Study Shows Introverts Have Worse Tinnitus. Are You an Introvert?

@Isabella 123 Yes, thank you for enlightening us with this interesting topic.

@Mark McDill @jchinnis Researching about tinnitus--especially in the early weeks of developing it--helped calm some of my fears. While what I read wasn't always encouraging, the research gave me something to focus on instead of the noise. And that definitely helped.

For some people, understanding the condition is the first step towards habituation.

 

ISTJ here. Very much introverted (80 percent introversion)

 

Right.

Now what about the folks who stay on the boards "understanding the condition" year after year after year?

Stephen Nagler

 

Good for you! Yes, there are some things we can't do with T like clubbing and concerts, but that doesn't mean our lives are over. As you said, there are plenty of fun things to do without loud music.

I did a test and I seem to be more introvert, but the test said I am actually quite close to being ambivert, which I guess means I am in the middle. Can't be a bad thing

 

Well, the one thing T has done for me was get me to feel okay telling my friends and loved ones that I'm not 100% okay. Before, I was very good at hiding it because I'm more comfortable being happy and appearing that way and I'm an extreme extrovert in public. But I have never been completely comfortable telling people when I'm unhappy and I mean really telling them instead of just saying "im tired" or "bleh". Now I need to tell them and express how I feel because if I don't it builds up inside and causes a bunch of stress which isn't good for my T. It also lets them know how I'm truly feeling and it helps me because I don't feel like I have to always just grin and bear it all the time.

 

I was extrovert 100% and during last few years T & H have slowely turned me into oposit.. I still wanna be extrovert but it is just not happening..

 

You mean like yourself? Just kidding, sorry couldnt help it

 

Not even close to funny, although I know you meant no offense.

The only reason I have been on the boards for so long is in the hopes that somewhere along the line I might make a difference in some one else's life.

Stephen Nagler

 

Yes I know. You just kinda served that joke to me doc. I had to write it I hope you know that your contributions on this site and other sites in the past is deeply appreciated and that you probably have made a diference in many people's lives.

 

Dr. Nagler, and you do. Thank you for all your support. Ken
This is rhetorical Why spend Tinnitus research money on this introvert study?

 

Which sort of gets me back to my original point: Why spend time reading a thread like this in the first place? I mean, I know it's interesting and all. But if you accept my strongly considered suggestion that any time a tinnitus sufferer unnecessarily spends attending to tinnitus is time he or she counterproductively spends on tinnitus, why instead aren't those of you still in search for relief reading a good book, going for a walk, or driving for Meals on Wheels? You are surely not going to find relief reading about introverts and extroverts in tinnitus.

Stephen Nagler

 

Hey I had you down on the list as an INTJ Az lol

 

I now have what many would consider "mild T" and I am an extrovert.

 

Because introverts brains are different from extroverts brains and introverts have a lot more trouble dealing with it and there's a good possibility they can discover why the brain allows the perception of the phantom sound and they can find a way to cure it!

 

Some people will turn the least little tangent into the biggest deal....

 

To me it makes sense, that introverts have a harder time than extroverts.

Before my T, all I wished for in my life was to have this dream scenario of a super comfortable office, where I could delve into all the interesting topics of programming, architecture, computer game programming/development, design patterns, programming languages, etc.. This is basically what made me calm the whole day and was my "pride" both professionally and personally. I also enjoy social gatherings, but mostly I would seek people, who I could talk to about these problems (or video games!), and my comfort was, that I would always return to this lovely office cave after the party and create whatever digital madness, I would think of. This personality is also what made me choose the career, that I had. I think, that my generation is blessed with all the amazing things, that can be created with information technology.

T has basically prevented this motivation. I will have to find a new platform for my person. This is hard at an age of 30, and it is a waste of tax money in Denmark to feed me an education, that I cannot really use. I think, that if I wasn't so addicted to this lonely thinking state, then I would have an easier time. If I was a football player, I could keep my profession. But a geek like me does not want to be on a football field

 

Why concern myself with such stuff??? Because it could be the clue that solves the problem! That is exactly why everyone should be interested in such things. It's talk and conversation. It's how humans learn. Sharing ideas, putting heads together.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but your comment seems to say, "Don't try to solve your problems" rather than "Do try to solve your problems".

As far as reading too much about tinnitus being counter productive, I don't find that the case whatsoever. That's why I come to this forum - to read about others experiences, to learn what is new, to inform myself. Its that information that makes me more comfortable with the ailment.

 

I think introverts are much more likely to join a forum like this, so it won't surprise me if the tally indicates most responders are introverts.

 

Not only are you "misunderstanding" my message, you are purposely misstating my message in order to detract and mislead. And it's the third or fourth time you've pulled this bull spit over the past few months.

This may be a game to you, but it isn't to me.

Stephen Nagler

 

I've not purposely mistated anything. I'm only pointing out the tone of your comments which seem to overridingly say "don't come to forums like these, don't ask questions of your peers, don't educate yourself (unless you educate your self through me) , ..." I find the tone of much of what you say to be negative on the whole concept of what this forum is about which is a free exchange of ideas (at least that's the way I see it anyway).

I don't know what else to make of a statment like "Introvert. Extrovert. Whatever. Why concern yourself with that sort of stuff?" It seems designed to stifle the conversation rather than promote it.

I'm playing no games - just stating things as I see them. Sorry if I upset you.

 

Sure you are. And you've just done it again. Totally missed the message. Purposely.

Stephen Nagler

 

@Grace, @Relic Hunter, @derpytia, @Rhea, @lapidus, @jazz, @Denny, @Marlene, @Alex Senkowski, @GMac14, @jchinnis, and @Mark McDill, I learned a great deal about how to live a full life with tinnitus from my own missteps. For me, the great amount of wasted energy I spent thinking about tinnitus, catastrophizing about tinnitus, and projecting my despair about tinnitus into the imagined future, helped me to progress to the next stage, where I became more conscious of the role my own thinking played in my distress.

Looking at tinnitus in this way gave me a greater sense of personal control. It enabled me to move from explaining my distress as caused by something outside my control into something exacerbated by my own thinking. Several studies (Lazurus and Folkman in 1984, Scott in 1990, Budd and Pugh in 1995, and Attias et al. in 1995) have been written on this concept, known as locus of control. The extent to which we feel a measure of control over a health challenge can be directly related to our ability to cope. While I couldn’t do anything about tinnitus per se, I could do a lot on my own thinking about tinnitus. In their paper, Budd and Pugh wrote about the relationship between locus of control, tinnitus severity, and emotional distress in tinnitus patients.

Those days are long gone, and for some time, my tinnitus has thought much more about me than I think about it. At one point, it even joined a support board (no humans allowed!) where it spent an inordinate amount of time complaining about how I am unaware of it most of the time. While no studies exist on the long-term psychological characteristics that impact how tinnitus reacts to a person, I am quite sure my tinnitus is an introvert with an abysmal writing style and questionable taste in bad 70s music, as evidenced by several tedious posts on the music of The Captain and Tennille.

here2help

 

All this talk about spending too much unnecessary time reading about T impeding habituation makes me wonder if it's time for me to try it on my own and take a break from the board or reading anything about T. I did the initial research at onset--like others, it gave me knowledge but it also added to my despair until I found this forum so it will be hard for me to leave. I don't think I have to decide today.

I totally trust people on this board because everyone wants the best for all members. That is a lot.

 

Geeez Eloise... Sometimes this posting gets wild! That's a good reason to read a thread like this. Informs me about something of tangential interest and yet entertains as I have my cup of morning coffee. Perfect start to the "introvertial" day!

OK seriously. I'm in the camp that finds 'generally related information' (to something like T, that has a direct impact on my life) can be useful for understanding a condition. That in turn can have an effect on my behaviour, or broaden my view to subtly give a....."Mmmmmmmm. OK. Yeah that makes sense" attitude, that shifts my perspective. This type of broadening of understanding makes me more grounded in my condition/place in the world as it is now, and for the most part helps, not hurts.

Case in point, and as it happens, directly related to this "Introvert" question!

My son (34) often gives me a hard time about not getting out and seeing people, going out and having fun, just putting earplugs in and going to the stock car races with him, etc., etc..."You used to do all kinds of stuff, now you just sit at home!" (Of course going back-packing to 11,000 ft. for a week does not count, or the extensive list of 'quiet' things I do). Yeah, we are in VERY different universes!
He just does not get it re this T and H stuff. Of course by now I'm used to it but still try and explain on occasion while also emphasizing that he should protect his ears. He's in construction for Pete's sake!

Anyhow, I was idly mulling this conundrum a few weeks back when another friend who has been compromised for years by Lyme Disease (so "gets it" re limitations) phoned and I happened to mention this to her. Her answer was so succinct: "God Michael, it's simple you idiot. I've known you for 15 years and you did all that out there, full on, wacko dance/stage stuff, that whole social scene with your PR job, travelling all over the world, etc., etc., etc. OK, now you can't do that. You are an extrovert that has been forced to become an introvert, by dint of your condition! You are still the same person inside, but you just can't go out and do all that stuff any more. Just how the chips have fallen."

It was such a clear summary. I laughed, as of course 'knew' that but just had not quite put it that way. I found it useful and helpful and a very easy sentence to use in explaining to someone like my son who remembers the 'before' me and can't get to grips with the 'after' me.

So in that sense I find threads like this can be useful and not at all self indulgently perpetuating an awareness of my T. Hell, after 58 years of it the "dwell on it part" is sort of irrelevant. It makes zero difference whether I '"think about it" or not...It's how it affects my life and how I behave to it that is relevant.
So I agree that is the thing to keep in mind, as perseverating and thinking about T in an anxious or continual way is indeed unhelpful. But understanding and clarification can come in all sorts of ways and from all sorts of places. To me that is helpful and productive and brings to mind that old saw: "Knowledge is power".

Get it where you can, even if from innocuous threads about the relevance of introvertism!

Enjoy your coffee... Best, Zimichael

 

Interesting topic. I'm an ENTP and I am doing well. Also for my self I'm noticing I usually get bothered by my t when I'm on t related sites so I can see that it could hinder habituation.

 

I agree with you, I feel the same! God bless us!

 

You make a big difference! love having you on board!

 

I think I'm going to take a break too cullen. I've been forgetting about my T more and more and for longer periods of time. I even left the house today without my ipod--that's a first. I don't always use it but I have it in case my T gets too annoying.

I hope you are well @cullenbohannon --you were a big help to me when I first came here.

 

You could benefit from taking a break. I think you should give it a shot. You'll be surprised how much less you think about your t

 

Personalities can evolve, . ISTJ is the same thing as an INTJ except with a more developed sensing than intuition. 2 of my scores were close, so I can float between INTJ ISTJ and INTP