The Positivity Thread

One of the nice things about living in a relatively warm climate is that the cicadas are out at night, and they cover high pitched tinnitus fairly well.

 

I remember when I woke up sometime in July of 2015 and thought my fan or something in my house was making the noise. I remember closing my ears with my fingers and still hearing it. I remember thinking that my life was over and I would NEVER be able to deal with it as I already had terrible anxiety and stress and this was going to push me over the edge. I remember as time went on the most I adapted. I remember that it will NOT become my life even though it tries every chance it gets. I remember I still enjoyed my life and being around friends, family and outside my bedroom really helped. I remember I have spikes and bad days/weeks but they DO get better. I remember the friends I made on here and how they helped me get through it. I remember that although you think tinnitus is going to beat you, you WILL beat it. Remember everyday is a day to make things better, even just a very little bit no matter how bad they seem to be.

 

Thank you for the post. I have had t for 3 years and kinda going thru a rough patch right now. I am just trying to stay positive and move forward

 

One can never have enough friends, their support and encouragement can be vital, especially in the early days of tinnitus. The friends we make here on TT are valuable to us, more than we know actually. This is because they truly understand what tinnitus can do to a person.

This forum has been a lifeline for me and I suspect it has been for many others as well.

Thank-you for your post @Kylie V.

 

This is my first post on tinnitustalk and it could only be to this thread because I truely believe the only way to make a change is through positivity like this!! We all need positive support to get through this.

I’ve had constant T since the beginning of this year so I’m still fairly new to it. My T goes all over the place from mild and barely noticeable to a loud demon I can’t escape and my emotions are all over the place with it. The anxiety is the toughest part and the fear that I’ll get stuck in a loud flare up forever, but the one thing that keeps me going is reading peoples positive messages. So thanks to everyone who’s posted to this thread .

The things I’ve learnt so far:
- try not to think about it. If it’s quiet don’t check if it’s still there. This is a trap I keep falling into
- avoiding caffeine helps me
- passionflower tablets and the sound of rain from a noise generator help me sleep
- staying active is a great distraction

Good luck everyone and if you are suffering remember you are not alone, there is help out there and you can still have a fulfilling life.

P.s if anyone has advise on dealing with the fear of a spike/ flare up happening let me know

 

Welcome to the forum, @Cleat90, it is nice to meet you. The positivity thread is a great place to start reading when you join Tinnitus Talk. I spent many hours browsing this part of the forum during my early days with tinnitus. Like you, I needed to remain as calm and as positive as possible.

Thank-you for this, it is comforting to know that we are not alone.

 

Thanks for the welcome @emmalee. I've taken a quick look at your profile and I just want to say you are an inspiration. The amount of people you've taken the time to reply to is something else. Being so helpful and positive even in the face of your own T is a real credit to yourself.

I hope you are dealing with you T well and if you have any advice on reducing anxiety that would be great. I'm hoping that will help reduce the intensity of my T as it seems to spike/flare up the more anxious I get.

 

Oh my, thank-you for your kind words, @Cleat90.

I deal with my tinnitus one day at a time and this has helped me a great deal. If today was a good day, then hopefully tomorrow will be just as good or maybe even better. I try not to let my mind wander too far into the future with all of the "what ifs" that can make me anxious, or even stressed.

What works for my anxiety, which I surely do deal with, just as you do, is by doing easy yoga (think gentle stretching) every evening before bedtime. This helps me to sleep better by relaxing my muscles and easing any neck and jaw tension.

I also incorporate meditation and mindfulness into my yoga, all three are very much intertwined together to begin with. They each require one to focus on breathing properly, something that is so very important when anxiety strikes.

I posted this link in another thread, yesterday. You may find it helpful. It is a nice easy beginner guide to meditation.

https://zenhabits.net/meditation-guide/

 

Thanks for the advice and link @emmalee. I’ve realised that anxiety and stress go hand in hand with the intensity of my T so this is very helpful. It’s difficult to avoid stress in daily life so anything to manage that and then control the anxiety will hopefully make a difference. I’ll give meditation and Yoga a go and report back! I’ll also keep an eye on this thread and try to support anyone else who is going through this just like you have.

Thanks again

 

What kind of yoga stretches do you do?

I have been doing yoga daily for a couple of months now (on average 15 minutes a day), but I can't say I have had much benefit of it yet. It helps (sometimes) a bit when doing it, but no lasting effect.

I will keep it up though... maybe at some point I will get benefit from it.

 

Here is the video I use @TheDanishGirl. I try to do my yoga at the same time every day, evening/before bedtime. I find this helps me to commit.

She also has plenty of other videos that you may prefer.

Yoga For Beginners - Gentle Full Body...

 

You are more than welcome @Cleat90.

 

Not sure how many people monitor/ look at this thread but I wanted to share a positive experience I had last night. I went to a British Tinnitus Support Group meeting and it was amazing. I may have been lucky that everyone who was there was positive but meeting other people who are going through the same thing as me has been a big help. The members who have had the condition for a long time were particularly great to chat to. I felt so much better after the meeting and feel really positive today. If you are in the UK I would highly recommend finding your nearest support group and going along. If you're not in the UK have a look online to see if you can find an alternate support group, it's worth the effort.

I'm not the most outgoing guy and I've been particularly introvert since the onset of my tinnitus so it took a lot to go along but I feel like a slight weight has been lifted as a result!

 

Hi, @Cleat90.

I am very happy to hear this. Support groups can be so helpful, how nice that you have found one where you feel comfortable, even better that it is near enough to you. The closest support group to me is over 35 miles away.

 

I have had tinnitus for a month, every night as I try to fall asleep, I tell myself that this will get better and I listen to my partners breathing, it is enough to soothe me into sleep.

I find that I don't notice T much during the day, only at night as I fall asleep and on the mornings as I wake up. It definitely motivated me to get out of bed and start my day with enthusiasm!

As a nurse, I feel grateful for my health I have and I have faith that this will get better. I have been practicing mindfulness techniques and redirecting my brain away from the ringing. I am determined to take care of myself.

We are so much more powerful than we give ourselves credit for, we can overcome this.

 

I have the utmost respect for nurses, they deal with people who endure pain and suffering on a daily basis. You are to be admired @Brydie, taking care of others while dealing with tinnitus is truly inspiring.

I practice mindfulness techniques, too. We have to do whatever it takes to help us cope, and yes, we do have much more power than we give ourselves credit for.

 

Wish I had that outside my house. Is your tinnitus loud and it still covers it?

 

Do you hear your tinnitus in a quiet room with no tv or music on? How loud is it in a quiet room?

If it’s not impacting your job and you mainly hear it at night and can sleep in silence, your tinnitus is probably very mild!

I too don’t notice it much during the day when I’m out of the house. But in silence it’s loud enough to be bothersome and I need some music or sound on to block it.

 

I think to myself, I could have worse health problems, and be thankful this is all I have. I'm still able to do everything I need to do. I guess that's what keeps me going.

I have had this since 2008. I'm starting to adjust to the new level of tone loudness that has come on a few months ago.

The current loudness has cause me to go have my ears checked, and it sound like It's possible to have the hearing restored in my bad ear, so that's a good thing.

 

Good morning all, I thoroughly enjoyed this thread regarding being positive. There is an old saying, " you are what you think..." literally. What thoughts or affirmations we put forth, come back to us in kind. And by human nature, if we continue to complain and look for the gloom, day after day, that is what will come back to us; it is called the Law of Attraction. Constant thoughts of doom and gloom, that is all you will ever receive in return. And yes, sometimes it is not easy, we all have our challenges.

And in the same note, I reiterate that I do not live in a dream world, our pains in life, physical or other, are very real. And I do not intend to dilute what we encounter in life, good or bad. But a positive attitude, for the most part, is the key to surviving life's ups and downs. Clinical research has so proven.

Do you ever notice some people constantly walk around complaining? Nothing satisfies them. They complain and want everyone around them to hear. Well, these are the same people that have no hope, no visions, they never smile and you can bet, they never are thankful for what they do have. And whoever they talk to, they want to feel the same. I feel sorry for these people, for joy is the panacea for many ills and maladies.

Just remember: When you start to complain about how bad you have it, just look around, there is always someone out there worse off than you. That's a fact.

So thanks for this uplifting topic, let's be positive, hopeful and joyful as we traverse our lives, physical and mental healing is sure to come our way.

Smile and have gratitude... be thankful everyday... I wish everyone here on their own path to good health and happiness.

the Sage

 

Went to movies first time since getting T and I was able to watch the movie and my T and H was unaffected

Also there was technical difficulties with lights that interrupted the movie (no badly) so everyone got free ticket to movies!

I am very, very very happy that I know I can go to movies again!

I had my earplugs with me just in case but I did not need them!

Tomorrow I have appointment with audiologist and I know more about my situation.

 

the Sage

 

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to share that I feel much better regarding my tinnitus. As someone who hates silence, you will not be so surprised to know that I got used of my tinnitus after 3 weeks If my tinnitus wants to stay, so be it! I'll call him "Mon petit Nittus" that mean in English "My little Nittus". 'Cause "petit Nittus" sound like tinnitus haha (tinnitus is Acouphène in French!)

Now a really strange success story regarding my main problem:

Actually my main problem is that recently, 3 weeks after my trauma; hyperacusis slowly emerged in my right ear. But tonight, my girlfriend asked me to come to the kitchen while she was cooking meat. The meat was making a loud noise that you all know when you put butter in the stove. So when I came in the kitchen, I suddenly felt pain and complained about it. Again. My GF was, I think, sick of me, told me to come in the living room, and then we had a deep conversation about my pain. She told me that I surely had pain but that I overreacted a bit. Also that it was my mental state which amplified and created my pain. That EVERYTHING regarding hyperacusis (not my tinnitus) was fake.

And you know what? My hyperacusis totally disappeared when I decided to trust her. She always had the power to appease me. But my ear ?? Like wtf? How is this even possible? She said "This is fake", and then it really is fake? Hell yeah it is, she is my soul mate, only she can talk to my subconscious. My hyperacusis is totally gone. She is a real angel. I cannot be more sure that she is the love of my life

The power of the mind (Love? ) is really powerful, do not underestimate this.
Just a love/positivity story I wanted to share with you guys.

Much love and wish you the best

 

Not my own story, but.... I was on a course today [mindfulness would you believe] and I got talking to a guy who said he had tinnitus. Young bloke, mid 30's I'd say.

He said he had his measured on AudioNotch and it came in at just under 14000 Hz in one ear and a woo-woo in his opposite ear. Hears it above everything, always present. Got it from loud music and motorbikes.

He said he's had it so long that he can't remember and is totally at peace with it. He even said he focuses on it when he wants to block out another noise. Then there's me just getting by.

I guess the moral of the story is it's how we view it.

Still... much rather I didn't have to listen to it.

 

@Blodorn That's wonderful! My wife - and my kids - complain that I talk about my tinnitus symptoms all the time. I've been trying to rein it in, and my hyperacusis has become significantly better. Not gone completely, but I'm tolerating sounds I didn't previously manage. As she's a doctor - formerly a GP, now a consultant psychiatrist - she tends to be a bit sceptical about tinnitus in general, especially what she calls "crackpot cures" and "quack medicine"! She may have a point about some of them. But whilst sometimes we do need a hug and some sympathy, at other times we do need a bit of a gentle encouragement (or a boot up the backside) to stop being too overcautious and take steps towards getting our lives back.

I still always take earplugs when I leave the house, but round the house, not so much. I don't even have them in my pocket all the time at home, which is progress also.

 

@jdanield, those breathing exercises are great. Some people may benefit from what I was taught though, which is to spend longer on the out-breath, and to wait longer after the out-breath and before the next in-breath. Perhaps up to five times as long, and to make it as slow and controlled as possible. The reason is that I had got into bad breathing habits and was not breathing from my diaphragm or emptying my lungs properly before my next breath in. This was before my tinnitus even started spiking. These excercises certainly helped me, but sometimes I have to take time out and consciously spend 3 or 4 minutes working on this throughout the day.

I had all sorts of tests carried out on me - x-rays, CT scan, the works - before they concluded I did not have asthma or any physical problems, but it was a nervous habit, probably due to a difficult job situation and my sister's marriage coming to an end and my father dying all within a year or two of each other. Doing much better now though!

 

Today, right now, might be the quietest day I've had in a long time. Tomorrow marks 6 weeks for me. Yesterday I came home from work, crying, tired, angry "over it". I took my sleeping pill early and passed out around 9. Woke up a few times at night but cumulatively got more sleep than I've had in some time. Today was pretty quiet, and this evening very quiet. Sleep is so crucial to the emotional strength to deal with tinnitus. I advise anyone if they're truly struggling with sleep for days on end, to get something to help with that. In my case, trazodone.

 

Hey guys. Here's some more positive vibes being sent out to you all! It sucks, but stay hopeful. Lean on your friends and family when you need help and I'm always here to talk if people need!

 

Oh and those stupid tree frogs in the Caribbean! They would drive me insane. Just would not shut up.

But at least I was able to plug my ears on that one.