It Gets Better!

Hello everyone

I got my T around Halloween, maybe into the early hours of 1st November. I was out at a nightclub with a couple of friends and it was pretty loud from what I can recall, even my friend thought that too but we were drunk and you know how things are when you're drunk, you don't perceive things as you should and you don't think straight, but again... Hindsight is a beautiful thing, no one would make an error if they had the ability of hindsight lol. I've had small bouts of T over the years after nightclubs etc, but this time I had my little friend for good, he's a pain in the ass and never shuts up

Anyway enough of how I got my T, I'm coming up to my 3 month mark with this little guy and yes I've been some dark times with it, had crazy thoughts and wanted to do some silly things but I'm really, really glad I wasn't that silly! My T is better than it was the first week or so that's for sure, I remember hearing it screaming over the TV and over just about anything to be honest, I can still hear it over most things, but when my mind is busy and locked into something else like maybe a game or doing something at work it's like my mind zones out of the noise and puts it way back, I believe this is a key factor to overcoming the initial panic stages with T, keep your mind busy and remember these 3 words please, It Gets Better. It has for many other on here and think of the millions that aren't on this forum, I bet they are just fine, remember you will always find that bad posts always outweigh the good post on forums such as these, afterall this is where the people that are extremely bugged by this noise go to.

I feel at ease with my T now and it's not even been 3 months, and before anyone says it must be T that you can ignore, it isn't as I said... I can always hear it if I want to or not, but I keep busy and even now when I'm not busy and I hear it It doesn't bother me, honestly!

If I was writing to myself 3 months ago when all this was new this is what I'd say to myself,

1. Do not Google things, please. It makes things worse, it ramps up your anxiety, especially when you read horror stories. You do not know these people's backgrounds, if they suffer from anything else than T or have some other bad medical condition.

2. Don't go too deep into the TinnitusTalk Forums, this place is great and been a big help with me I've even made a real-life friend now because of this forum, we've met up and had a few drinks and discussed our T and other things in life, but on the other hand this forum has ramped up my anxiety and made me really zone in on my T, some of the things you can read on here can and most probably will set you back.

3. Protect your ears, now that you have this little noise it's probably best you get some earplugs or something similar for loud events/bars/concerts, many people with T do such things with protection and are absolutely fine.

4. The Cold/Flu, It will effect your T, well it did for me... I experienced a spike (I think) when I had blocked sinuses, it's annoying... But it will settle with a little time!

I do still worry from time to time but nothing like the wreck I was the first month or so, I worry about what the future holds for me and my T, but to be honest what's the point. It is unknown, so why worry. Put it like this, if you're worrying about your T increasing or whatnot, why? Do you worry this badly about dying of old age? Because that's inevitable, I will bet you don't. So please don't worry or fear the unknown, there's no point... You are just causing yourself stress which will increase your T, it's a horrible loop and one you don't want to be stuck in.

But please remember, IT GETS BETTER!

 

How long before you felt brave enough to attend your first 'loud' event? movie/bar/etc

 

Hello Charlie,

For me it was one month and I was brave because I had ear plugs ready to go. -- Kid's movies, Universal Studios, and a bar with pretty loud music. -- I put the plugs in on all of those but can sometimes just do the right ear and be fine since that is where my pretty loud T is.

I have yet to hit a concert and don't know if I will have the guts to go to one again. -- Too much at stake for 3 hours of enjoyment (that is what got me in trouble in the first place

 

How is your tinnitus now, any updates?