Why Should I Be Positive... It's All in Ya Head

So why should I be positive? After all my high pitch tinnitus in my right ear is more intrusive than ever. It can't be masked very well and I hear it most of the time.

I've had tinnitus for over two and a half years as well so I'm guessing what I have now I will probably have for the rest of my life.

This is probably the worst week I've had since I first developes the condition.

So why should I be positive, after all I thought I had habituated.

Well, I became more aware of my tinnitus as I was driving to work searching for a radio station. With no radio in the car I can hear a strange sound out of my left ear (where my predominant tinnitus is). This made me more aware of my tinnitus in general and now I can't stop hearing the tinnitus in my right ear.

So why am I positive? Well, for a start I have habituated once, I'll do it again.

However I'm currently sat here now trying in a quiet room to hear my normal tinnitus in my left ear (the louder one). And you know what, I can't do it! This is because my brain is so focused on my ultra high pitched tinnitus in my right ear (which actually isn't even that loud, but again it just appears over everything).

The fact that I cannot hear the tinnitus in my left ear means that my brain is not finding that noise important or threatening enough. I'll tell you what, it definitely did a few years ago!

To the moral story is your brain controls what you're hearing. And it is possible to control it to a certain degree!!

Anyway they're my thoughts, sorry for taking up a thread with my pointless random ramblings.

Keep strong all

 

@Burnsie
Positivity has a lot more to do with tinnitus than you might think. Without it, habituating to tinnitus can be difficult.

Is positivity important?

Tinnitus is a complex condition that comes in many forms and intensities and no two people experience it the same. If hyperacausis is present it can cause additional problems depending on how severe it is? I believe if one is able to adopt a positive mindset towards tinnitus and life, they will have the most essential requirement to help them through the habituation process and beyond. This will help to keep negativity at bay even in the downtimes should they arrive.

Negativity and the belief that nothing can be done for tinnitus can start to take its effect as early as going to Dr. Google or to be told by a GP: “It’s tinnitus, nothing can be done you have to learn to live with it”. It is unfortunate that someone who’s probably very stressed and anxious to have his or her worst fears confirmed by a healthcare professional that should know better. This is negative counselling and it shouldn’t be done.

Some people will visit a tinnitus forum in an attempt to allay any fears and prove to themselves what they have been told or read about it is wrong, by listening to people that have the condition and hopefully they will be told it does get better and it is curable. The views expressed at forums are often mixed and vary quite a lot. By now a person’s stress level might have increased or decreased Depending on the information they receive either by direct answer to a question or reading members posts. This can induce calm and a feeling of relief, or do the complete opposite and make them feel worse.

I believe visiting a forum regularly can be helpful for some. The feeling of camaraderie that exists between like-minded people can be reassuring especially when family and friends don’t understand which is often the case. However, it isn’t without its drawbacks. Such a community is open to all and sundry, and thus positive and negative thinking people. Therefore, I believe it is important to try and focus on positivity. Seek advice from members that have had tinnitus for a while and habituated. This is not to say that advice from newbies shouldn’t be sought too. I have read posts from people just a few months in with tinnitus, and been taken aback by the maturity, depth and understanding that they bring and makes a veteran like me smile in approval.

The thing to try and avoid is negative reinforcement because tinnitus and hyperacusis can be stressful conditions all by themselves without adding to them. Some people are sensitive to sound and take it upon themselves to be wearing: foam earplugs, noise reducing plugs or earmuffs at every opportunity. I have seen what this overuse can do to some people. It can instill fear and if one isn't careful phonophobia. A fear of sound.

Treating tinnitus and hyperacusis takes time usually many months and should be backed up with positive thinking. Positivity reinforces the belief not to be fearful of tinnitus and hyperacusis. Overuse of hearing protection sadly reinforces negativity and fear. It is for this reason I regularly advise people to read the positive articles that I have written on tinnitus and they are in my “started threads”. They are to be treated as therapy and are a form of counselling and should be read often to reinforce "positive thinking". Without a positive attitude negativity is allowed to get hold and can become overwhelming. I also advise people to read the success stories written by members on the "positivity thread" and there are many. Again, this reinforces positive thinking. One has to work at this if they want to improve and get better.

Michael

PS: Life is problematic and with a condition like tinnitus at times it can be overwhelming. This can happen in the early stages of onset but usually improves with time. There is nothing wrong with feeling down and occasionally negative, just try not to make it become all consuming. Always talk to your doctor if you feel your situation is becoming too much.

 

Why staying positive? Because it can affect the way our brain will treat the tinnitus ringing as a stimulus. It is not just all mental. It is a psychosomatic phenomenon.

Trying to keep positive and calm and treating spikes or the initial struggles as the little bumps on the road of final habituation will help facilitate the process of calming T. I know it is easier said than done when the intrusive T is raging on but try as humanly possible as we can. Why? Because by staying positive and calm or hopeful, we can prevent the Limbic nervous system and the Amygdala from taking over in processing the T stimulus. Instead the parasympathetic nervous system and the prefrontal cortex will take over and it has the role of suppressing fear and keeping our reaction towards things more normal than if we are in 'fight or flight' mode.

By so doing, we will give the brain a chance to habituate to T faster and easier as the pre-frontal cortex will not treat T as a threat, and by so doing the brain doesn’t have to magnify the T sensation and zoom on it all day. Therefore, being positive and hopeful is not just a wishful thing. It actually can affect the way the body and the brain will function, the Parasympathetic system and Prefrontal Cortex vs the Limbic system and Amygdata (the fight or flight center). So it makes sense to choose to stay more positive and hopeful as this is a psychosomatic battle we are having with the T bully. So what have we got to lose by being positive instead of being negative? Let’s choose wisely our mental weapon against T and play smart with this bully. Take care. God bless.

 

You're both right.

It is incredibly frustrating because if it wasn't for the radio going quiet and losing signal at that point, I probably wouldn't have heard the momentary increasing tinnitus in my left ear causing me to concentrate on my tinnitus again, thus now focusing on my right ear again.

That being said, I still maintain that if I put my current levels of tinnitus into somebody who does not have tinnitus and put them in the areas I've been here in my right ear recently (such as in my office or in the shopping centre) even those individuals would not hear this noise.

 

There is definitely a scientific basis for what you're describing, and I'm happy it's working for you. As @billie48 pointed out, sound is a stimulus. If we can react to the sound stimulus of tinnitus as neutral rather than threatening, we can begin to actually perceive it at a lesser volume because our limbic system won't be on high alert and "turning up the gain."

Great attitude, Burnsie, thanks for sharing!

 

Easier said than done to stay positive though. It’s so tiring to cope with very loud T, mine’s a whole mix of sounds. I know all the advice is to leap out of bed and keep busy to distract. It’s such a weird, invasive phenomenon that produces new noises all the time. Hard!!

 

@Nanny chocolate I so agree. Mine is so constantly changing, one day it’s liveable with, today mine's off the T Scale and my ear is full and numb too. It’s the constant challenge of having different noises and feelings every day that makes habituating so difficult. I stay positive though, because tomorrow I may have slightly quieter ears. But for me, it’s not JUST a noise, it’s a whole feeling of strangeness.

We must keep smiling through all this, there’s no alternative.

 

Thoughts are not separate from the physicality of the brain; thoughts are the physicality of the brain. Neglecting our physical health through poor posture, lack of exercise, lack of sunlight and fresh air, and poor nutrition will lead to a needlessly painful physical state. Neglecting our mental health through persistent indulgence of toxic thoughts will lead to a needlessly painful psychological state.

Attempting to exert a high degree of discipline into our thinking is not a guaranteed path to escape from all discomfort; it is however the only guaranteed path away from amplifying our own suffering in a way of which only we ourselves are capable.

 

Hi Slipware. It’s a .......(insert your own swear word). Mine keeps changing and that is so frightening. At the moment my ordinary life is dominated by T. Today I’ve been to see a Clinical Hypnotherapist to sign up for some sessions. More money to spend! She has T herself and has been successful in helping someone else who was literally on the floor in panic about her T. The poor lady is now managing to live with her T so I hear.
Hope is a precious commodity and I’m losing mine so it’s worth a try when we’re struggling to be brave. Hug, Eve

 

One cognitive and mindfulness skill that my therapist stresses is, rather than focus on positive thinking, use the power of non-negative thinking. With effective thinking, we can set reasonable goals and build our lives up with small steps. By going from negative to neutral, slowly and carefully, it's easier to achieve our goals and frustration is less likely than with unrealistic expectations which may occur when trying to do it through positive thinking.