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 sometimes I still use my iPod. I play audiobooks or nature sounds. White noise aggravates my tinnitus. 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 tinnitus 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 tinnitus 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.

 

I am currently going through my first random tinnitus spike after being habituated for almost 3 years. It took me a while to habituate but once I did, the tinnitus never bothered me at all. So to suffer with this spike is really disheartening and I feel scared that I am back to square one.

I am really struggling at the moment with the idea of going through life and having constant tinnitus spikes. I am only 20 and the thought that it might get better for a while but then worse again to the point where I feel awful, actually terrifies me. The future scares me so much.

I’m trying to rationalise it in my head that the way I deal with potential spikes in the future will only get better, but I just really need to hear some comforting words right now as the future was something I was so looking forward to and now I am slightly losing hope.

I thought that once I habituated I would be ok after such a long and painful process, but it feels like I’m in hell again and I’m not sure how many times I can go through this. I try to keep telling myself this is just a blip but I’m struggling to believe it.

Thank you in advance

 

HI @Natalie18

After having such a long habituation period and to suddenly get a spike, this usually happens for a reason. If your tinnitus was originally "noise induced" then being exposed to certain loud sounds or using headphones even at low volume, could be the reason for the spike. Have you been using headphones even at low volume? Or going to places where loud music is played? Clubs, concerts etc. When a person habituates for such a long time it can be easy to forget about the tinnitus. The same thing happened to me back in 2008.

If there is no underlying medical problem responsible for the spike in the tinnitus, then the usual reason is "sound". Either subjecting your ears/auditory system to loud sound or using headphones.

Please click on the links below and read my posts that you might find helpful. If the spike doesn't reduce after 2 weeks, I suggest making an appointment at ENT for tests. If the test show no problems then try and get a referral to Audiology, and see a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist that is trained in Tinnitus treatment and management.

Please remember even when a person habituates to their tinnitus, they are never completely out of the woods. This is especially apparent with "Noise induced" tinnitus. Subjecting oneself to overly loud sounds or using headphones, headset etc, even at low volume carries a risk of the tinnitus spiking.

I wish you well.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

You, I and millions of others @Blair14 !!!