Tinnitus is livable

[Chrisarti]

I started having T. October 2013 so I would considered myself new to it. Never heard of it before I acquired it. Strange since I have been in home health care for so many years. Nevertheless, the noise made me feel like I was going to go crazy at first. I did the usual saw an ENT, got a hearing exam, a prescription for flonase, even the ENT I saw has T. so he was understanding of the condition. The best advice I have learned is that your brain does learn to adjust to it. It doesn't become a sore thumb so to speak. I consider my T. loud I can't even think of the loudest pitch in music or anything that comes close to it. It's at a scale that has never been in my experience of sound. It is combined with other pitches at times, low hum, loud hum, loud ringing, popping sounds, clicking sounds, train off in the distant sounds. I even have developed feedback sounds from voices and music at times, I have pretty much experienced every weird sound possible I believe. I do have good days and bad days. The thing is I do not want to own it. To feed into it or to give it any strength in my life. Self talk becomes something you get really good at. Your brain will adjust, you can do things to make it better, be positive, don't feed in to fears, and know at some point this too shall pass. So here I'm and let it be so

 

[MattK]

I started having T. October 2013 so I would considered myself new to it. Never heard of it before I acquired it. Strange since I have been in home health care for so many years. Nevertheless, the noise made me feel like I was going to go crazy at first. I did the usual saw an ENT, got a hearing exam, a prescription for flonase, even the ENT I saw has T. so he was understanding of the condition. The best advice I have learned is that your brain does learn to adjust to it. It doesn't become a sore thumb so to speak. I consider my T. loud I can't even think of the loudest pitch in music or anything that comes close to it. It's at a scale that has never been in my experience of sound. It is combined with other pitches at times, low hum, loud hum, loud ringing, popping sounds, clicking sounds, train off in the distant sounds. I even have developed feedback sounds from voices and music at times, I have pretty much experienced every weird sound possible I believe. I do have good days and bad days. The thing is I do not want to own it. To feed into it or to give it any strength in my life. Self talk becomes something you get really good at. Your brain will adjust, you can do things to make it better, be positive, don't feed in to fears, and know at some point this too shall pass. So here I'm and let it be so

I'm glad that you're adjusting so well, despite how loud your tinnitus is. My ENT also has tinnitus, and he said his is really loud. He also said that he has had his since he was a little kid, so he didn't realize not everyone heard that. In othe words, he didn't really have to adjust because he was too young to realize something was wrong. I guess in a way he is lucky.

But there have been many "success" stories of people who have habituated to their T. Some have even gotten to the point where it takes absolutely no effort at all to live with it. In other words, they don't really have to consciously try to ignore it or try not to let it get to them. It just doesn't have an affect. I can't say I am really to that point, but hearing such stories can't help but make me a little more optimistic.

I'm really glad to hear that you're doing well. Hopefully your story will also be a "light" for those who are new to tinnitus to help them realize that there is hope.