Noticing a Trend in My Habituation...

So I do go through periods of time even in close to silent areas I don't hear the tinnitus. I am trying my best not to go run and check but ..

I get excited thinking it went away and then I go and check and then there it is and it brings me WAAAY down. Then because I checked the T gets louder and because I am upset/stressed about it the T is louder, then I freak because the T is louder and then because I freak I get into panic mode and then the T gets even louder and that is when all hell breaks loose.

It's a cycle I need to break. Has anyone experienced this?

 

@Marie79
Absolutely know exactly how you feel. I use @I who love music 's Back to Silence method , it takes time , determination and patience, but does help. When it works it's magic there is a strong temptation to listen for T! And this is definitely a bad habit to break. Sometimes I still use behind ear white noise generators to get out of a dip. Hope this helps. Phil

 

I think in your case, it is a lot of how your brain operates and handles the tinnitus. In my mom's case she can hear it if she listens to it but it doesn't bother her and she tunes it out. She has never got depressed or anxious about it. Her tinnitus was caused by someone turning on a speaker very loud while she was near it. She doesn't want to try hearing aids and enjoys reading books in silence. I think it is the way her brain's neurotransmitters, hormones, neurons, etc. of it just like most people with low volume tinnitus. Some people might wish they didn't have it when they sleep but more often they tune it out because they are either thinking about other problems they have in their life, or something happy, or maybe something religious. If you are still upset about it in a few months, maybe you could look into supplements to help with depression and anxiety. If those don't help, I guess you could ask your doctor for medicines to help you deal with it but I think if you can do without it, its better. Maybe you could eat more fish weekly to balance Omega 3/Omega 6 fatty acids. That may help with mood but research it first.

 

I am the exact same way!!! As soon as I listen for it, the intensity goes up! Last night around two am, I was awake and I was listening to it and it never went up it resets every night. So strange, I have been tuning it out these last couple nights. If I hear it I pretend that it's normal and my emotions don't let it go up. Good luck to you !!

 

I feel the same about my tinnitus... I'm more than 6 months in and everytime I think "wow I don't hear my tinnitus in that almost silent place, it must have went down" it obsiously didn't. And the same goes for the opposite : "woah, my tinnitus is so strong, how the fuck am I supposed to live with that ?"

It took me several months to understand that my T was in fact fluctuating. So I try to hang in there while it's loud, but when it's quiter it gets masked pretty easily. During those periods of time I do not allow myself to check nor worry about my T as I already spend way too much time doing this when the T is loud.

I guess I stoped checking my T after being 5-6 months in. First of all because I got bored (it's always there somewhere, no surprise there), and also because (like I said) I don't want to break those times when I don't hear in the first place.

 

The first rule of T is to never try to listen to it.

If you want it to be louder and more noticeable, listening to and analysing it is the way to go.

You need to figure out some kind of mental block to redirect your thoughts whenever you feel like listening to it. Just for example, my mind would start to wander... "Today my T is..." and just before actually listening to/analysing it, I would say "not to be listened to!". When I first started doing it, yeah sometimes it had to be done a few times in a row, or even 5 times in a minute, but after time it becomes less and less frequently needed.

Basically, never ever ever listen to your T!

 

how lucky for you guys only to be able to hear it in silence

 

The classic, viscous cycle of Tinnitus. The more you listen to it, the worse it gets! It's a wicked condition.

 

I have a weird relationship with my tinnitus, whereby sometimes I check for it and it isn't there - it really isn't, I just can't hear it, no matter how quiet the room.

I'll just carry on with whatever I'm doing and it will at some point cut back in. This could be a minute later, or maybe an hour or more or anything in-between. I used to get excited about this, but it has been doing this for months now. I think the periods without it are getting longer, but then I can have a whole day where it never stops - and it is pretty loud when it is present.

 

I'm so glad I found neuromod vids on YouTube. When my T is insane, I put on one of those ones like the Shower therapy one, and 99% of the time it alters the pitch of my T and makes it bearable. If you have nights like that, try one of those vids before you sleep. Works a charm.

 

sort of. many times I hear it in my home and at night no matter how much masking it comes through. sleeping is VERY hard.

 

Do you truly believe in that?

 

Yes! That is absolutely what every single dr has told me including numerous people I have talked to that have habitauated. They are always like "now that I am talking about it I can hear it and it's louder."

 

I have talked to three people who have T, two mild, one severe and all of them are happy as can be and just look at me and say it doesn't bother them. I meant a young girl who was just so happy and bubbly.... I need to get to that point and I will! I want to be one of those people who say " it doesn't bother me" I can't wait!! Hope you are having a great day @Marie79

 

You are doing fantastic! Just imagine if you were trying to ignore the feeling of your body sitting on a chair. You haven't thought about this in years have you? But if you checked, you would find it. The force of the chair on your back and butt. Granted, it would not bring you down or have an emotional impact, would it? Try to avert the checking, granted this is easier said than done. You will also see benefits if you can reduce anxiety or annoyance when you do listen and hear your T. If consciously ignoring and not listening to your T works though, run with that first! I have had to work on both ... Ignore and accept/reduce response