Someone Explain This? Is It All Psychological?

Went to a Halloween party last night and stood outside for most of the night.

The host came out and asked why I was standing outside, to which I said I have tinnitus and it's too loud in there for me (even with 27 dB foam plugs). He then explained to me how he's had tinnitus for 3 years as he's a DJ and was showing me videos of him DJing in Amsterdam and telling me about how his custom earplugs have been a godsend. The conversation lasted about 20 minutes and his life seems unaffected by tinnitus (not sure how bad his is but he goes to bars, djs parties regular with earplugs and some even without).

How can there be such a big difference between his life style and mine? Is it all psychological?

If a car horn goes off near me my tinnitus is unbearable and the reactive element comes back for weeks and weeks yet this guy can dj and very loud house parties (even without earplugs) and seems completely unphased by it.

 

We are all different and tinnitus affects each person differently. If the person also has hyperacusis which you call reactive tinnitus it complicates matters further. You are right there is a psychological element involved and this is the reason I have written posts on positivity. People that have had tinnitus for a while know the importance of having a positive outlook on life and tinnitus. It is not always easy to acquire a positive mindset. Because of this sometimes counselling is required with a Hearing Therapist. However, some people do not allow themselves to have an open mind and will convince themselves counselling will not work or any form of tinnitus treatment. This automatically reinforces negative thinking and unfortunately they do not improve.

This is one of the reasons I explain to people the overuse of hearing protection is not good. Firstly, it lowers the loudness threshold of the auditory system and will make it more sensitive to sound. This is well documented on the Internet by medical professionals. Secondly, it reinforces negative thinking, that everywhere they go earplugs are required which instils more negativity. Tinnitus and hyperacusis can become very complex and if one isn't careful they can be difficult to treat.

Michael

 

Not to mention using earplugs makes you more aware of your T since all external stimuli is blocked and you are left with just the sound of your brain.

Psychology plays a great role, by oversimplification thoughs exist as a subset of our neurological architecture, so when you can genuinely morph these thoughts and thought patterns you are changing a grand chunk of your nervous system, this changing of thoughts has implications for the functioning of your CNS. It's a two way street, your thoughts have implications on your body and the inner workings of your body transforms your thoughts. The link between tinnitus, it's perception and thought is not a well-defined mapping, much research is still needed to make sense of the relations. It's clear however that staying positive does benifit your brain in many ways, trying to focus on other stuff other than your T is also important. There's recent research that suggests T hyperactives neuron firings in the precuneus region of the brain, which is responsible for attention, this explains why tinnitus sufferers have more difficulty falling asleep than normal, that region of the brain is more on high-alert.

Kind Regards,
Artur

 

Eventually he might earn himself debilitatingly loud tinnitus.

 

It's certainly possible, but the odds are very much against this. Most people with tinnitus never end up "debilitated" by it, especially people who take basic precautions around earplugs and noise. I interact with a lot of people in their 30s-60s with lots of time behind electric guitars, motorcycles and firearms -- I'd say that in those groups, probably 2/3s of people have hearing loss they're aware of, and maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of them have tinnitus significant enough to find it bothersome.

I've literally never met anyone in real life who was "debilitated" by tinnitus, and I've probably talked to triple-digit numbers of people with tinnitus in meatspace. I'm not disputing that it happens, or that it's horrific when it does, but it's got to be relatively uncommon just based on my own experiences of talking to people about this and dealing with it over the last 20ish years. So, when it does happen, there's some other X-factor there that's genetically wired and has little to do with caution or noise. My guitar teacher is in his 60s, describes his hearing as "crap", hears "loud crickets over everything all the time", and yet still plays amped music on stage with a band which pretty strongly implies he's not that bothered by it. (Personally, I stick to acoustic guitars and avoid concerts with limited special exception).

I think you're very much correct, and there's good science to support this idea (even specific to audiological disorders). However, where this becomes controversial is when people read stuff like this and think "this guy is saying I'm responsible for my own problems because my thinking is incorrect, what an asshole!"

What we have to keep in mind is that "voluntary thought", really isn't all that voluntary. We have the experiences we have because of the way we're wired. Some people are much more prone to distress / obsessive rumination than other people are (I'm one of them) and this isn't our fault. It's just how we are.

There's a spectrum, and it's not really possible to become the master of your own experience of life, no matter how hard you try. I think the effort is generally well spent, though: when I was 25 I never would have imagined that I could basically accept certain things about myself without being constantly distressed by them, and this gives me hope that if I continue on the path I'm on, I will continue to "mellow out" over the years. It hasn't been, you know, easy, but I don't think anything worth having is generally easily obtained.

 

You are quite right @Bill Bauer Some people do have very debilitating tinnitus. It may not be severe all the time but serious enough to prevent them from working. I correspond and counsel people with debilitating tinnitus. I was medically retired from my job because of it. It is true most people do habituate to tinnitus and carry on to lead a fulfilling life. However, when this condition is severe it can be very debilitating for the person affected, and I believe comparable to any acute medical condition, simply because of what it can do to a person's state of mind. It took me 4 years to habituate for the 2nd time. My tinnitus has large fluctuations in intensity. Silent, mild, moderate and severe. Severe enough that I have to take clonazepam to help calm it down. Most of the people I know that have debilitating tinnitus, it was caused by the same thing that caused mine, exposure to loud noise.

Michael

 

It's not just general distress and obsessive rumination. I have always been distressed by some noises, ever since I was a little kid (I have theories why that is, but that's besides the point). I always had to sleep in absolute silence, and I could not concentrate with noise around me. Other noises would just set me on edge. It's just the way I'm wired.

 

Tinnitus and music/loud environments don't affect people the same way. Some are lucky to go to loud places and still not get tinnitus. It's a risky game, that some play, but we all know just how bad tinnitus can be and it's not worth it. I know people, that go to concerts without ear plugs and they live their lives and don't have tinnitus and possibly their hearing is still good. There is no explanation as to why, this happens to us and not them.