Tinnitus Spikes Coping Skills

I need some tools and perhaps others have insight. What and HOW do you handle spikes, especially during the day. I am off work so I have the time to invest. How does one habituate, like I know you have to try to ignore it, but how do you take your focus off it. I know perhaps you can try reading or playing a game, but if you still have it blasting what is that you do to retrain your self. Mediate - but how when you have the noise. HOW HOW HOW. My wife can read a book in a noisy room, I don't have that capacity, perhaps that's the secret. I don't know. I also try thinking it is something else like a waterfall or something, but that doesn't work. Open to suggestions, I want to grab this by the throat and throttle it!

 

You may want to use mobile masking devices. I used to have an ipod nano loaded with high pitch nature sounds which I bought from Amazon and download to my ipod using itune. That that was 5 years ago. Now you have smart phones which you can go online to find masking sounds. If you decide to go this way, there are two sites with choices of sounds:
1) this is a youtube channel with many nature sounds: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBoTun54dQmzQMTxWTdJ9Sg

2) this is a free sound generator called 'aire freshener' which I used a lot on my work PC when I needed masking:
http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

Take care and God bless.

 

Billie48,

Many thanks for that nugget, quite a long article and some practical techniques. I will certainly give it a try, might be something to it. God Bless You.

 

When it gets to be too much use masking. I am doing minimal masking now but sometimenes I still use my iPod. I play audiobooks or nature sounds. White noise aggravates my T. Pink noise is better for me--but I save that for really difficult days. I don't actively try to ignore it because that causes me to attend to it more. I try to just go on with what I am doing. I use relaxation exercises and meditate too. You might check out Yamine Buraik on iTunes--her Journey into Relaxation is great. if you don't have iTunes, here's a link: https://sites.google.com/site/yasmineburaik1/ Scroll down to the bottom of the page, all the English versions are there. I truly enjoy her exercises and they help me.

I notice you've had T since 2002--if you haven't habituated perhaps you should look into CBT or TRT. I went through CBT and it really gave me a skillset to cope and live.

Some days are still hard but most days are just days ...I have T and it is what it is. The times that I don't notice it are getting longer but it is a slow process. I'm also spending less time on the board--and it seems to help. Good luck to you.

 

@Blair14 your best bet, IMO, is getting away from very quiet areas and/or masking as others have mentioned. A pleasant environment and or sound. You may find that any feeling of anxiety will pass if there's some such 'distraction'.

This is what I'm doing now, as I recently travelled, encountered several noisy environments, and perceive the hissssss is louder. But more likely just sleep deprivation aggravating my CNS.

 

@Kathi Thanks for the info. I posted that back in early Sep when things were REALLY BAD. I never used masking that much in the early going, mistake, but if I need to now, although I still haven't I will. I noticed white noise aggravates my T and Pink noise for H which is ongoing. I found a bell melody for my ringing and it has helped me not focus anymore, but as soon as I leave the room of course, the T is there fairly loud again because of the contrast. I am slowly getting back to doing and have used relaxation and mediation as well. I had T since 2002, but it got way out of hand in Aug, no idea why and I crashed big time. So I was managing well, didn't even know what it was until 2007 and in 2010 it started to increase. I just CBT and will be doing mindfulness in Jan, then TRT if I still have issues. CBT was helpful in challenging my negative thoughts and I did neurobiofeedback as well that helped get my anxiety down along with my meds. Still slowly inching along too, at least the fear is gone, big plus! Living in the present! I noticed that as well, spending ALOT less time on the board unlike the early days, but certainly needed it then and less so now, but still helpful. Thanks again for the response and good luck to you as well!

 

@MikeA Thanks for the response. I posted that back in early Sep when things were REALLY BAD. I noticed recently acoustics in rooms play with my T and I have been avoiding quiet rooms, been surrounding myself with sound 24/7 since Aug. Anxiety and fear down, but still dealing with the T and H quite load, it is now at least variable, whereas before it kept getting worse the more I was trying to remedy it, that I think was making it continue to go up. Sleep is big time, you are right and getting on that too. I guess it is passage of time now, and hope for the best and continue tweaking along with what I mentioned above with Kathy.

 

When I get a spike I put poly cotton in my ear for a few days. When I take it out it seems like my T is gone. I think my ear, in this healing phase goes on high alert especially with the cotton in and when I take it out, all environmental sounds are louder and the T goes WAY down.

If you want to get down to business and beat T, try this ... my thread called Back To Silence
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/