What Positive Things Has Having Tinnitus Made You Realize?

Tinnitus has made me realize a lot of things and I see that as a positive.

-I appreciate my family a lot more now. I wish I wouldn't have squabbled over minor things with them. Before I had tinnitus my family would argue a lot. Having tinnitus reminds me not to sweat the small stuff.
-I appreciate my eye sight a lot more than I did before.
-I appreciate that I don't live in a poverty-stricken nation. I get sad thinking of someone maybe in a third world nation, maybe somewhere rural developing tinnitus somehow and having no access to an ent, hearing aids, tinnitus retraining therapy, etc.
-I appreciate money a lot more. I wish I had saved up better.It could have come in handy now.
-I try to be nicer to people- because you never know what "invisible" ailments they may be coping with.
-Tinnitus can be difficult to cope with, but I can still hear and communicate verbally with others.
-My favorite foods are still delicious, tinnitus doesn't interfere with me enjoying a meal.
-Tinnitus makes me more mindful of my teeth and to take care of them. I am just more aware of my health in general.

 

I mentioned that tinnitus makes me more mindful of my teeth, because, dental infection can cause you to get referred pain to the ear, and who needs that?

 

Nice Emma! It is good to find things to be grateful for ... always!

Doing what you are doing eases the anxiety of T I think. ...softens the irritation.

 

i've learned a lot about myself since my ear issues began. i've been able to look at the life i had up until now in a much more positive light. i really had it good.

 

Can you give a bit more about how you had it good?

 

i was working full time, enjoying my spare time, and planning on going back to college.

 

I see. So, I am thinking that something triggered your current T problem. Forgive me if you mentioned it... can you explain how it started?

 

nothing triggered it. just a gradual build up to hyperacusis, loud tinnitus, and now vertigo/dizziness. i also have a lot of fatigue and brain fog. started in October, got worse in January, got worse again in February.

i'm a musician and former concertgoer so i'm sure it had something to do with being around loud noise a lot.

 

hmmm... there is something else. How are your relationships?

 

they were great before my health went downhill. as far as i know there is no evidence that relationships have anything to do hyperacusis, ear pain, vertigo, and screaming tinnitus. if you have a peer reviewed study you can share, please share it.

 

No sweetheart! I am just a caring person.

Your avatar interests me. What is it? I sense a chaotic expression. Is it a piece of artwork?

 

it's an album cover.

 

I see.

I do empathize with your health concerns. Wish I could do more to ease your pain and suffering. It has taken me some time myself to get my T down to a manageable level.

ps... had that feeling it was a music artwork piece.

 

you should consider yourself lucky. those of us with severe tinnitus very rarely experience anything like a volume reduction. on the contrary, our tinnitus gets louder!

 

I am blessed... yes. I did about a zillion things to get it down!!!

 

Oh, BTW... I had severe tinnitus. Lorazepam helped. My rain/thunder cd is still my friend at night to sleep!

 

what types of things? my guess is, if it went down, it would have regardless of what you did. there are no known reliable methods of appreciable volume reduction in the world apart from benzos in a small minority of people.

 

Thanks for the kind words Markku. I really agree with your stages of grief Markku. I really wish I had been a lot nicer to my family. I now realize they mean so much to me. Earlier on I was even thinking maybe tinnitus was a punishment for being a mean, ungrateful kid growing up. I know that is silly, but I am sure when something bad or unexpected happens, we may start thinking we have deserved it- whether we believe it is from god, karma, or whatever. So I really had to deal with stages 2 and 3 you listed.

 

I learned life is just like a blank....

 

A blank cartridge. Now, it's up to you to find out what I meant.

 

We always saved our brass for recycling into new cartridges, my friend.

A blank cartridge is only blank as long as you allow it to be.

 

It is very hard to say anything positive about tinnitus.

I'm usually of the opinion that learning the truth about things is a good thing. Through tinnitus, I have learned a lot about how the auditory system works and about the brain. I suppose it is positive to learn these things. If it weren't for tinnitus, I would find these subjects boring, I'm afraid.

Tinnitus is a great humbler. It has shown me how delicate the human body is. Even our auditory system requires a fine balance, which is something that had never occured to me. I didn't particularly want to learn this lesson, but this journey call Life has taken me here.

 

At the moment, I am struggling to find anything positive about the damage to my hearing, which brought on tinnitus.

I was coping with the mild tinnitus OK, but the acoustic trauma I suffered at the dentist office (ultrasonic teeth cleaner) has been very difficult to deal with. I doubt I will ever have another tooth filled via a drill (and definitely will not have my teeth cleaned ultrasonically) , and I am very afraid to go to the ER.

 

I, too, never gave much thought to the intricities of hearing. Funny... I've been able to easily accept the structural components going awry; back, knees, shoulder cartlidge - attributing such decline to over-use, abuse, genetical predisposition, and just plain middle age. But the nervous system? Maybe that's why tinnitus and its effects comes as such a shock, particularly when it just won't go away. Regarding any good that may come of all this? I'm certainly more focused on a healthier lifestyle; better eating, sleeping, and living in general, in an attempt to make good use of and preserve those functions that remain relatively intact. I actually took a walk at lunch today, and it was freezing outside! Change is hard, but it can come slowly.

 

I realised that tinnitus was my own personalised in-built healthometre and started to work with it.
Once it had become a friend I let it guide me back into a state of really good health.
Nowadays if it starts to reappear I go to bed early, or eat really healthily, or do more meditation or calm down, and it doesn't manifest. I am very grateful for my tinnitus for being such a clear indicator of when I need to take better care of myself.
Working with tinnitus has led me into meditation, Buddhism and has opened up a whole new world to me. So we are good friends these days, even though we don't see much of each other!

 

It's made me realised how important our hearing is and how fragile, being young you think it won't ever happen to me. It does!!

How important family and friends at to me to cope with anxiety and have someone to talk too.

 

Made me realize what an incredible life I once had...I may have never really known this until I was on my death bed, now I have half my life left to think about it.