Just Want to Say Hey and Let My Tinnitus Family Know I'm Okay...

I haven't been around much...sorry. I'm doing well. I still have T . I think the only thing that's changed is me. I hear the tinnitus but it's just an annoying thing now..it doesn't have the power over me that it used to. I work, I play, I do most of everything I used to do. I still have bad days but the bad days are no where near as bad as they used to be. I have times when I even forget that I have tinnitus--the times are getting longer and longer. The best thing is that I am no longer afraid of the morning. I now know that I can manage whatever it is. Love you all.

 

Great to hear you are doing really well Kathi and thank you for putting a positive post up for members to read...lots of love glynis

 

Happy for you. I hope you get some more relief. I have this since Nov 2015. I am trying to cope with it. I was such a happy joyful person before & t took that away. The last 3 months have been hard. I am working hard at being positive & break the cycle & get better, this has had a huge mental impact on me. I started recently going back to the gym. I cycle & I stopped doing everything, this t has consumed me. I hope to wake up one day & its gone.

 

I too hope that you wake up and it's gone. If you need me, just send a pm. I check in regularly, Read my old posts, you'll see that I was a mess at the beginning. It does get better--not perfect but way better. Hang in there and know that I've walked in your shoes,

 

You have set yourself on exactly the right path by keeping a positive mental attitude. It is by far the best and often only thing you can do with this condition; and by not reacting to it and continuing to enjoy your life, you will most likely fully habituate to it. I'm sure there will come a point where it will no longer even cross your mind.

 

Hang in there Jovita. As the others have said things can, and often do, get better in time. I know it's hard to believe right now because 3 months with tinnitus feels like a lifetime, but I suspect a year from now you will be in a much better place with everything.

And it's good that you've started going back to the gym. It's vitally important to keep moving forward with daily activities otherwise the tinnitus does become all-consuming. Stay strong.

 

@zorro thank you so much! So happy I can talk with someone going thru same thing as me. I am finding comfort here. Blessings!

 

Kathi & Ed thank you so much for the positive comments. I am finding comfort in talking with you all. Thank you.

 

My pleasure Jovita. I've had T for well over 10 years, but I originally habituated. I Totally phased it out; it was still there but I just didn't acknowledge it at all. Kind of hard to explain.

In July last year my T spiked which took me out of my habituated state. It was my fault though because I didn't use ear plugs and I'm a musician. You should be fine as long as you use ear plugs at any loud events.

Now I believe my T is louder, it likely is, but I'm not 100% any more. I don't have trouble sleeping whatsoever ( I did at the onset of the spike but it was anxiety driven) this is because my brain is used to having T on a subconscious level. The initial spike REALLY effected me. I became depressed and very anxious which made it WORSE. I had no choice but to try my very best to cope. Slowly but surely I started to have better days and weeks. In fact, some weeks have passed and I've felt amazing, basically habituated, just never gave T any thought at all. I don't quite understand yet why I keep going back to thinking about it, but I'm pretty sure it's my mood that's having the detrimental effect. I've said this before on here; my best time since the spike was after I did a charity event for the local children's hospital, we raised a lot of money and I felt amazing. The whole event went so well and we packed the place. I had the best 3 weeks for a long time and T became a distant memory for a while.

The reason for this is because I kept myself focused on something that I felt was very important at the time which lifted my mood and perspective. There was a lot at stake which practically forced my T onto the back burner.

My goal now is to get there permanently, which I believe I will. You have to believe because there's no other choice. On the bad days you just have to fake it until you make it, and make sure you keep your hobbies going and get out a lot.

 

Ed thank you for your post. So positive for me to read this!! Thank you so muchb. Good luck on you t journey. I am working hard on shifting t to the side!! It takes work!

 

You're welcome @Jovita1969. I remember the horror of onset--many people here helped me through it and now life is okay--not perfect but so much better. You will be okay. You will have a life again. I didn't believe it at first but I got to a place where I wanted to believe, took my life back and moved forward. You can do it too. I'm always here if you need to talk or vent. Hugs.

 

Kathi do you have reactive tinnitus and hyperaccousis that additionally makes habituation difficult and if so how do you deal with it?
Congrats on your success!

 

Hi @valeri--I do have tinnitus that reacts to noise and silence so sometimes I felt between a rock and a hard place. I didn't habituate as quickly as some here--at 18 months I was scared as I thought that we all had to habituate by then. I think I'm not fully habituated now--but I try not to think about it--I just live my life and try not to let tinnitus interfere. I work and I live. It's not always easy but it's so much better. I had some hyperaccousis in the first six months but I was lucky that it went...I remember how awful the sound of someone washing dishes sounded...now I'm recovered from that.

How are you doing? Thank you for your kind thoughts. Hugs.