The Positivity Thread

It really didn't take to long. After the initial onset the intensity took about 6-8 months to decline to an acceptable level. However being a truck driver your environment is constant sound/noise. The engine roaring and the road noise seemed to distract from the ringing. I believe it is just my mind adjusting to a new environment and learned to cope.

 

Somebody once told me that the screaming in my ears was the Angels calling me.

 

My ears haven't rung 90% of the day! It only revved up when I had caffeine and it comes in when I push my jaw forward.

 

I have had T for about a month now, I think it is starting to lower a bit. Or I may be starting to care about it less. For me positivity seems to be key. I know I have a bright future ahead.

 

Good news everyone!

RINGING OF THE EARS (ET COMMUNICATION)

I have no idea how I stumbled upon this video.

 

You must be the happiest man in the world if you can take something like this and turn it into something so positive.

 

As difficult as it is to explain to someone what T is like, it is also difficult for me to convey how I have adapted to it. It's such a personal condition and there are as many ways to cope as there are people with the condition

 

It is very personal and subjective. I am glad to hear it's not just something you have accepted, but it's something you have embraced.

If you don't mind, I'm curious, what tone is your T (approximate kHz)? Is it pretty steady and constant or does it change?

 

I'm not familiar with kHz etc...it is a constant high pitched ring like a dial tone and never changes up or down...on a scale of 1-10 I would say 7 if that helps...

 

@Alue buddy in the video probably watches X-Files way too much

 

I know or ancient aliens. I thought it was amusing, if not a little dark humor in looking for something positive.

 

the fact that it never changes is great. my tinnitus changes all the time.

 

I feel after 6 days of improvement doing the treatment I am doing, I feel I owe this thread this post. Six days may be too soon but not after reading about a perfectly healthy 58 year old UK man who committed suicide after 6 days of T.

Whatever it is about the combination of Prednisone + sound therapy + vitamins I am doing has worked wonders. After 6 days of hell, constant T, I have had an overall great week, relatively speaking, since I started. Whether I started at a 5 and got it down to total silence, or at a 5 and got it to a 3, every day I have had consistent, gradual improvement. It resets every morning, and this is the only mystery left to solve, but every day by noon or evening I do what I have been doing, and I am at peace with my T either out or so low it's completely out of the way.

Either I got total silence for short time periods, barely audible unless I listen for it for long periods, or very manageable T at a manageable volume. I will see how it goes once I am off of it, but even if this is all I get, I consider it a major success compared to the alternative, the relentless horror it was for the first 6 days. I'm basically back to feeling normal again, though obviously still not ready to go back to music production just yet, and won't consider myself cured until I can get back to that and it stays gone for good even beyond Prednisone+ sound therapy. Don't know how long it's going to last, don't know if it will go away for good, but being able to do things to reduce it quickly, consistently every single day, is the biggest thing for me so far. Maybe I am just lucky and I acted quickly and got on medication and sound therapy(basically anything that could affect it, relieve it in terms of sound therapy, I tried ). If it worked, I did more of it. I want to thank everyone here for your continued support, posting videos, information, and all of your experiences. I hope what I have been documenting can help others that are on a similar course/time frame with theirs to get similar relief.

I will say this. Even if it turns out to be temporary, and we will find out soon enough, I would much rather have the week I just had, than my first week. When I read that article about that an otherwise perfectly healthy 58 year old man, I start and wonder if he would still be here if he would have stumbled on this forum and stories like this, as opposed to insensitive, uninformed doctors telling him there is no cure and he is shit out of luck. If it helps even 1 member get similar relief, and consistent results like I got, great! I know it's helped me from a psychological/therapy standpoint to document the positive progress.

 

This thread is exactly what I needed. Thank so much! New to this whole thing.

My positive today is that I have a fantastic support system in the most amazing parents and friends! May it be the same for everyone on here!

 

Karen, you should post on the "Introduce yourself" forum? Let us know a little more about your situation.

Btw, welcome to TT.

 

I get it! I'm not there yet, but I totally get this and so appreciate you saying it. Yes, it's odd to accept (even embrace!) something that seems so unacceptable. And it even seems impossible to do. But it isn't. I believe it takes letting go of attachment to me and my desires for crazy stuff -- like perfection and some kind of pass from the human condition. Letting go, accepting, even embracing does not mean surrendering or losing. I don't accept someone hitting me. And I don't accept harmful ideas, such as the idea that tinnitus will ruin my life. But I am more and more accepting the idea that I am capable of learning to live with tinnitus, even to thrive with it and be enriched. That's crazy, right? But so is believing that I get to choose what suffering comes my way; so is fighting the waves with my sword - (a little reference to Irish folklore). And if one day my tinnitus disappears, I will probably spend some time being extremely nervous about it coming back and resist accepting the silence! We humans are a pile of contradictions that we torture ourselves with. I am so grateful for your post. It has echoed in my head as a sweet accompaniment to the darned ringing.

 

Hi everybody,

I've been having loud T for 3 month (you can see my story on Introduce yourself forum), and I am very happy to tell you that over the last week, my T went from 8-9 to 1-2. I have also successfully withdrawn from AD mirtazapine (Remeron) which IMO contributed to this spike / this new level of T.

Before quitting AD, my T diminished to 2 only if I slept for more than 10 hours.. now I am having the same result after 7 hours of sleep.

YEEEEEEY

I can't stress enough how happy I am

Good luck to you all.. wishing you silent days!

Lana

 

Well, it has been over two years with T... time goes by.

It has been a long time since the last time I came to TT, and for some reason I was thinking about the ringing in my ears and decided to drop by just to tell everyone that I have lived a happy life since I´ve got tinnitus.

I switched jobs a year and a half ago and have worked in Zambia, Mexico, and Colombia. I´ve met some good friends, got a new girlfriend, gained working experience, and travelled a lot. Tinnitus has not runied a single moment of my life, other things have occupied my mind, my feelings, and my attention.

When I got T I fell in depression and suffered significantly. I thought my life was over.

Now looking backwards I realize that it was not and the past two years have been simply great.

This goes to all of those who are suffering. There was light at the end of tunnel for me and certainly for you all.

Just think that the best is yet to come.

PS: If you are interested to see how I improved you can check my threads and posts. There are not many.

 

Was about to post this as a separate thread but saw the positivity thread and thought it might be better placed in here
.
So this is for anyone who, like me, may have experienced anxiety as a result of having tinnitus.

https://www.the-pool.com/health/mind/2016/4/is-there-ever-an-upside-to-anxiety


Its basically the upside of being anxious

 

When I'm feeling beaten with my T and H which is exactly how I'm feeling now I always read this poem to myself that I found on a card blowing down the road one day,I took it as a sign but hey whatever
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high and you want to smile but have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest,if you must,but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
and many a failure turns about when he might have won had he stuck it out,
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the cloud of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst you must not quit.

Gives me a slight bit of positivity so thought it was relevant

 

Love that poem.
My daughter bought me a are with that on over ten years ago. I have it somewhere.

 

I saw this written recently but sadly I can't give credit to the author.
"Whatever the mind can conceive, and believe, it can achieve. "

 

I didn't find this post till just now. I have been experiencing this too at night for the last week or so. Sometimes the louder it gets the more comfort I feel. It's really nice.
It's like the comfort I get from sleeping under the light of an outdoor, mercury-vapor lamp, or the rushing wind and sleet against my car when I slept on the mountain after working/snowboarding.

 

Hi all. Haven´t been in the forums for a while (as I don´t need them anymore, never thought I´d get to that point) but I thought I´d drop by just to share my success story and offer some hope.
So I got hit with T last august out of nowhere, my best guess is it was connected to a severe sinuitis I had on the same side that same month. Suddenly one night I just woke from my ear ringing. At first I tried not to panic and hoped it would pass but unfortunately it stuck.
My T is two tone. I have a super-high pitched white noise going on and a lower more tonal sound, both on the same ear. I've had my hearing checked, it's barely within normal but significantly worse on my T ear than on my good ear that has no T and it's the middle range that is worst, I notice I don't hear our cat meowing when he wants to get let in anymore. I also have to turn my head sometimes in order to be able to judge from what direction a sound is coming. My ent says my hearing isn't bad enough to cause T....however I only have T on the ear with lowered hearing so I don't get where he gets that from.
Anyways. My first months with T were pure hell. I was in total despair, felt my life was over as I knew it, panicky, not able to sleep, feeling super depressed, not coping at all. Getting through a day at the office was hell, hyperacussis, holding my ears like a crazy person at every slight sound, earplugs always with me etc. Could not sleep or function without masking for months. Had to have loud chirping cricket sounds by my bedside on all night to try and mask the T. I really was in despair.

7 months in. I'm habituated. I never thought I´d say. Do I still hear it? Yes. If i listen, always. Do I still think about my T everyday? yes. It's with me always. The difference is my reaction. I don't go into despair anymore. It doesn't bother me or give me panic attacks I just sort of notice yes it's still there but my gut doesn't wrench and I don't go into that hopelessness. What helped? Masking and time. TIME really was the key. My brain adapted I guess. It's worse some weeks, better some but ever present. I don't perceive it as equally invasive as I used to. My T isn't super loud but still always there and it was impossible at first to cope. I sang if there was no other sound or i felt i would go insane. I could hear it over most everything even though it isn't super loud but because of the high hissing pitch that goes over everything. The tonal sound gets quite loud at times, luckily it calms down also at times, still always there. But somehow life did go back to normal although I was sure that would never ever be possible.

So hang in there newbies. It WILL get easier. A LOT easier. Life is still there on the other side ( or rather next to) Tinnitus. I still carry earplugs at all times and use them frequently. I'm much more sensitive to sound and some noises trigger my T and make it worse. But all in all, life is good again.

 

I've had t for over 20 years too. It's only in the last few years when it means sometimes I'm awake for hours and can't break the sounds down - I have to push through the next day of work and it makes the t worse. I have plenty of strategies to relax and arrange the week to accommodate getting enough rest and exercise. It's the - get up and fight - run a marathon type of energy that i wish wouldn't happen in the middle of the night. Being positive is so important - if the negative thoughts become physical then self harm could seem so easy. Why you feel so alone in these moments is weird because - in reality you may be being strong for the many. Being positive also means that when things are good you let yourself enjoy those times. Finding this group has been so good - for so many years I thought t was something not to talk about as it proved I was unwell.

 

Though hostile noises surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord. Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord. They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire.
But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord. These enemies did their best to kill me, but the Lord rescued me. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.
Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
After a rough weekend of T in the 6-7 range I woke this morning and prayed Psalm 118:10-15 changing the nations to noises -within a hour my T became the quietest it has been in months-almost to the point that is was gone. Continuing in prayer for you and me.
Do You Hear What I Hear Tinnitus+
This is a true story- granted my T came back but I was truly conscious of the peace while it lasted and have found that the attack of T has less power over me than it did when it first became reactive- I still have bad days but I am so thankful for the good ones!

 

It does get better, I do feel better compared to last week, I think your brain slowly stops thinking of it as a threat, and therefore the "fight or flight" response starts to diminish.

 

I don't care about my tinnitus at all any more. I'm not scared of it, I don't think about the future with it, it doesn't hold me back one little bit. I still hear it, probably less than I did at first but I don't think it's going to disappear anyway.

I only even think about it at night when in bed in my silent room, but my thoughts are not negative or worrying. It's not an intrusive noise to me at all, I don't even really have a wish for it to go away or for a cure anymore. I'm not sure I would even spend the time going to get a cure.

 

I felt my life was over when the ringing started. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep (still can't), but reading the positive and cheerful posts of people on here honestly helped me. It makes me feel less alone, that there are like 100 million worldwide suffering from this. I don't have the actual data on the statistics, but I read some time ago that there are close to 70 million worldwide? And I'm guessing this figure only reflects the reported cases of tinnitus. There are probably millions more who ignore their condition because it's not too severe. And there are new sufferers each day. I have also been reading Japanese and Chinese blogs/websites as well and there are just soooo, sooo many people suffering out there. At first, all I could think was, "why me, why was I so stupid to get this stupid ear infection, why, why is the brain so stupid." I cried so much. I still cry, but I feel calmer today to write this post.

What I want to say is, I'm starting to feel less sorry for myself. I didn't want to go out, because I've grown afraid of noise and sounds in public, mall music, loudspeakers, cinemas, every thing makes me jump. I'm also deathly afraid of silent rooms now. But I really have the best father in the world, because after this hell started, he encouraged me to be brave and fight it, and that my world is never over. But today I went out for a movie with my sister. I hear the stupid EEEEE in both ears while wearing earplugs at the movies, but I forced myself to focus on the movie instead of that stupid EEEEE (and another roaring sound in my right ear on top of it). I was a nervous wreck walking through the malls, there was just so much noise. I could even hear the anklet bells on some girl who was walking near me (but I couldn't pinpoint the girl). I could hear so many things I wasn't aware before and I swore I could hear my tinnitus. I tried so hard to be normal because I didn't want to make my sister sad, tried to joke etc. Lol, but I still cried on the way home in the car just now.

I'm still hopeful for a cure a few years down the road. I try to remain positive, considering all the breakthroughs medical science has achieved in recent years regarding AIDS, cancer, etc. Only positivity will give me the strength to face each day. It is excruciating and still very hard. But I will stay hopeful. I've raged for more than a month, cried for weeks, was suicidal, but if I die, my family will be devastated and I cannot do that to them. I'm not the only one suffering in this world, those people are still living. And I want to be alive, I want to be here when they find a cure.

Reading positive posts from people here really helps me. I want to thank those who gave me hugs in my introduction thread, and responded to me. Thank you so much.

 

Thank you everyone for the positive thoughts. Have a wonderful day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!