Problem With the Idea That in Silence Everyone Will Start to Experience Tinnitus?

I would really like to believe the idea that T is just a normal natural phenomenon.
Because then, either everyone has T or no one.
And indeed I had no noise-induced T, although I have hearing loss in the higher frequencies.
So nothing was damaged at time of T onset.
Also if you read some success stories, people who believed in TRT, habituated and put T into the background - where it was maybe before.

But why do T patients have a higher activity in auditory contex of the brain - as shown on MRI scans?
Overactive neurons?

Sometimes I think the problem is I read and think about things too much.
If I would think and accept, this beast in my head is just a normal sound, I would be immediately T free.
So how to put T from the foreground into the background again?
TRT and the believe in its concepts?

What I believe, is my T is indeed a normal sound the brain makes.
But someone tuned the volume up, much to high.

On the other side if you read this story: http://www.vanheelsbergen.com/tinnitus-E.html
This guy had no T, but concentrated on body sounds during a meditation course.
And he became severe intrusive T.

 

"I think it is a very pessimistic and a defeatist view to think that a cure will never eventuate which I believe is derived from an opinion based on bad science and a view I do not share at all!"


It's difficult to engage in a debate when your argument relies on ad hominems.

 

I'd be interested in knowing where the data that only "1-2% find it bothersome" comes from. I'd be willing to wager that most people with chronic T find it bothersome and something they have to manage whether its mild or loud.

 

Again these forums are to encourage people. I have T for 24 years. I've had a few relapses. Why? I do not know. But each time I was able to habituate. Habituation is like a slice of heaven. Yea you are there but I don't give a shit!. As you may guess I am currently in a relapse, 5th week. This time I had Vertigo too. I believe it was a virus. No proof just saying the research kind of indicates it. I will habituate again. Since I know it takes a while I am trying to be calm about this. not easy. Question are relapses normal? I take caution when exposed to loud noises.

 

You encourage us that habituation is possible.

Do you do anything special for reaching habituation faster?

 

Just to be real clear here. If "we" have that opinion, it does not come from me.

I do not believe that the tinnitus that brings people to this board is in any way, shape, or form "normal."

What I have said is that the presence of a small amount of tinnitus upon purposeful hard listening in the absence of any external auditory stimulation is a normal physiological condition and that therefore when you are talking about curing the tinnitus that brings people to this board, you are talking about eradicating a spectrum of sound one extreme of which is normal. In other words, you are talking about curing what is in essence a moving target, which in my mind is a very formidable task indeed - especially in view of the fact that the researchers trying to achieve that goal cannot themselves agree on what it means to cure tinnitus or for that matter even agree on precisely what it is that they are trying to cure in the first place.

As I said earlier I am leaving this thread, but I did not want to do so without making my position on this matter clear since it has been repeatedly misrepresented.

Stephen Nagler

 

@Martin69 Here goes..To me my tinnitus is bad. 40mg prozac .25 xanax morning. Evening 5-6 PM .25 xanax, Bedtime 10mg Ambien 1,5 xanax. And time. I won't give it a time but it can be a few to many months. So far this has worked for me. Not liking all the meds but it is the only way I keep some my sanity. I do freak out now and then. History has been time is my allied.

 

Ok here it goes,OBVIOUSLY T is not a normal phenomenon and anyone who suggests so is simply an uneducated idiot and most likely doesnt have T so couldnt even possibley come close to understanding how unnormal this is.T happens when something is wrong with the body which is why it isnt a disease itself but a symptom of something wrong the key word being wrong.People with high blood pressure,noise exposure,head trauma,acoustic neuroma,surgery the list goes on and on it usually develops after some kind of trauma or interference with the brain.i.e brain surgery and so on and so fourth.Dont believe please that this is a natural occurence as this is just one group of scientists opinion and nothing more,it has never been proven as fact and never will be as its bull.If its normal why does an ear infection cause T and once the infection has been treated the T resolves itself wouldnt it stay if its natural??Of course something was wrong obviously the infection in this case and thats what T is,something wrong very wrong and unnatural to a human being.Also if this theory of T being natural was widely accepted as being accurate why do they stil persue a cure??Wouldnt scientists and pharma just see it as a big waste of time as it will never be cured,of course not because modern scientists have proven in modern methods that T is not a natural occurance and have proven so through MRI scans that there is overactivity in the auditory brain and that in fact there is an unnatural ocurance in T patients auditory brains.They couldnt possibley have proven this in the 1960s as the had nowhere near the technologhy possible to do so.What they do is put some people in a quiet room and ask them if they hear something some people say yeah and others say no and they conclude that its a natural occurance without any real hard evidence to make such a conclusion.This is just an old school theory and nothing more and modern research has proven this theory wrong.

 

@Ken219, I'm sure it will work for you again. At my onset I tried to handle it for a month but was getting only 2-3 hours of sleep a night and working full time. I was a mess. I found this site and took the advice of the members. I got a week's worth of 10mg Ambien--that helped me sleep up to 6 hours a night. My GP added .25 Xanax--which he upped to .50 3 times a day. Then I started sleeping through the night. I was very concerned about the meds too but they have helped me to get used to the noise. I also do relaxation and can suggest some great podcasts for meditation and relaxation if you have iTunes.

 

Very well said... Agree hundred percent with you! The noise comes on cause of some kind of trauma and therefore somehow it can be switched off and now pharma companies are spending millions of dollars to persue it, and if one doesnt work one of them will until they get it right. And yep were no longer in the 60's, technology is skyrocketing now!

 

Thank you for the encouragement. I have taken BioFeedback and CBT classes which helps me relax. Unfortunately I'm not a guy that really can sit still. I' glad you are 'used to the noise' Do you feel you fully habituated? The feeling of habituating with T is a slice of heaven. I know it takes time. How did you function at work on .5mg xanax? FYI the last ten years of habituation I stayed on xanax .25mg twice a day.

 

I took CBT anxiety toolkit classes for six weeks and had therapy sessions. I learned about exposure--I stopped masking a little bit at a time until the noise no longer scared me. Then I decided to just live my life after reading here how others did. I don't think I'm habituated yet--I'm still not sure what complete habituation is. Is it just not being bothered or is it not hearing the noise until you listen for it? I have friends with T who only hear it if it is mentioned--one actually has to try to hear it! I do forget my T when I'm engrossed in something and when I go out socially I can put it in the background and enjoy myself.

I took .25 Xanax to build up to .5. I have no problem functioning on that dose. I had terrible anxiety for two years before the onset and T made it so much worse--the noise terrified me so the Xanax really helped me. I have recently cut my doses back to .25 in the afternoon.

Tonight my T is buzzing along--louder than usual but I will soon go to sleep and maybe it will be quieter tomorrow. You might try a free podcast by Yasmine Buraik when you are in bed before sleep. Her voice is soothing--hypnotic.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/journey-into-relaxation../id532832955?mt=2