The Positivity Thread

Thanks all. The day when the baby came started in the middle of the night and that day my T roared, probably due to lack of sleep and stress. But after that my T has went down. I have slept ok (we sleep in different rooms now) and the baby is the cuter than we could have ever hoped for. Maybe it's the oxytocin hormone in my brain that calms the T down?

 

@Sound Wave , i remember my T that night our boy came as well. I felt like a power plant in my head, i could have provided the hospital and the surrounding area with electricity if there had been any problem. Then for the rest of the hospital stay it was almost quiet for me as well. Strange things.

 

Congrats!

 

T is so much quieter than when it started 6 months ago! I went to a concert last night wearing my vater musician's earplugs (http://vater.com/products/product.cfm?M=287) and there was no increase in T at all! I am so happy that there wasn't a spike! Learning to live with this thing.

 

Hey SOUNDWAVE! Congratulations!

 

Pretty Zoe Cartwright has been such an amazing example of positivity even with loud unmaskable T because of her deafness. Her positivity as a deaf person is not alone. Being in Vancouver Canada, a melting pot of international cultures, recently we were visited by a distinguished group of artists from China who are either deaf or blind from China. The blind plays music whereas the deaf perform dances. These beautiful young dances are all deaf. They can't really hear the music, so there is a director on the edge of the stage giving them sign language to make sure they perform according to the rhythm of the music. But what a beautiful dance of the Thousand Hands Guanyin (a buddist diety) ! Who know some of those pretty young dancers may have unmaskable tinnitus like Zoe above. It is quite common for deaf people to develop tinnitus. What positivity this group of dancers show in overcoming their hearing challenge to learn & perform such a wonderful dance to perfection. Enjoy.

Thousand-Hand Guanyin - CCTV New Year's...

 

I can't say that the sound is lower (if it ever did increase), but pretty much all of my anxiety from this latest experience is gone. That's something, at least.

 

I am on a mini cruise to the Bahamas boarding from Fort Lauderdale. Before the cruise, my panic disorder which I suffered for decades suddenly flared up out of the blue. Waves of panic swarmed me. Great timing. LOL. But learning from CBT principles and cognitive distortions have helped me manage the disorder better. Decades ago, I would be home bound. But this time, I got on the plane with my dear wife for our Bahamas cruise, heaven or hell. Due to the stress from the recurring panic attacks, my T is understanding super load. I could hear it the whole flight above the noisy jet engine on the flight to Dallas. Will be taking an early flight to Fort Lauderdale for our mini cruise on Carribbean Princess. It is our first cruise after 38 years of marriage. Hope to have a good time together. I am getting ready for my Titanic post. LOL. I will live my life abundantly regardless of my ultra high pitch dog whistle T and the panic attacks. I want my freedom from these tyrants in my life and won't hold back living my life as I want to. Thanks TT to have a Positivity Thread for members to talk about how they keep living their life regardless of the T challenge. So excited to get up on this giant of a ship.

 

@billie48 so sorry to hear about your panic/anxiety flare up! Timing totally sucks !! strange how that works out huh? It sucks that sometimes that happens at the worst possible time.there's a lesson to be learned in the midst of that and strength to be gained. I pray that your cruise is fantastic and stress free! I hope the calm of the ocean waters gives you some relief from your T!!! Enjoy my friend!!! Smooth sailing and following winds !!!

 

Dang panic attacks...they are so naughty! This too, will pass. You will enjoy your trip because you deserve it!

Blessings

 

hey Demi just posted a possitive post thats all I will ever do we are on here to get support not drag each other down.
The first few months are hard but there is hope at the end of the tunnel I'm 3 months into intrusive T but starting to feel like this is going to make me a stronger person. WE are in a group here it is something we all will beat. Read my post on benzos meds tell me what you think and bear in mind I will fight this and win my battle and be a better person because of it you all will too yes we will its hard but we WILL beat this crazy thing its just a stupid sound anyway .Hangi n there Everybody..... I care about
each and everyone of you in brotherly sisterly LOVE...
MIKE (uncle vikin)

 

Personal comments from conversation:

When the positivity thread started it offered me a challenge to address what I was getting out of my treatment and how tinnitus was positively changing my life. The challenge was addressing my unhappiness and transforming it into something worthwhile. It offered a focus and a tidy psychological tool and support to check with. Others' stories were an inspiration and I drew great strength from them. I contributed regularly as a discipline to note every possible positive change I could find.

This thread is a blessing. David

 

Thank you very much Jeff & Teri. Actually I booked the cruise right after the panic attacks flaring up. LOL. I will enjoy my life to celebrate our 38th anniversary regardless, panic or loud T. Just take enough meds along to help cut off the sharp edges of the panic symptoms. But I have also been using some CBT techniques such as exposure & mindfulness to help deal with the panic. The cruise has proven to be a great time for me and my wife. We ate and danced our way through beautiful 5 days of cruising and I even got to do some beach fishing at beautiful Princess Caye of the Bahamas. T was screaming very loud indeed but I will focus on the positive side of things on this cruise and treasure the wonderful memory to celebrate our 38th anniversary.

 

So glad you were able to enjoy yourself and have a great time!! Happy Anniversary too!!! 38 that's great!!

All the best friend and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Jeff

 

Thank you Jeff for that. You have a wonderful Thanksgiving too.

 

Thank you Billie! I needed to read something like this. I hate those pesky "bad ear" days.

I always dig your positivity my friend.

 

Thank you kmohoruk for the kind words. Hope you feel better and let's learn to accept and flow with those days. It will take time to learn acceptance (like me now with my panic disorder) but with positivity it will only help.

 

I woke up, re-focused my mind, did some chores, walked the dog became mindful of every task. For the first time in 7 months I feel like a survivor. Im having a good morning in spite of the bad T. Feeling like I can do this, without additional antidepressants. Lets hope and keep moving on.

Thanks to all for the support through this. I could not have gotten this far without you guys.
Hopefully I will have a complete good day. So far so good. Minute by minute...

 

Hey Larry - that is the spirit! Do it despite the T. I recently went back to listening to my quiet music which I thought I would never enjoy again because of the T - and I did enjoy it. I will say that since about June (onset in March) I have been able to do things "despite the T". Soldier on mate.

 

In an effort to do some good, my wife and I volunteered to deliver meals to the elderly and needy. I pray on those days we do this my abilities are up to participating fully and I can live above the sounds that I struggle with. I am determined.

 

Hi I'm newish here and I've only just come into the world of t , not sure yet if it's for ever or not as I've yet to been seen by ENT . But I've been very down but I've had a great day today with t , it's still there but I've noticed I've ether switch off from it and only hear some of the tones I have, or it's going I can't work it out yet. But I've had some amazing advice here and some not so great but Im here to look at the good side of things.
I hope I have many good days to come and I hope for the best I'm now trying to be postive with this t I won't let it beat me down !

 

I was on tumblr today, and well, I search for tinnitus everywhere and I happened to see this poem

http://the-imperfecthuman.tumblr.com/post/104589961778/missing-silence

Although, the poem isn't that positive but for some reason it comforted me and gave me hope. I just have to move on and you know work through this. I'm 22!! I have so much to do in life. I need to be more resilient. All of us should. I just hope we find a cure fast and are able to live normal lives again!

 

A sunrise over the Hudson River in NJ. It's a sign of light and hope for all of us. I named it "For Gabrielle" who I met here on TT. She has been a ray of hope and inspiration to me as so many here have been. Thank you all.

 

Hey guys. I did my second stage performance yesterday. Getting T made me realise I wasn't getting enough out if life - especially focussed creative work - so at 50 I enrolled in acting school. And when I focus on that I am not focussing on "you-know-what". I went to the after show party at a local bar knowing that I would get a reactive spike from the music but I figured an evening of waiting for it to settle was better than not going at all. Had a great day. Woke up feeling good, T not too bad. Next time I will bring my musician earplugs I keep talking about.

Anyways off to the beach for a week tomorrow - the wind and waves mask and distract to a good degree.

T has given me one of the most difficult years of my life but also the impetus take charge of my life in ways I didn't think possible.

Keep the positivity going. We gotta keep focussing on the positives or we all go under.

 

Hi all! It's been so long since I last visited. Everything is going well. My ears still ring, especially my left. I noticed there's a direct correlation between stress/fatigue and an obnoxious clicking in my ears. My life continues on as normal even with T.

Wishing everyone the best this holiday season and always.

 

Hey Mis - let your life continue "as normal" but add some more treats and fun in there - you deserve it after your efforts to keep afloat this year hey? I so agree with the stress/fatigue issue so am starting more structured relaxation now - just choosing some fav classic or ambient music and taking time to listen and relax. Oh yeah, and making time to do it each day !

 

Been up since 2 am reading this thread. Left ear feeling full and pressured along with dryer cycle sound and high pitch EEE. Trying to remain calm and I have to say reading all these positive stories/tips help me. Yea I'm dead tired but it's helping me cope and remind myself that I need to stay strong and positive. Thanks you all sharing your stories. Now 3-4 more hours til I can start my day. Greetings from NJ by the way.

 

Good morning everyone!

I got T this summer, man it's been kinda harsh but I learned how to deal with it and now I don't even notice it. It felt like the job I had always wanted and got was about to close shut on my face. It didn't close because of the T it closed because I lost my love for it a while ago and just didn't know it yet. I had begun to close the door myself but was fighting my true self because I was attached to that job it was who I was and without it I was well I had no idea who I be.I started to mediate and got heavy into yoga to help bring focus to my mind and learn to ignore it at all cost to keep my job, my co-workers still hailed me amazing and the best. I felt it was slipping because of the T but no my heart was growing cold to it. I decided to seek out the help of a work therapist because I was always mad at work and didn't understand why. I also haven't had a vacation in five years. I loved my job but thought something was wrong. With only a few visits and medation. I discoverd so much about my self, I discovered an old love for a writing something I have always done and people always loved or hated my work but always made them feel something. It was through my T I began this deep spiritual journey, to rediscover myself. I told my therapist it was to late to change careers I was 26 and should push on and find my love for my work again. She told me that was out of character in the short time she knew me she saw me over come my T and other things and she told me she want back to school at 28 and here she was helping me. It was at that moment I told her I don't love my job anymore I liked and enjoyed it now but there was no love after the last hard five years of busting my ass I learned I didn't want it to end like this. Just being a shadow helping to create and uphold others stories. So now here I sit thinking what started this journey well it was my T I got in Banff and every time I return to that place, I have discovered something new about myself. My T helped me to see the truth, my T helped me discover old fears and conquer them.

The path ahead of me is full of many wondrous new doors that are just waiting to be walked through. It's been an intense last few months and for the first time in my life I am so happy and so full of hope. I know I will fall and as my hands race to grab onto the path before I slip away and lose my way I will draw upon all I have learned from my T dig my hands in and pull myself back up and keep pushing.

To all my friends on here please never give up hope, I know it's painful but as long as we keep pushing, working and believing there will always be hope.

 

Hey Knightofknots - Dear Sir Knots, This a truly wonderful personal story and an inspiration to us all. I relate to your pushing and refusal to buckle despite at times wanting to. I came to realise from my T that "suffering without meaning is just suffering". I went back to my old loves of painting and theatre and have excelled in both since the onset in March this year. I didn't quit my day job but seriously thought about it. Ultimately we all have to adapt to the stress and changes and some of us resent the adaptations (I don't really want to wear ear plugs to bars!) but that doesn't mean we become lesser people in the adaptation. I truly admire you and please keep posting from time to time. Xmas cheers to you. David