either white or pink noise. You can turn the volume up or down easily and discretely. Why don't you ask to have a trial. That way you can see if hearing aids are for you. I love mine. Love!

 

Do you hear them when talking or going about your day? I imagine it's another sound your brain gets used to. Do they ever make the T worse? I'll have to look into them.

 

I'm glad they are working for you. That's awesome!

I'm still not understanding fully the point of masking from a hearing aid directly in the ear. Isnt it trading one sound for another? Is that the purpose? I won't even use my ear buds anymore as its bothersome directly in my ear. I use head phones sometimes but really prefer the sounds of my environment or sound of nature or music, not necessarily directly into my ears. Just curious if anyone else gets relief from hearing aids and how they work for them.

 

Yer, the hearing aids are great. Because they are set to zero amplification you don't hear anything at all and you can't even tell you are wearing them. It plays white noise. The right ear has a small button on it to increase the volume, the left ear also has a small button that decreases the volume. You can really only hear the white noise if you are in a really quiet room concentrating on it, but usually you can't hear anything, and it really does block the tinnitus signal. Although I don't enjoy the prospect of having to wear them for the rest of my life, I am definitely a lot better having them than not having them because when you need relief, you get it. When tinnitus gets worse, you turn it up, if its better, then turn it down. So easy! Get some! Or at least try some

 

@Neenie, is this what you are using?

http://www.phonak.com/content/dam/p...tus/Product_Information_Tinnitus_027-0108.pdf

 

Yeppo, that's them. If you look at the pictures I've got the smallest one. It's so small that if you look at you on the side you still cant see it, only if you look from the back and then its still not really noticeable! I've only got these on loan so I dunno what ill end up buying but i will most certainly buy something. its worth it. totally.

 

Hi neenie,

Just been reading your posts, may u ask how your t was caused or how started? As I don't think mine was nouse enduced I am not sure to keep away from loud noise or not.... Was yours from loud noise? I might start a post asking how peoples was caused and what causes spikes... Thanks

 

Hi, you've given me some things to think about,re; enriching my environment with ''notched''music and/or white sound. In ''Tinnitus, Turning the Volume Down'' by Jennifer Battaglino and Kevin Hogan, they recommend that the most ideal goal is to habituate to your ''T''. After 2 years of ''PT''(Pulsatile Tinnitus) I have found that trying not to put my focus on tinnitus, or thinking about tinnitus all the time is a big part of the solution. You probably know this already. I do have heart disease, and in retrospect I believe that taking the heart medications gave me a low humming sound, like the sound one hears from a fridge. I had no idea what it was and soon forgot about it, or ''habituated'' to it, as I had no reference or even heard about tinnitus back then. Something clicked in my brain or psyche 2 years ago, which told my brain to ''pay attention'' to this sound, ''STRESS'' was the culprit. I am trying now to turn the switch to ''OFF''. Good Luck'

Roger