Tinnitus Distractions — What Do You Like to Do to Keep Distracted from Your Tinnitus?

I love puzzles. I didn't realize how much I liked them until I got tinnitus. If I never got tinnitus I would've never tried Sudoku or Rubik's Cube.

I also love crochet.

Those are just some of the ways I distract myself.

I was curious to know what other people do.

Granted, my tinnitus is not super loud puzzles help when I'm in a waiting room or other quiet environment.

Please share your hobbies.

 

Woodworking is relaxing.

 

Good thread Lilly, I think these kind of things which make your mind really think is great. It helps you to learn to concentrate again and let the tinnitus fall to the background. I used to have a rubix cube don't use it much anymore, but I do a lot of LSAT practice tests which have a lot of logical, riddle type questions. I also read a lot of physics and cosmology books, which can get pretty confusing, which is a nice distraction from tinnitus.

Other than that I think my best distraction when needed is physical exercise, lifting, sports, or bike riding, kayaking, hiking.

 

Exercising is great! I also read lots. I went through a period of finishing 250 page books in two days. I'm striving to put away 900 pages in four days.

 

Playing with my dog, tennis, skating outside in the winter, watching sports, and eating.

 

Playing video games (for example "Clash of Clans") on IPAD can distract me for hours.
Being outside in the garden, doing bike riding.
Being on the soccer field doing training with my team is the best distraction.
And watching football.

 

Anything that requires constant attention works best for me. Cycling, getting lost, walking through the woods or going on a 'photography safari' where I'm continually looking for interesting shapes, lines, scenes, textures etc.

Traveling in a foreign country would be best, like when I was alone somewhere in Jakarta with just a backpack... I just couldn't do anything but 'be in the moment' and enjoy whatever was going on!

Reading, writing or listening to music is usually good enough, though. As long as I can get in some sort of flow.

 

Distractions are the best way to deal with tinnitus!!! I like to keep my mind occupied on bad days by going out for a walk, finding a new show to binge watch on netflix and of course shopping .

 

I LOVE shopping for makeup! Or browsing Ebay for good deals.

 

Any kind of shopping is awesome!!! Just beware it can be quite addicting, especially online shopping

 

My closet is proof of it.

 

Mine too lol I had to turn an extra bedroom into a walk in closet

 

Outdoor stuff is the best. I like to walk in the countryside as birdsong is a great sound therapy. Also I love to cycle as the wind noise is a good masker. I also love to play my acoustic guitar and sing along which is a great distraction. Anything that occupies the mind and has some sound helps. I struggle to read in quiet and don't like being indoors much. Even just listening to music or TV is difficult as it doesn't mask the tinnitus much.

 

I always find doing stuff I enjoy masks it pretty well even when I should be hearing it.. I love lifting weights, lol the gym is noisy so I wouldn't hear it anyways.
But, on the quiter side, I love to draw and read and I don't notice it the unless I look for it. I play guitar and listen to a lot of music as well that drowns it out even on low levels since I'm mentally preoccupied.

 

I paint

 

Only other thing I've found helpful is walking loooong distances with my dog.

 

Does this activity require a dog? Will it work without one?

 

That's really nice! Do you have anything else you want to show?

 

*Downloading* 1 &2

 

Great games! Number 2, for me, is the best one! Now 1+2=3 Half-Life 3 confirmed lol

 

Think I have played through Halflife games about 10 times. Know every corner. Love it!

 

They are just amazing! I just can't believe Valve aren't ever gonna finish it. It's like Shenmue 3, I'm still waiting lol

 

I have noticed, since I’ve had tinnitus for a year, I am more easily distracted some days from my tinnitus by doing different stuff, and sometimes staying busy.

Just curious what do you do that helps distract you from your sound?

 

Chess. Is anyone a chess player here?

 

Maybe I'm habituating or maybe I'm not, keeping myself busy around the house definitely keeps my tinnitus under control and sometimes to the point of hearing silence for a brief moment afterwards. If I sit around idling, reading or watching TV, either I couldn't help listening for tinnitus or it just amplifies itself out of control.

However there's only so much to do around the house and there's just not enough work to keep me busy.

Anyone has good ideas on things to do around the house that helps take your mind off tinnitus?

 

I play some video games to get my mind off it. Its been working so far.

 

That's going to be unique to every individual. I have an obsessive streak as far as researching things. Once I develop an interest in something I immerse myself. It's been that way since before I got T but since then I think I've unconsciouslessly amped it up as a way to distract myself. For me the focus tends to circle around hobbies and recreational interests. It still feels like self-improvement to invest my time into learning new things even if I know deep down I'm still suffering.

For instance, let's say you're thinking of buying a new car. You can blow hundreds of hours reading reviews and mentally weighing this or that model or set of options. Or let's say you're going to do some interior decorating. Anything involving an element of creative decisionmaking that is highly subjective can be used to soak up a ton of mental cycles. Basic chores don't do that.

It's like, maybe I can't use my brain to solve my T, but I can use my brain to solve other problems. But sitting around in a quiet room expecting to be able to just sort of zone out and not have anything on your mind, that is simply impossible for me to do. Even with a lot of white noise if I attempt to zone out I find myself seeking out and locking onto whatever T frequencies are ringing through it. I can have less focus with white noise, but I still need some mental focus/daydreaming.

 

get a pair of tweezers and pluck every unwanted body hair out one at a time.

 

Crossword and other word and number puzzles. I like to do the paper versions.

 

Walking!