Poll: Does Focusing on Your Tinnitus Make It Louder (or at Least Seem to)?

Do you think focusing on your tinnitus makes it louder? Please answer this question based on your personal experiences.

 

God, I hate this damn question. My audiologist said the same thing..the answer is NO. He said stress and anxiety make it worse. NOT TRUE!
When I had MIld T back in December I paid attention to it daily and listened for it, did it increase it? NOPE. I also had immense stress and anxiety back then and didnt sleep some nights. Did my massive stress and anxiety increase tinnitus? NOPE When I did the caloric/vemp test tinnitus sky rocketed from 2/1o to 8/10 back in January and stayed since. Afterwards I did an audiogram where my hearing dropped from 5db to 25db on 4khz, this drop in hearing was not attributed to the tests but to stress according to my audiologist.

 

My perceived T level is tied to my mood. If I get annoyed, frustrated or angry all of a sudden I hear my T. If I focus on my T I get annoyed, frustrated and angry. So focusing doesn't directly make it worse, but indirectly it does. I must stay zen.

 

It's true. It took me a long time to accept this myself. I didn't want to believe it.

 

Does not make it louder, but more noticeable.