The Positivity Thread

For the first time in 3 months, I woke up without the usual electrical tinnitus symptoms that sound like white noise for several hours, and subsequently changes into a higher pitch sound that lasts until about midnight. I assumed that when I got up from bed it would start as usual, but it didn't. During the night, when I woke up a few times, the white noise/electrical sounds were there, but more "transparent" than previously. I don't know what to attribute to this. I did a guided 15 minute MP3 tinnitus meditation yesterday, and had been taking lithium orotate (very low dose OTC supplement) for the previous 5 days which may have relaxed my adrenal system a bit. I'm also starting to get interested in the possibility that I've had low cortisol levels, which is now believed to make tinnitus worse, and delay or prevent habituation, in some tinnitus sufferers. I may order a cortisol saliva test that can be done at home. There are solutions for low cortisol. In any case, although I have some symptoms of tinnitus right now, at 1:45 PM, it's mild to moderate and may improve as the day goes on.

 

I joined a tinnitus support group today and everyone was so lovely, it was very encouraging and gave me a lot of hope. If I didn't have tinnitus I wouldn't have met such lovely people.

I feel like I'm losing it, I'm so overwhelmed and stressed so it was so helpful to be told this is a very normal reaction and I'm not going crazy.

 

My T. is much better than last week. So I guess now that there is a reason for a thread like this. I hope it will get much better than what it currently is.

 

It got better! I really don't care about it anymore!

 

Congratulations! That's great.

 

That's great. I wish I could finally get a reduction.

 

I feel you. I had a small decrease for about a week and it felt so magical.

 

The ideat that you don't really care about it anymore is probably as important, if not more so, than the fact that it got better. It's possible that not caring has brought about an improvement, as well.

In any case, I'm glad for you and congratulations!

 

I need to come on here every day for a couple of sooonfulls of positivity.
Thanks Demi
Jazzer xx

 

What up

I woke up one day with T in my right ear (10/12/2017). It's a high pitched ring, but here the positive part, within only a month I feel like I'm starting to habituate and the sound is starting to soften. Before, almost nothing could mask it and now suddenly I have to "search" for the sound to even hear it and things like the hum of my computer can mask it.

I did have a bad spike a few days ago, but so far I'm 4 days like this, and hoping for many more.

HANG IN THERE!

 

God you're so lucky. Seems like you're truly hearing.

 

Going on a cruise tomorrow for a week with family and loved ones to the Caribbean and Mexico on one of the biggest cruise ships in the world, Harmony of the Seas. Ya, my T is blasting away most morning when I wake up but I don't give a dime to it anymore and live my life abundantly instead. What is the next fun thing to do? Positivity rules supreme!!! Couldn't to that initially but at some point, habituation kicks in and the heck with T. Up, up and away to the mighty cruise ship. See you all later. Life is not over after T. You can beat this T bully. My travel is nothing compared to what Aaron's shared with us in his success story:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...are-with-you-some-pictures-i-took-after.3268/

Harmony of the Seas:

 

Wow that looks fantastic, Billie48! I hope that you have a great time, you deserve it! There's so much to do on these ships, one of that size must have even more than some of the cruise ships I've been on, and your destinations will, I'm sure, be lovely as well.

 

HI guys, I’m gee
Just contracted tinnitus and could use some support right now. Any funny jokes or positive things you can say please send my way!

 

I went for an one hour walk by the beach today without hearing my T at all! Damn I can't tell you how good it felt. And overall my T has been really silent today. Barely hearable. Gives me hope for the future! I don't think it'll ever disappear but hopefully it will go back to the pre-spike days where it was only noticeable when I sat in a silent room.

 

Positive! Went 2 entire days absolute PEACE followed by day & half very faint noises. Screaming tones now but the previous days make the screeching more bearable. I look forward to the peaceful cycle days to follow.

 

Great thread!

 

Me when I beat tinnitus =>

Scary Movie Dave Sheridan as Doofy Gilmore /...

 

So here's my little story that gives me some hope(and hopefully hope to others).

I've had T since 10/20/2017. I may very well have had it for longer but it was extremely quiet, I can't be certain from memory. I say this because the onset of the T(it's only in my right ear) seemed to not really have a cause. Yes I've been to concerts but it's been over 15 years, plus I don't blast my music when I would wear headphones and there were no sudden loud noises. I walk by people at work with buds in and I can hear their music perfectly they are cranking it so loud, it's crazy!

Anyways, after 1 week I got to see an NP who checked my ears and said both of them had fluid. So she put me on Flonase. I took that for about a month, which was my next appointment with her. After two weeks of using it my T decreased by probably 40-50%, so that was promising! At my check-up after taking it for a month she said the fluid was gone, yet the T, now decreased, was still there. I saw an ENT shortly thereafter and he didn't have much to say without doing some testing. I had a CT scan and an ultrasound done, and I have a hearing test coming up, after which I'll see him again and go over all that.

I started to wonder if maybe my neck or jaw had a part to play because if I clench my teeth, or move my lower jaw forward, I get a much louder ringing sound until I stop doing it. Sometimes my jaw muscle, and my neck a bit, does feel a bit tense in the back closer to my ears so I don't know if I really have a TMJ issue or not. I don't think I ever had a grinding of teeth issue BUT I do have a habit of biting my lip which produces a similar motion. Along with that I do tend to chew on my right side much more than the left due to tooth issues I had in the past. So it kind of became a habit. Whenever I sleep at night, usually on my back 90-95% of the night and the rest on my left side, the T can get a bit funny. My perception of it seems to change a tad. It'll seem a bit louder and/or it'll seem like it's not only in my right ear anymore. That always goes away though and it returns to how it is now in my right ear. If I plug my ears I only hear the T in my right ear and no T whatsoever in my left. Anyways, that's what I've come to understand about it so far.

Now, on to the POSITIVE parts of this post! Over Thanksgiving weekend I had a good 2 days where the T was so low I had to really pay attention to find it, even with my ears plugged. I never thought I would be so excited to hear almost complete silence! However as soon as Monday hit it slowly but surely returned to what it is now, which isn't too bad, but still pretty disappointing. I've become much more accepting that this will be my little annoying friend for the rest of my life, but I like to hold out some hope it'll resolve entirely based on that weekend. IMO it's better to accept it's not going away and then acclimate to it. False hope is one of the worst motivators because it can turn out very badly! Anyways, with my being more accepting of it it has definitely made it easier to deal with. When I'm at work I can ignore it almost completely with the hustle and bustle of the office. I feel I'm also more tolerant of hearing the T when I'm in the quiet of my own home. One thing that REALLY helps me is the fact my T does not seem keep me awake at all. I've continued to have a very good night's sleep despite having it. I do use a fan to provide some background noise though, so I don't know if I would sleep as well without it. If I was having bad nights because of the T I would be absolutely miserable!

I know there are a lot of you having a hard time with T, and some who have issues with depression and need to take meds. I really wish the best for you all. If there's one thing this has shown me it's that these things take time. Some may need more than others. Try not to focus on things like, "Oh am I still going to have this in 5 years? Will it get worse?!". Focus more on dealing with how you feel towards it NOW and you may find that one day you realize you don't care enough about it for it to bother you!

 

Just came back from 2 weeks of vacation cruising on that awesome ship. All I can say is fun, fun, and more fun. So many things to do on that ship. I even tried the zip line and climbing the rock wall. The beaches on those shore excursions are just heavenly. Life is not lost even after T. Did my T stop blasting? Not really. I can hear it if I pay attention. But most of the time it is ignored by the brain which is surrounded by so many exciting and fun things to do. The heck with T. It got faded out of consciousness most of the time and when I could hear it, it just can't create any negative emotional reaction from me anymore. Considering those early days when the mere hearing of T could trigger the floodgate of hell of panic attacks, this is something that I never believed possible before. So never trust those catastrophic thinking about the future when you are deep in suffering initially. Things will definitely get better if you have the right strategies. God bless all.

 

i saw a great youtube vid on CBT im going to give that a good go, looks like a way forward

 

excellent thread

 

I saw this comment on youtube under one of the 'tinnitus - noise or ringing in the ears' vid. I don't know to which extent this might be true but since this is a positivity thread, I thought I'd reshare the comment here. It's hope after all

"in a year or 5 they should have a pill to rebuild ear hair and synapse connecting inner ear hair to the brain . that is probably damaged .. stem cells research is every where .. the pill tricks the body into growing and fixing synapse .. thats michigan university . good study getting tweaked finished in belgiun or dutchland . all working on it . countries and states .. they know the earbud generation is going to be a flood of ear problems . my ears running now . stay away from noise . lol . lots of things can cause it .. rebuild brain clinic in cali and mexico . might help . mexico has stem cell IV but goes to heart and brain. 30 grand . hold on you will have options soon ."​

 

Hello everyone, I'm 4 days away from my 2 month anniversary with T and I just want to say that it's reduced in volume by about 75%, it's not no longer an issue. I constantly push my brain to not focus on it to make sure it can't get louder or ruin my habituation.

It is getting harder to login to these forums because it tests my will to not think about it after I respond to messages. The longer I don't think about it the happier I am (currently going most of the day without even noticing it). I will however try to come back on the third month if I remember.

Hang in there newbies, this thing gets way easier.

 

I took a walk in the cold NYC weather today and for a brief period, perhaps a few minutes, I felt almost like I did before the onset of the tinnitus some five months ago. It felt good, very good, and the inner sounds were not bothering me. Although the feeling subsided, it was beneficial to remember what life was like before my world was turned upside down with these strange sounds and symptoms, and by what is referred to as Tinnitus Distress. I know that, over time, my reactions to my tinnitus and other sound sensitivities will change and my brain will adapt. This experience today, even though it didn't last very long, really helped to drive the concept of habituation, home.

 

have you had any improvements?

 

Me? Yes, I think so, but I don't know if the tinnitus volume and other sound sensitives have improved much. My wife said earlier today, that I appear to be much better than a month or so ago. I can once again sit down in the evenings and watch a movie on the TV for two hours, which was far more difficult, and which I would often avoid, only a few weeks ago. I've recently been able to sleep better, as well. I don't feel great, due to the Tinnitus Distress syndrome, but lately it's not as bad, and there are moments of relaxation and peace which hopefully will occur more and more in the future.

 

I developed tinnitus last february. Very frustrating, but since I decided to not give up and live my life I got married and my wife is pregnant.
My daughter will born in April.
If I didn't developed tinnitus , probably she would never exist.
So I can assume this tinnitus was a blessing.

ps: I still have T; but you know, after almost 10th month there is a kind of habituation.

 

T has taught me empathy and I have learned my secret identity. Even I didn’t know! I am actually superwoman. ‍♀️ .