Success Stories Are the Best Thing on Tinnitus Talk

I have browsed this forum many times over the years. I can see much good common advice in the more liked stories.

Having dealt with the dreaded tinnitus years ago and now live an enjoyable life, I thoroughly recommend that every new sufferer read these positive stories and try to keep away from the negative views of those who won’t help themselves.

I think the larger part dealing with tinnitus is mind over matter and not relying too much on false hopes. The people who write these stories are in a better place now, you can be there too if you follow their advice.

Love to you all.

 

While I agree that most people are eventually able to go back to their usual lives and that those stories should be shared as well, let’s not throw people who continue to struggle under the bus. Edit: and I think good advice is being shared on here how to prevent tinnitus from getting worse which I don’t see as spreading fear.

 

First of all you just joined this forum to make this one post, you were never part of this community just a lurker I'm assuming.

I'm suffering from muffling hearing in my right ear and mild hyperacusis and that causes the right side of my face to feel tense as well as TTTS and actual mental problems that I dealt with all my life causing depression, lonliness and impaired judgement.This is the final insult I could take in life before giving up.

9 months later improvement was medicore such as my hyperacusis going away (mostly) hearing somewhat improved however my mental health is 100% shot.

I can't live like this accepting tinnitus, there is no ultimate lesson or morale of the story to be learned other then protect your hearing so it doesn't get worse.

There needs to be a medical breakthrough to find treatments for tinnitus, hearing loss and the other horrifying otological disorders that come with it like hyperacusis.


People here are suffering and need real help from researchers and scientist not a self convincing delusion.

 

Well, thanks for the warm welcome.

I believe any kind of support is good. The success story section here contains a mix of the mental and physical and I see also some spiritual. If it works, it works!

The truth is we have to want to help ourselves otherwise we become a drain on those giving support. I was one of those to start with but I only truly got better once I took responsibilty for myself.

 

Happy to hear you got better, I just think your posts sound a bit condescending. From what I’ve read people usually struggle with tinnitus if they’re new to it (which is normal) or because they have severe tinnitus and or hyperacusis. Not every case is the same. Many people desperately want to be able to cope better and are trying their hardest.

 

Agreed !!
It ain’t that simple.....!!

 

Some struggle a lot to the point of contemplating suicide, others less so. I was in the suicidal severe category, so no, not trying to be condesending, but it’s curious why you might think so.

From what I gather most people do finally leave tinnitus behind them. All the help is there in the Success Story section. Reading through some other sections of the forum you could be mistaken to believe there is no way forward.

 

There is no cure. Being able to cope is not the same as being cured. For some people tinnitus goes away but that still doesn’t mean there’s a universal cure or even a medical treatment. Mind over matter doesn’t work in every case and if you had had severe tinnitus for years you would know that. A strong mindset helps me to survive but doesn’t allow me to go back to a normal life.

 

I’m sorry to have to tell you,
you are writing ‘tripe!’

 

I don't think that these people don't want to help themselves. All of the people here need help , support and want their lives back. At times we don't KNOW how to help ourselves. It's not that easy, even I at times can get lost in the shuffle of the tinnitus madness. Success stories are great, but not many come back after posting it. How do we know, that they did not have a relapse of the tinnitus/ringing.

People deal with issues/problems differently. I give credit, to these people because they are reaching out to ME, YOU, this forum and seeking answers, ways to make their lives better. Your post was half way there, but some wordings were also half way not there.....

 

How interesting Jan P.

At 12:30pm you used the words “no cure.”

At 12:57pm you edited your sentence to read “no way forward.”

That is an entirely different concept, as you eventually came to realise.

Please try to think more clearly before putting your finger in gear.

 

Those two concepts are worlds apart. Even with it being difficult, we can still move forward. It might be very slow, but it is doable. Gaining support, loving yourself and taking baby steps makes it possible to slowly move forward and slowly gain our lives back.

 

Everyone chill. I don't think Jan purposefully meant to offend any of us. Ignorant or not, we have to accept the existence of our tinnitus as well as dumbass doctors, and ignorant comments people may make. We have to be strong through this until they release the cure. If that happens and we are cured then we will be stronger than most people. Not to get preachy but I think we are nearing the end of the Age. And the world is going to need people that have suffered tremendously to help guide the rest of us.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Technology is changing, information exchange is changing, everything is changing really fast. It's like an asteroid that's coming to destroy the earth, it starts out as a small dot in the sky and slowly grows day by day but as it approaches it starts to fill the sky more and more rapidly and then boom. We are seeing it get closer. Just wrap your head around the fact that they figured out how to regrow mammalian body tissues that before would never regrow. Top tier scientists are working on this and it is going to branch out into other fields of medicine. I wouldnt be surprised if they they figure out regenerative cures for paralysis, blindness, and gene therapies to even cure deformities and mental retardation, in the next few decades. It seems slow but it is not. These are rapid advancements it just seems slow to us because we are suffering day by day.

I love you all.

 

Sorry, no conspiricy. The use of the word cured was a mistake as you pointed out, so I changed it. Fair comment.

However the success stories do show how people can naturally learn to stop noticing it and get their lives back. Most do this without the internet. You only have to bring up the subject with people you meet to realise how common tinnitus is and how people dealt with it. This forum is only a tiny subset.

No need to be rude though, I hate to think what those new to the condition think when they first come on here. I’d be scared out of my mind with some of stuff I’ve read. It might also explain why those who have written success stories don’t come back!

 

Hi Jan. Does tinnitus still affect your life? Do you ever suffer from it? And does it limit your life at all?

 

@Jan P - your first edition was simply wrong, and offensive to those with severe Tinnitus that Know there is no cure.
Those with mild Tinnitus far outnumber those with severe obtrusive Tinnitus.
Many ‘success’ stories were mild in the first place.
If you are going to make bold statements about this ‘serious’ shit you need to be careful and accurate.
At best, Tinnitus is a vile plague, at it’s worst, we are talking quite literally ‘life and death!’
I really meant no offence, despite what you may think.
Best wishes,
Dave x
Jazzer

 

So what are people supposed to do when they continue to struggle? Hide it because it could be depressing to someone else? If you followed the forum for some time you would actually notice that most people eventually move one. Usually the most distraught members on here are people who recently developed tinnitus or whose tinnitus recently spiked. The focus is very much on supporting people and helping them to move on.

Like you said the majority can but the minority also needs a place where they can share their experiences and receive support. There are also people who call themselves habituated who can still very much hear their tinnitus.

I'd say most people on here are aware of that and this point is repeatedly being stressed, to new members especially.

 

Not any more, although it would if I allowed myself to give it attention again.

Like many of the positive stories you read on here, I hear it still if I give it attention but over time you begin to realise you haven’t noticed it for longer and longer periods. This all builds up in the belief and confidence that in the future you may no longer even register it in normal day to day life. For me that took a few years.

Anyway, in hindsight, I think it was a mistake to post on here, I’ll stick with the lurking, so I’ll wish you all well. Stay positive, negativity never helps anyone except those who want to control you.

 

You are completely free to post on here, you can share your story, your way to habituation and inspire and motivate other people (many people on here enjoy new success stories) without looking down on the people who continue to struggle. If you truly cared about sharing a positive message you would take a step back and have a look at why your posts seemed hurtful to some of us.

 

Well if your T is mild and you habituate hats off to you. Your life is somewhat back to normal. If you are like me who has Severe T which can be heard over people's voices then you are screwed.

 

I have written many posts and articles in this forum that can be accessed on my "started threads". I advocate positivity for it is one of the best ways of coping with tinnitus and moving forward with one's life. I have had this condition for 22 years and habituated twice. I also counsel people with tinnitus that ask for my help. Tinnitus comes in many different levels of severity and no two people experience it the same. Fortunately, many people do habituate to it and are able to carry on with their life doing everything that they want to. However, there is another more serious and sinister side to tinnitus that many people outside of this forum do not know about because, they have never experienced prolonged intrusive tinnitus which can be very debilitating and affect a person's quality of life quite profoundly and often, they will need to take medication to cope with it.

My tinnitus ranges from: complete silence, mild, moderate, severe and can reach extreme severe levels, requiring me to take medication to help reduce it's severity. Therefore, I fully understand when a person reaches out to me for help because they find tinnitus loud and intrusive and extremely difficult to cope with. Just because you have habituated and are able to carry on with your life, please do not think this should be the same for everyone that has this condition because I assure you it is not.

Michael

 

So how loud was your T , also now that you have habituated do you still hear it outside or in your bed ?

 

My dear @Jan P

If severe Tinnitus ever strikes you it will almost certainly bring you to your knees.
(Heaven forbid - by the way.)
There is so much more to coping with this thing than merely the confident ‘mind over matter’ which you glibly attribute to yourself.
However, I do agree with you - it was probably a mistake to post on here - your lurking never hurt anybody.
You were obviously a pretty innocuous lurker.

For what it’s, worth, I don’t think your intention was to offend any of us, even though you managed it with your misguided comments.

And just for the record, those that responded to you here, myself included, were not being remotely negative.
We are realists, and actually do employ any positive therapies or suggestions that come up, and do prove helpful.
We are a pretty positive bunch, all things considered.

Well, whatever, you did manage to make quite a splash with your first post on your first day.

Best wishes to you Jan

Dave x
Jazzer

 

Self congratulatory piffle........!!!

Actually offensive in the extreme......!!!

 

I can’t imagine what it’s like to have severe T. I have been struggling just to habituate to a moderate level T. A good friend of mine has severe T and no matter how positive he is it still impacts his life greatly. I refuse to give up on him and really hope we see a treatment soon. I am so grateful for TT. Some of the advice gained here to share with my friend has been invaluable. Much of this advice shared with me by members who have severe T. My ent said tinnitus is very common, but less than 5% have it severe. Well these 5% still deserve to have a good life and we need a treatment/cure for them. We are in this together. Thank you TT family.

 

Right. It sounds like a small percentage but that's a lot of people. According the the ATA, 2 million people in the US alone suffer from severe tinnitus.

"Millions of Americans experience tinnitus, often to a debilitating degree, making it one of the most common health conditions in the country. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that nearly 15% of the general public — over 50 million Americans — experience some form of tinnitus. Roughly 20 million people struggle with burdensome chronic tinnitus, while 2 million have extreme and debilitating cases."

 

I recommend every one who has not habituated with T to take a break from the forums once in a while to get away from the mushroom of gloom and doom. It's not healthy to spend too much time on these forums as you will only surround yourself with paranoia and fear.

@The op, I totally understand what you're saying. I hardly think about T (except when i'm on these forums)...and it doesn't affect my life in any given day. I accept responsibility for my bad choices and the consequences that come with them. Learning to overcome the immense depression after T was extremely difficult...and it is easy to be stuck in that cloud forever. It takes a lot to lift yourself up and force your mind to think positively and optimistically. Some people tackle hardships with a hammer and chisel, others take the longer route. Whatever the circumstances, we all hope to overcome it one way or another. I think eventually people will have to habituate whether they like it or not, it's unrealistic to think a cure is looming on the horizon when T itself is still so much of a mystery. We haven't found cures for diseases that we KNOW the causes for, hoping for a "cure" for something as variable and unpredictable as T is a waiting game.

Until that day comes, habituating is my cure and it really is the closest thing. I am not delusional about it, yes I know i still have T...but why would i languish my life away dreaming of life without T? We only get to live once, enjoy it even if you have T...be happy, it is a choice after all.

 

Yeah, but you also said that your tinnitus is now very mild and that you only hear it when you look for it. You don't know what it's like to live with severe tinnitus for years and it gets even more complicated when you have severe hyperacusis on top of it. I'm glad to hear you're coping well but many people who continue to struggle do so because their condition is severe not because they don't want to get better or aren't trying hard enough.

Edit: In the US alone 2 million have extreme and debilitating cases of tinnitus and I'm really done seeing people say there's only doom and gloom on TT, it's not, those are real stories by people who are struggling and most members on here eventually move on. We can't tell the minority to be quiet about their experiences so that the majority that can cope well can feel more comfortable.

 

You're right, I don't know the worst of it and I apologize if my statement came off ignorant. I had severe T during the first month of exposure so I have little experience of it, either way...it is not an easy journey.

My post was a general thought regarding T (as most people do not have it severe), obviously those who do have it as loud as a train wouldn't apply in this case...and frankly those people are modern day heroes in my opinion. It is difficult for them, they are going through something i cannot fathom. My hope is to get people with moderate T to understand that life can still continue without this grip that T has on them.

 

Unfortunately @coffee_girl I have to disagree with you on this occasion. Whilst some people may have difficulty habituating this forum and others can be a place of sanctuary for them and a place for hope and camaraderie sought from some of the helpful people here that give advice. Some people live on their own or have a partner perhaps a family too, and they just don't understand what it's like for someone to live with tinnitus. A tinnitus forum can give a sense of hope and positivity to someone that may feel their life in on a downward spiral. Please click on the link below and read the post.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/from-darkness-into-light.22234/