Thank You and Some Thoughts about "Reactive" Tinnitus

[Gill Hayes]

Hi Dr Nagler,

I just wanted to say a big ' thankyou' for answering my questions over the last few weeks. I can't express enough how helpful and re-assuring your advice and information has been to me. You are a blessing to people on this site especially newbies like me.
It's great to know that someone with your knowledge and experience is there to give advice and encouragement to people with this awful affliction.

I have to say that I am in a very positive place at the moment. I came off the benzos just before Christmas and have experienced little to no anxiety since, so I think I am adjusting well and this is in no small part because of your help and advice. Thankyou. My tinnitus seems to be settling down too. It has become very quiet over the last couple of weeks and much of the time it is barely audible. I hope this is a good sign ! I am realistic though and I know this condition can be unpredictable but if it worsens again I know now that it will settle down again. Hopefully that won't happen and things continue to improve.

I am also going to take your advice and stay off this site for a while, I understand why you advise this. I need to stop giving the tinnitus attention and get on with my life as usual. But I have to say that Tinnitus Talk is wonderful and I don't know how I would have coped this last few weeks without it. Indeed it has calmed me down in moments of unbearable anxiety, the success stories thread particularly has been a real comfort to me. The information and knowledge base on here is second to none.

I will check in now and again if I need reassurance and to keep up to date with clinical trials etc. So you may hear from me again with more queries !!! I hope that's OK. It's great to know this site is here to turn to if needed.

Thanks again Dr Nagler.
Kind regards,
Gill.

 

[Dr. Nagler]

I just wanted to say a big ' thankyou' for answering my questions over the last few weeks. I can't express enough how helpful and re-assuring your advice and information has been to me. You are a blessing to people on this site especially newbies like me. It's great to know that someone with your knowledge and experience is there to give advice and encouragement to people with this awful affliction.

I am so glad that I could make a difference for you, Gill, but to be honest, you are the one who did all the work! Anyway, I do very much appreciate your kind words; it means a lot to me.

Friends, it is one helluva tightrope that I walk on this board - I don't mind telling you. So many people here are stuck. It is very frustrating for them; I totally get that. However what many of them - what many of you - fail to appreciate is how frustrating it is for me. Sometimes my frustration finds expression in what you may interpret as a brusque or aggressive attitude, even though I honestly do work on guarding my words. But at the same time I am so totally convinced that much of the misery on this board is unnecessary ... that it really gets to me. Don't misunderstand what I am saying; nobody here chooses to be miserable. But in convincing yourselves that you are somehow the exception - that your tinnitus is so much louder, so much more pitchy, so much more "reactive" than the next guy's or gal's - you are tacitly shutting the door on the possibility of digging yourselves out of the hole you are in. And that very much is a choice.

I met a gentleman today. He has severe intrusive "reactive" tinnitus and profound hyperacusis. External noise not only causes him incredible discomfort, it also ramps up his tinnitus to extremes. And as a result he has pretty much placed himself in an auditory cocoon. It has been like this for him for some two years now. He has had to change jobs, and he must wear earplugs and/or noise cancellation devices much of the time - certainly when he drives a car or is out with friends. I suspect that his story sounds familiar to many on this board. The difference is he is going to listen to me and do what I ask him to do, and within a few months his LDLs (now around 55-60dB) will be in the 85-90dB range, his tinnitus will no longer be "reactive," and he will be well on the road to achieving meaningful lasting relief ... while a goodly number of you with "reactive" tinnitus and hyperacusis who follow this board day in and day out will continue to be miserable, insisting that the stuff I post about does not apply to you!

What do I do with the frustration welling up in me about that set of circumstances? I try to keep it in check, really I do. But if from time to time I get a bit testy, I sincerely hope that you fine people will understand that it comes from a place of caring and not a place of hostility.

Best to all -

Dr. Stephen Nagler