Why do I not care about the fridge?

How come I don't notice traffic noises, or the fridge, or the oven, or the lawn-mover even!? Why does my brain focus so much on the tinnitus? I'm trying to listen to it and not react emotionally. I try for about 10 minutes, then get so frustrated, and scared, and angry that I just mask it up again with oh-so-boring white noise.

 

Neenie -can you mask it ?i thought you couldn't mask it .

 

I feel the same as you do Neenie, I think in my case it is because I can not turn it off or walk away from it.

 

The reason you aren't bothered by the fridge and are by the tinnitus is that with the fridge, the appliance is making the noise. With tinnitus, you brain is makingv the noise and then feeding it into your automatic and limbic nervous systems, which trigger panic and anxiety. But I assume you know this.

 

You don't notice traffic, lawn mower, etc... because you are habuated to them. If you are in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar sounds you'd notice them as well I'd think. I recently spent time in an park with birds (can't remember the name of the birds) with an unfamiliar and loud sound. I'd guess people that live in the homes surrounding the park are habituated to the (annoying) bird sounds. To me they sounded like nails on chalkboard. I'd hope that if I moved to that neighborhood I'd also habituate to the sounds, even though it may take a long while and be challenging. I hope you are able to find some peace soon.

 

Yer, I cant mask it Sean, but it isnt half as loud when I play music through headphones or boring white noise. I'm so sick of always having sound on! I used to love just sitting in the quiet, relaxing, and just reading. Can't do that anymore. Booooo. I just didnt think the limbic system had anything to do with it if you try to remain relaxed about the noise. I hate brains. So much. I'm trying so hard to not be annoyed by it but really not succeeding much.

 

Neenie, you are so new to all of this, of course it is going to be overwhelming. You have to have the skills and tools to get you back on track. You have found this site, now you will be able to seek what you need here. I know you don't want to hear it, but you have to give yourself time to work through it....

 

Thanks, I'm just terrified that this is for life and that I won't be able to live my life

 

Also the tinnitus sounds are just awful, that high pitched sound hurts in a manner of speaking.

 

My case differs. In my ancient place i was very bothered by the traffic noise, the night shop, and the human trash making noise in front of my apartment. When i visit my mother i put earplugs because i can't sleep with her fridge or her snoring. Likewise i am buying new computer case fans to silence my tower.

But my tinnitus -which bothered me a lot, to the point a was suicidal- doesn't bother me much. I can sleep like a baby in silence. It is a loud t, i hear it over a busy street and most music on headphones.

The only explanation i found is that tinnitus becomes less bothersome with time. It took me a while but i can now function normally. And i am not the kind of person who habituates easily to unpleasant noise.

 

I agree.

I remember one time when I was at school and we had a small break. One of my classmate decided to download a smartphone app which plays a very high-pitched sounds (~10-20 khz) and then started play those sounds. Everyone in that classroom started to feel very uncomfortable. After they found out the source of the sound they begged him to stop. Well he stopped because he didn't want to annoy them anymore and also felt uncomfortable. I think it was kinda hilarious and I was thinking "That's what I hear 24/7"

 

At some point I kept listening various sweeps and beeps between 10-15kHz in order to become more tolerant to high pitched tinnitus. It is funny how I 'habituated' those external annoying noises in few hours. In all, it may have helped some. Keep the volume down and don't use headphones if you try this at home.

 

Neenie - I hear you..I also love silence !always did .but I don't have silence either .
Once you make white noise part of your life ..like fan when it's hot or heater when it's cold .its not as bad .

 

It is good to hear Daedalus, that you got used to your tinnitus sound so well even though it is loud and you said you are a person that is easily annoyed by noise.

I have a little problem getting used to my increased T. During the day I'm fine but just the nights are a bit problematic. I realized that I don't hear my alarm clock and the fridge in my room, but the alarm clock is far my silent then my T and even the fridge is usually more quiet. But I guess it shouldn't be impossible. It probably just takes more time with a louder sound. I'm trying not to react very emotionally about my T, but then I realize I still do.

Daedalus, are you still able to use earplugs for sleep with the T? I feel my T just feels worse when I use earplugs, so I haven't really been able to use them any more.

 

Yes, i use earplugs at night at my mother's place. I feel like my head is exploding when i put them in but i don't suffer from it. I feel at calm despite the very loud tinnitus. I sleep like a baby. Her less noisy snoring or the fridge would be a problem without the earplugs.

I used to prefer animated places to distract form the tinnitus. This is not the case anymore. I prefer calm and "silent" places. I need calmness. Very weird sensation to be at peace with a loud 8300 hz shrill.