Tips and Tricks to Get By

Got this idea from another thread. I thought it might be good to have a thread where we could talk about the extra little things we do to get relief from tinnitus, either regularly or just every once in a while. There's plenty of good stuff all over the forums but I thought this could be an emergency kit of sorts. I'll start with what I posted in the other thread.
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"Something else I do during the real bad times that's counter intuitive is set my masking sound so that it's barely detectable. This works best with my cricket masking sound. I set my iPhone to its lowest volume (no headphones) and place it in my office or in my bedroom about 5 or 6 feet away, then I listen for it. Making my brain struggle to hear the crickets really takes the edge off those bad days when my tinnitus just can't be masked. I'm sure I didn't invent this but I discovered it by accident and it was a breakthrough moment for me. It's when I realized that no one method was the right one and that I may need to change things up from time to time in order to get relief."

 

Here's one that I think is extremely important. Do not start eliminating everything from your life because someone else tells you it makes tinnitus worse. I think this is one of the key factors that drive people towards depression. This is not to say that if you are under the care of a medical professional that you should not follow their instructions, nor do I mean to suggest that there wont be some things you may need to cut out so as not to aggravate your condition. My point is everyone is different and what may be bad for them might not effect you in the least.

Here is a list of things that I have been told in the past will make my tinnitus worse that have had no effect on me whatsoever:

alcohol
flying
driving with the window open
listening to music (reasonable volume)
cold drinks
hot drinks
chewing tough food (like jerky)
Advil, Aleve, Aspirin, Actifed, Flonase, Sudafed, Irbesartan, Lipator
going to the movies
yelling
swimming
showering
clapping

I am also able to drink moderate amounts of coffee with no ill effects. One or two cups and I'm fine but if I go much over that I do feel the effects.

That's all I can think of offhand. Again, this is not to say that these things have no effect on tinnitus. What I am getting at is they have no effect on MY tinnitus and may not have any effect on yours either. You need to figure out what your body will tolerate, not make wholesale life changes based on someone else's situation.

 

I am close to one month in.

A month ago I didn't know about SNHL, ETD, TMJ, etc etc. All of these vocab words associated with our experience.

I also felt suicidal thoughts. I also didn't sleep. I also didn't eat. I also felt regret, pain and cried at the drop of a hat.

Here's what I want all of you to do at minimum. It's not easy, but this is your homework.

Number 1. You need to stay hydrated. Drink whatever kind of water you like. Go to the store and buy smart water, or whatever brand you like. Drink it until you're peeing regularly and keep it that way. Lay off the soda, booze, coffee.

Number 2. I want you to eat healthy and I want you to get full. It doesn't mean some dry boring salad. No. Eat real food. Learn to cook. Make soup, bake chicken, etc etc. This was hard at first because my appetite was very low at first. You'll come around. Nourish your body as it's healing you. It needs fuel.

Number 3. You need sleep. This is of major importance. At my worst I barely slept, took benadryl, woke up in a few hours and took it again. Eventually as I have made improvements and calmed my anxiety/nerves, melatonin is helpful and I stopped the benadryl. Yes I use white noise. As I fall asleep sometimes I need to focus on releasing tension in my body that I don't know is there. Start intently focusing on your toes. All your stress I want you to release it toe by toe. Then move up and focus intently on your shins/calves. Make sure you release all the tension there. Then your knees. Etc etc. Stay focused on releasing these muscles. All the way to your head. Sometimes my eye brows are down and my jaw is tight and I don't even realize it because I'm focused on something. You need to go through and release the tension. Breathe. That takes focus.

Number 4. As you begin to normalize, you need to get out of the house and focus on other things. Even if it's just a simple walk. Focus on the trees, the birds, your shoes, whatever. Log some miles. Engage your brain in things. Build things, garden. You need to focus on other things. I find my tinnitus spikes if I lay around at home on my days off. Yes, protect your ears when necessary.

You do those 4 things and get good at them. When we get knocked off our feet, we need to learn to crawl again. It's really important you get good at these basic things again. It's a learning curve.

Guard your heart and be cautious with all the postings on here. There are folks who want to rain on your parade and naysay. You don't need that. You need positivity. You need to focus on weekly trends, not hourly or daily. You will improve, and you will have off days. But you're going to make it. I know it.

Peace to all of you.