Needing Some Encouragement

Here I am, two years into my tinnitus, and I am still struggling with the anxiety piece of dealing with this on a daily basis. I am not sure why I developed T, but think it may have something to do with my jaw and overall anxiety. I have constant T, but it is generally low enough that I don't hear it if I am around sound (as long as it is loud enough). I feel like most days I cope quite well, it's just the changing volume that gets me the majority of the time. My anxiety will peak when it gets loud or changes (pulsating, etc). I can't figure out a rhyme or reason to my tinnitus, but I feel like I can usually handle the "daily baseline" tinnitus, but when I get any kind of spike I just crumble. I also still think about this on a daily basis, and have anxiety around it worrying it could get worse. It's been two years, and being a new mom I want to be able to think and focus on other things other than my T and anxiety that comes with it.

Any suggestions how to get "unstuck" and move forward? Has anyone tried CBT or any other therapy, methods, etc that have helped them with acceptance?

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions!

 

I can relate. I can deal with the low level dull ring but when my T spikes (as it has for the last two weeks) and the pitch changes I find it hard to deal with.

Right now its become high pitched and hard to find any sound to mask it making sleep impossible. Utterly miserable and fed up with it.

 

Hi Ashlee, great you are here to ask for support or encouragement, we all are in the same boat, we know how hard it is, but mostly, some of us have learned how to live with this condition.

First of all you said something important:

So, I can tell this. Your tinnitus may be mild, or maybe moderate, if you can mask it with loud enough environment sounds. Why I tell you this, becuase for mild and moderate tinnitus you should have a 90% chances of habituation. This is, the problem around you still struggling with your sound, I feel are more related with anxiety, stress, and the depression that the sound brings to your life. I could tell you alot of stories, advise and tips, but I would like to start with this ones:

1) Loud Permanent Spikes. Thinking of this is a nightmare, but it happens in the minority of cases. If you take care very well of your ears, using earplugs in loud places, not taking Ototoxic medicines, taking care of ears infections, etc, there should not be a cause for your tinnitus to spike. It was one of my biggest fears that causes the biggest anxiety and depression. Not anymore.

2) Send it to the background. And this is not going to happen until you STOP to looking for your sound, measuring it, checking the loudness level, trying to identify if it is louder than yesterday, better than this morning, etc. DONT look for it, let it live there, in the background. At the beggining may be difficult, but if you start to NOT paying attention, with time it is going to be just a background sound. Once you habituate and you send it to the background, it is not going to be a problem if you have moderate temporal spikes, they will still be part of the background.

3) Stop thinking you lost your NORMAL and beautiful life: For alot of people, that haven't had too many problems in life, or at least big problems, they think NORMAL life is being completely problem free. Wrong, normal life, and the fact of life, is that most of the people have something to suffer with. Some people look great in the streets, but could be facing terrible mental illness, severe chronic pain 24/7, bad diabetis, cancer, but also personal things like losing a child, or having childs with brain paralysis, with autoimmune diseases. The truth about life is that, most of people DOESNT HAVE PERFECT LIFES.... neither we, Tinnitus sufferers. We have to take what we got, and keep moving.

4) Start living a full life: I think that you are doing a wonderful job in this area. You say that most of the time you are ok...thats great. You just need to place a cherry in your cake, losing your fears. Start living completely. For people that are in full anxiety and depression. 24/7, I advise them to start with small steps. First, enjoy 10 minutes maybe doing a walk, the next day 30 minutes maybe watching a movie, the next week maybe an hour going out with kids or family...small steps, small increases...when you dont even notice it, you will be enjoyin a full day, then a full week, then a full month, and then, you will only have sporadic Tinnitus problems, maybe because a stressfull day, or a headache, but you wont feel anxiety, or depression, because you should be habituated, and you will feel it like your NORMAL, and you will know that it will get better.

Keep strong, you are almost there.

Regards,
Johnny.

 

Hi @ashlee,
Congratulations on your "new mom" status!
I received help from a Positive Behavioral Therapist and I this definitely helped me with acceptance. CBT helps many people in dealing with tinnitus and your health insurance might cover the expense. You seem to have a lingering problem with anxiety and I think some kind of therapy could help.

 

I wish I could encourage some people more today but my ears are burning from hyperacusis right now, so I am off.

Marco

 

Johnny, this was an encouraging note to me. I am only with T for two months, but in the last few weeks, sounds are very loud and it hard to cope. My T is pushed into the background on most days which is good. It's the loud sounds, like when I have to send my kids to another room that depresses me, doors slamming, plates clanging. :-(

 

Hey Hi Gary,

You are already sending the T to the background most of the days, which in my experience is when you are near to habituation.

About the loud sounds that are the ones that impact you the worse I have good news for you. Sound irritation and hyperacusis are things that can be managed, with time, dedication and patience.

I understand you completely, I have two boys, 6 and 2 years old.... they are screaming machines!! I had very bad hyperacusis and sound irritation in the past, really bad ones. The sound of dishes, the roar of cars, almost anything made me protect my ears because of the irritation and pain. My recomendations, don't over protect your ears to everyday sounds, don't react to sounds as if they were going to damage you, because that increases the irritation. With time, your ears will be less and less irritated, and your hyperacuses will reduce.

Keep strong! You are in good path.

Johnny.