Positive Changes in Your Life Due to Tinnitus?

It's so easy to just get yourself lost in a spiral of negative thoughts, so I thought I would just share some ways tinnitus/hearing loss has made a positive impact on my life and how my life has changed ever since I found out about my hearing loss/tinnitus.

Being Healthier:
- I eat more often and more healthy now by incorporating fruits and vegetables.
- I drink more water.
- I quit social drinking completely. My liver is probably saying thank you.
- I don't drink coffee anymore and I cut down on milk tea.
- I try to sleep earlier.

Saving Money:
- I stopped attending concerts and raves.
- I don't buy albums and posters anymore.
- I never eat out, and I rarely go to the mall.

Mental Health:
- I'm trying to reduce my anxiety and stress.
- I'm taking more time to appreciate the small things in life, such as being able to hear the birds chirp from inside the house or looking at the squirrel that's sitting on the fence.
- I'm more grateful for everything I have in my life.
- I'm living more simply and practicing minimalism rather than materialism.
- I'm controlling my anger. Before I used to lash out and make a lot of loud noises because I was angry such as slamming doors or cabinets.

Spirituality:
- I'm meditating more and practicing mindfulness.
- I'm getting in touch with myself, my breathing, and my emotions.
- I'm looking deeply into my suffering and pain to see what is causing it so I can heal it.

In what ways has tinnitus/hearing loss/hyperacusis caused you to change your life for the better?

 

I spend a lot less money because I don't go out anymore. I guess that's a positive!

 

I used to worry incessantly about dumb things that just didn’t matter. This caused nearly endless stress and anxiety. I refused to admit that this was a problem. Since the tinnitus started I’m realizing what is really worth worrying about. It’s too bad it took tinnitus for me to learn this hard lesson.

 

I'm looking at a life where I will have to prioritize sleep, de-stressing and diet before most others things. Probably would have been the same without tinnitus though, but not to this extent.

When I got severe tinnitus I thought about quitting music making, or quitting everything really. Instead, it made me realize that music is probably going to be even more important than it was before. And even though this is an extreme setback for me as a musician, it has hardened my resolve.

My tinnitus ranges from severe to silent. On the silent days, I probably feel happier than I did before tinnitus. And on the bad days I feel worse than I ever have.. This contrast is interesting at least, perhaps it will make me live life more fully.

Realized that everything I love will turn on me and hurt me in the end. I will have a very cynical and cautious outlook on life from now on. Perhaps this is both good and bad, but I hope I will be able to avoid future suffering from other sources than tinnitus.

Humbling. Makes me think of people dealing with tinnitus or other shit and still keep on trucking.

I don't have anxiety over my chronic pain anymore, it pales in comparison to the suffering tinnitus is causing me. To think I sometimes felt suicidal because of the pain... I guess something worse than tinnitus will come along and make tinnitus look like nothing. At 28, I already feel pretty jaded. Maybe this is good.

All things considered, my high pitched tinnitus is somehow beautiful sounding. At least a little. I hope I will be able to become friends with the sound if it isn't going to disappear.

 

Thank you, @HanaK, for this thread. It's a breath of fresh air on this forum. I take MUCH better care of my ears now than I ever did before. Tinnitus has made me realize how delicate our hearing is and I go to great lengths to protect it now.

 

I learned to take care of my hearing. Who knows how much worse my tinnitus would be if I had abused my ears for 5 more years before the tinnitus manifested.

My tinnitus put things into perspective. I used to be obsessed with fixing every problem I had. (psoriasis, canker sores, back pain) None of those things are even problems now, just minor inconveniences.

I used to be annoyed by lots of sounds. I never liked the sound of fans or the high pitched whine that some electronics make. Now I'm grateful for any sound that I can listen to other than my tinnitus.

When I was in the acute onset phase of my tinnitus I started running for the first time in my life.

I used to need silence to sleep, now I don't.

 

I've learned to be more empathetic and kinder.

I've learned to be less neurotic about minor things.

I've become more focused on leaving a legacy that matters.

 

My tinnitus isn't from hearing loss, but after reading a lot about it I've come to value my hearing a lot more than before; I will take steps to protect it and teach my kids to do the same.

I learned a lot about mindfulness and that has helped me in many areas.

Having come to terms with my tinnitus (it's not a bother anymore) ... I was a wreck for the first several weeks, but I did eventually get past it. I feel that I am far better equipped to handle whatever big life/health challenge pops up next. Because of this, I am actually glad that I went through this experience, as dreadful as it was early on.

 

Two years ago I came down with tinnitus at the same time as an acquaintance (I knew who he was but we were never close). Strangely, the tinnitus gave us some common ground and since then we've connected and bonded over our mutual love of making music - I'm now one of his groomsmen at his Wedding in May.

Tinnitus had a large part to play in a friendship that I strongly value and am very thankful for.

 

Wouldn't that be awesome. My focus going forward is to begin accumulating little positives such as the author listed above. (do I have a choice?) As the days and months march on, my hope is that I will more and more develop a culture within myself of accumulating "positives" born out of the tinnitus event, that will ultimately take me past the massive negative of tinnitus, to the point where the positives consume and overcome the tinnitus, to the point where (dare I say) my life is actually better now than it was before. I am only at the first few turns in this "path", but I don't see any other route to take.

 

This post is precious, thanks Hanak for creating. For me Tinnitus has created me more authentic, I believe for in myself, and i don't care at all about what others may think. I understand that life is the journey were each of us has its own life and that the most precious and valuable thing is to live it under our own circunstances.

I say what I think it is important with candor, I also have been very supportive to many other people , and i appreciate many things I did not before. I also have become a more easy going and calm person, not very loud plans, but cozy restaurants and quiet plans and its very nice.

 

You wrote some good stuff, I'll add just one word - Resilient. This is such a powerful word and all have it within them!

 

@HanaK, I can 100% relate with this. I saw your threads about earwax build up and syringing earlier. Did syringing really cause your hearing loss and tinnitus? I get a lot of earwax as well and I used to use Q-Tips. Do you manually take earwax out now? Does it affect your tinnitus or not?
Also, I'm in the same situation as you right now. My parents are loud, they always make me go to family gatherings and they always like to blast TV volume and scream at each other when they talk so I always eat my dinner as quickly as possible just to get out from there.

My dad invited my cousins to stay at our place for a MONTH!! and I know it's going to be a nightmare because there will be so much celebration and such going on... Don't get me wrong, I like family gatherings, socializing and such but I just cannot do it with my tinnitus and hyperacusis.

Do you attend family gatherings with earplugs or just stay in a quiet room all the time?

 

I never valued silence enough before I got tinnitus.

I took it for granted. I never thought I could lose silence.

I was doing fine before tinnitus. I've been trough a lot and when my mother died it made me see life in a different way and value little things in life.

So tinnitus has not done anything positive to me.

If something positive, I understand better what handicapped people go trough.

But other than that, nothing has really changed.

I only realized how much my music really meant to me. Don't know if I can make my music again, as long as I have this hyperacusis, I cannot as I just can't relax and enjoy making music if it feels like someone is poking knife at my ear.

I dunno. Overall: tinnitus has brought me more bad things than good things.

 

Great thread!

In a strange way, I am actually thankful for the tinnitus, as I am taking much better care of my hearing these days. Without it, I figure I would have just progressed to severe NIHL before realizing the abuse I was putting my ears through. Now I am super careful with the protection, and the tinnitus is improving, a reassurance I am doing the right things.

 

My list:

1. Nothing
.
.
.
.
A thousand feet of crap
.
.
.
.
100. Literally nothing

 

Positives:

1. Made amazing friends through support group.
2. Appreciate sounds of nature a lot more, so walk and cycle more.
3. Much more resilient in facing adversities.
4. Focused more on what is important in life.

There are negatives for sure. Insomnia, anxiety and depression are still a part of my life but 10 years later and I am definitely better at coping in general, even though the noises keep increasing.

 

1. Made over 10,000 posts on Tinnitus Talk!

2. Now doing what I can to protect my ears.

 

1) Getting a moderate understanding of what retirement might be like.

2) Managing to appreciate my local park and more importantly getting up to 20 pigeons to eat from my hand - they were a sceptical bunch at first.

3) Realising that the inside of my empty wardrobe needs painting as I have been using this as my silent sound booth to check tinnitus levels.

4) Finding out who your true mates are by how much they ask and their actions.

5) Talking to the parents more.

6) Getting to learn the alphabet again through vitamin purchases.

 

It makes me excited for death.

 

Nothing. Just nothing. Less ignorance towards euthanasia advocates, less of a fear of death.

 

Nothing as well, tinnitus and hyperacusis ripped my life away. It's easy to get lost in the negativity because this lifestyle is pathetic, it's shit. But I understand the need to rationalize.

 

It’s given me a ton of resilience. I know that I can handle anything life throws at me now. So when my ears are fixed, I don’t think anything could kill me.

 

We are just biochemical machines anyway. We have no say on the matter.


♫I am the robot♫