The Positivity Thread

I think I did pretty well on my goal for the week. Don't talk about my T as much. (Though ironically my mom is talking more about hers, I had my wellness apt so my doc asked ((yeah, you want to punch them for sensitivity)), and my blessing had some people with T). I stayed busy and I think my mind is kind of tired of obsessing about it.

When I went for drives (huge elevation gaps I live in mountains) my ears calmed down faster and didn't stay in a high pitch rage. My pressurization issue is getting better, but I still have to swallow and I can feel my ears adjust weird while just sitting. The noise seems to flare up when I wake up, and then I've had calmer T days. I haven't even bothered turning the music and masking stuff on. Though I find it does bother me when I still can hear it over the noises outside, but not as much. I even was able to get lost in the movies we watched! (Dragonheart 4 and The Space Between Us, loved'em!)

The power went out Tuesday until 10 and instead of panicking I breathed in, and picked up a book. Even last night after the movie I started on a logo project and edited some coding for a friend.

Nights are still hard as it flares up when I lay down, and the high pitch screamer woke me up one night. But I just tell my T: "You're annoying, I need sleep shhhhhh." I'm sleeping with fewer wakes and now that I have some sleep I'm feeling more with it.

I have a morning routine to get me going and I've gone up 6 lbs. Yeah! (I'm also taking the weight gain as a license to eat lots of cake. But I think I'm going to try baking some donuts to pork out on.)

 

@Shera This is freaking awesome to read! I love hearing about your good week and meeting your goals, fantastic! xoxo RM

 

Thanks. I keep thinking about my good week even though the last two nights were a bit rougher and the T meant business. So that turns my slightly off Monday to better.

 

Okay, so month and half back I was on this forum recommended to try a massage therapist. I didnt give it much of a hope, after all I saw every doctor but doctor Doolittle and their diagnosis was "nah, nothing wrong here either, sorry bud you gotta get used to it". At best, they gave me good tips about how to get used to it.

Now, I do have much of a respect for medical profession, but FFS, how can advice like "you know what, try a massage" on internet forum be more useful than every single one of them?

After 5 one-hour long massages by massage therapist that came highly recommended by a friend my tinnitus after 7 months retreated to point where a cricket, yes a cricket, is louder than actual T. I was just outside, having a smoke at midnight in silent neighbourhood and I couldnt hear it over a cricket. Damn thing used to be louder than Matrix movie. Now its below cricket level. All I did were massages and daily usage of muscle-regenerating creme with some magnesium. My therapist told me I had chronical, proper inflamation of neck and back muscles, straining it all the way to ear with nerve blocade by the size of a wallnut. Literally a smaller wallnut. Said when I came first time my back and neck muscles felt like a cottage cheese. My tension headaches are gone. Brain fog gone. Tinnitus down by serious double percentages and after fifth session she told me that my muscles are now good, just gotta take some time for nerves to regenerate properly. Now, chances are that T wont go away but as long as it stays on this level I can fully habituate in month or two. Even now in fully silent enviroment if I am distracted by something (last time I was trying to kill a fly that was really fast) I dont perceive it at all.

But about the positivity - yay. Anywho, for those who are not in chronic phase still, check with some good massage therapist. Just in case.

 

@Nikopol Massage has really been helping me. Only have had 2 sessions though and I'm spreading them out.

 

@Nikopol This is great news - love hearing this! I am so happy for you. I'm going to a salon later today to get a pedicure but perhaps I should have booked a massage instead? I'm going to look into it for sure! And yep, isn't this forum amazing? Such good information - such a great community of people trying to help each other. xoxo RM

 

I've been away for a while, both from the forum as it gets me down sometimes, and on holiday. Interestingly while away on holiday, I was so busy I rarely noticed my screeching, jet engine tinnitus, it was there, but at the back of my consciousness. Occasionally it come forth, but I managed a really nice, interesting, fun filled break. Now, I'm home and my tinnitus has turned up the volume, and my balance is off again, but hey, when I think back on the last two weeks of blessed peace to a certain degree, I can accept it for what it is. Now that's SUCCESS for me at least!!

Moral of my story, go out, enjoy yourself and LIVE.

 

I find Tinnitus Talk to be very supportive. It makes me feel like I belong to a community and am not alone with this T, which I knew absolutely nothing about until I got it myself three months ago due to acoustic trauma. In fact, I thought that when I became extremely sensitive to noise with the accompanying HA that that just meant I suddenly had excellent hearing [sic]?? ! The research thread in particular gives me hope that science will someday harness the ability to restore hearing to normal and I admit to checking it multiple times per day as an emotional crutch to get me through the work week. I also agree with those who say their ENTs brushed them off. The one I saw did too, along with a few audiologists when they realized my hearing loss wasn't severe enough to sell me a $4000 hearing aid!! I've learned more from this forum and the people contributing than I have from any doctor or audiologist I've seen. I am very proud to be a benefactor.

 

@Flamingo1 Me too! I love it here. I think it's amazing.

 

Why do you think that? If you had seen improvement, it makes sense to expect it to continue to improve.

 

I agree and it's tough for me and others to remain positive, BUT on a positive note it's one gift that we are given and it's up to us to learn how to utilize it, and while were at it "let's spread some around"
I wish you the best!
Glenn

 

"Stay Positive My Friends"

 

I just don't want to get my hopes too high. I found out that unrealistic expectations can plunge you into bad mental state once what you hoped will come won't. Its better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.

Case example, 2 days back I experienced minor spike that last until today. The spike itself wouldn't really bother me, but sound changed from white noise to EeeeEeeeEee tone. That happened in past several times and it always passes after couple of days, at worst week and something. The tone isn't that high either. However while my brain is already for all purposes filtering the white sound and I personally even find it relaxing when going to sleep, the EeeeEeeEee is different. Brain focuses on that, as its a rare sound, and I am not big of a fan either.

Maybe it will pass. If so, great! If not, better continue getting used to it.

 

I know exactly how you feel. In fact, after I accidentally pressed an old landline phone with its volume set to maximum to my bad ear, I switched from a hiss to a high-pitch tone and thus far this has lasted for over a month.

Before my secondary trauma, I switched from a high-pitch tone to a hiss, and the volume was getting quieter. I think that if your T is white noise and is slowly getting quieter, there is a good chance that it might go away (provided you are able to not get a secondary acoustic trauma during the time it takes to get back to normal).

 

I am glad to see a positive forum for T. I got T about 4 months ago after getting Vertigo while visiting my son in El Salvador. I believe I got dehydrated which caused my Vertigo and once cured of Vertigo the T came one morning. At first I was really stressed by it and my doctor gave me some mild sleeping/anti-anxiety pills. Long story short. I am learning to manage this affliction. I stay busy. Once I walk out the door of my apartment I can't really hear the T - its only when I am in my apartment reading, working on computer or sleeping. I downloaded a white noise FAN ap on my Iphone and keep it on all the time when in my apartment. It seems to mask most of the T. I sleep with my bathroom fan on and air purifier in addition to the white noise coming out of my phone. I keep the phone next to me in bed. This masking gets me through the night and my time spent in the apartment. I don't know if I am ever going to get rid of T. Anxiety exacerbates it and certain foods - especially salty food. I cut back on my beer as much as I love beer and used to smoke a cigar in the evening and I had to cut that way back as well. So bottom line for me is masking the T and staying busy and getting outdoors as much as possible. I am 64, single and just trying to stay positive and not let this get me down. Wish you all well and hope you all find ways to manage T.

 

Well I am going to try to stay positive, it;s up to you if you want to or not.

 

My T noise keeps fluctuating, but I'm still keeping my cool. Finished another book and even doing some more custom logo designs. I'm trying to keep busy, but still relax. I'm now to a point when I'm shopping or in the "city" I can't hear my T. During those times my mind isn't obsessed with thinking about it. So that's progress.

I'm enjoying things more and while it's still tough when it spikes at night, I'm getting quieter time frames during the day. A few nights were even pretty quiet.

Though now I have my mom talking more about her T!!! Ha-ha. It blows my goal of not talking about it.

My mom decided to try the massages for her T and that's helped her. I've had my massage and chiro visit and it's like a reset button for me.

 

Nights are tough, aren't they? I feel like no matter how well I ignore it during the day and think positive, one rough moment in the night will toss me back into a panic attack. Every single doubt and worry will come crashing back into my head.

Glad to read you're having some more positive moments during the day!

 

I feel you. When it gets super noisy at night it hurts. I love watching movies, designing, crafting, and reading at night so when it's drowning out the TV it hurts. Though I am to a point where I can keep my panic to a low. I have some anxiety drops (homeopathic) that I take that helps level me out when it gets super loud. Though some of the louder screamers/warblers are slowly going away at night. That helps.

I'm lucky that when I feel super overwhelmed at night I step outside into nature and just walk around the property. The sprinklers on all the fields are going and it sooths me.

I am realizing that while I can't control the noises or speed up my healing, I can control how I react and the activity. It's small but it helps.

 

@Tinker Bell I hear you about the night. I had a CBT therapist several years ago before my T got bad that I would talk to about waking up in the middle of the night and worrying and then not being able to get back to sleep. He said something about the amyglia (sp) which is basically the "chicken little" part of the brain. It is always on guard looking for a reason to say "the sky is falling". It basically is doing its job protecting you. Once he explained that to me, it took the fear out of it.

 

@Shera - I love reading how well you're doing. You're my hero.

 

I wouldn't go that far. I still struggle and definitely have my bad times/thoughts.

I'm keeping sane by focusing on the positive.

 

Me too! I'm always a bit surprised when things go south but they seem to right themselves eventually. Glad I'm not alone in the struggle - I'm right here with you. I was comforted reading one of the forums here that said the road to recovery isn't a straight line - lots of dips and valleys along the way.

 

Hey all, I am back in the "watching" phase after several months of basically no T at all. No T because I really couldn't sleep well when I was recovering from shoulder surgery, so I was so focused on the shoulder discomfort, trying to arrange some kind of sleeping space that wasn't horizontal, trying to find a way to sleep more hours, etc. I wasn't stressed out from work OR sleeping next to a snoring husband in a comfy bed. Somehow that kept my T at bay for months.

Now the shoulder is much better, so I am 100% in the office instead of working from home, working a normal schedule there, using the arm fully, etc. I am back to the point where I can jog, get in the pool (though not swimming really because I can't do that to the shoulder), go to Zumba carefully, etc. Exercise is the key for me, and being able to take Advil again to keep the sore muscles from waking me up does help. (Not every night of course.) Basically I am REALLY TIRED at night, so I fall asleep fast and stay asleep - no T can prevent it if the rest of the body is trying to recover from a hard day's exercise. Note that I'm fast approaching 60, so it's not like I'm some young thing doing this.

I live in California, so medical cannabis (marijuana) is also an option that helped when I was not allowed to take Advil post-surgery. I was just using edibles at a low dose, 50/50 CBD and THC. It helped me stay asleep more than the 3-4 hours I was getting. I don't know if anyone has any positive stories about cannabis and T, but if you do I would love to hear them. I just wish there were a better option for sleeping next to noise - I know that it's common for aging couples to sleep in different rooms for these reasons, but it's still a little sad for me. But hey - whatever it takes to wake up noise-free. I think my husband understands.

So my positivity message today: exercising a lot, notched audio when needed, and sleeping in quiet. Simple but works for me. I hope you too have found a "recipe" that works for you!

 

Had a good night, went quite a while without hearing t, when I did hear it in that time, I tried to quickly block it out, I succeed. The positivity thread kicks ass.

 

Hi everyone,

First of all I would like to say that this is by far the best thread on this forum, as I believe positivity and looking forward are the only things that will ease some of the 'pain' some of us are feeling. My story started 2 years ago, when I got noise induced tinnitus after a festival. First few weeks were a complete hell for me, I couldn't think of anything else and had no idea how to cope with it. After a few months however, I started picking up activities I used to do in the past and living life again. Slowly, but surely, I got my life back on track and the tinnitus got pushed further to the background. It actually got the point where there would be full days I wouldn't think about it. However, last week, I went to a party and tinnitus went up again. Although I'm not in the best mood now, I will conquer it this time as well, and not let it bother my daily life.
All I'm trying to say is: don't let yourself get pushed down in life. I know how hard it can be, but try to live life as normale as possible and eventually you WILL learn to live with it.

 

That was then. But today I am back to normal, living a full, normal, productive and enjoyable life, free from the darkness and tyranny of this tinnitus bully and also drug free……
Today I can truly feel and breathe & see the beauty around me - fresh air, blue sky, green trees, lovely flowers, sweet faces of family and friends, lovely children and all that beauty of nature the Almighty has bestowed so generously for us mortals to enjoy……..
So never say never. The good life can be back. Give it time. T may just disappear or fade.

@billie48 I so needed to read this today….thank you for your amazing life lessons!

 

@billie48 Hmmm, sorry I have not got this quote thing figured out yet….lol.

 

Thank you @Sonic17 for the kind words on my success story. Yes, the day of deliverance from the tyranny of T will come, especially by adopting some good strategies. Try to keep calm and treat spikes or the initial struggles as the little bumps on the road of final habituation. If we know that within months or a year of two things will be more back to normal, that habituation is going to happen or T may be gone or faded, why fret about these bumps.

I know it is easier said than done but try as humanly possible as we can. Why? Because by staying positive and calm or hopeful, we can keep the limbic nervous system away to prevent the Amygdala from taking over in processing the T stimulus. Instead the pre-frontal cortex will take over and it has the role of suppressing fear and keep our reaction towards things more normalized than if we are in 'fight or flight' mode of the limbic system. So this gives the brain a chance to habituate to T faster and easier as the pre-frontal cortex will not treat T as a threat, and by so doing the brain doesn’t have to magnify the T sensation and zoom on it all day. Therefore, being positive and hopeful is not just a wishful thing. It actually can affect the way the body and the brain will function, the Parasympathetic system and Pre-frontal Cortex vs the Limbic system and Amygdata (the fight or flight center). So it makes sense to choose to stay more positive and hopeful as this is a psychosomatic battle we are having with the T bully. Let’s choose wisely our mental weapon against T. Take care. God bless.

 

It is quite simple. Just highlight any text you want to quote, and the quote prompt will show. If you wish to quote the entire post, then there is no need to highlight any text. Just click the Quote button at the bottom right of the post. Hope this will help.