Hi all,
Fairly new here. Posted the other day that my tinnitus got worse last year and I have been given some Siemens hearing aids that play frequencies I've lost to a certain extent in my hearing range.
Trying to get some clarification over what habituation actually is... does it mean that the tinnitus disappears? Or gets quieter? And if it does go, does it happen all of a sudden? Or gradually?
Thanks,
Jeff
Research shows that, whilst many people have tinnitus, only some are aware of it all the time or distressed by it. This is because people often get used to the noises just as we get used to other noises around us (eg air conditioning, a clock ticking, or aeroplane noises). This is known as habituation. The noises we are most able to ‘forget’ are predictable, repetitive sounds that we perceive as benign, non-threatening, and thus unimportant. If our attention is focussed on something else it may be possible to ‘forget’ the tinnitus at times and it will therefore have less impact.
One audiologist we work with tells his patients "I might not be able to make the noises go away. But I can make you not care about the noises, which is pretty much the same thing." Which I think sums habituation up.
I'd be interested in people's opinions on this though!
Best wishes
Nic
Hello Nic is it possible to habituate with pulsatile tinnitus.
Yes, it is - your response to pulsatile tinnitus is no different to "ordinary" tinnitus and your brain habituates in the same way.
If you think about it, you don't notice your actual heartbeat most of the time, do you and so pulsatile tinnitus is the same.
Best wishes
Nic
Hi Jeff,
I have had tinnitus for 22 years. Please click on the link below to read my post on what I believe habituation is and the process one goes through to achieve it.
All the best
Michael
healthunlocked.com/bta/post...
Hi michealee
Just read your article my tinnitus has become loud and intrusive , I’m finding it Very distressing, it been 6 months now, is there any hope of habituation ??
HI hazyfan,
Sorry to hear that your tinnitus has become louder. 6 months is not long in having the condition although it may seem so. It is quite possible for you to habituate and many people do within the first 6 to 18months, with or without treatment. Since your tinnitus has become louder and more intrusive, there is usually are reason for this. If your tinnitus was originally caused by "exposure" to loud noise, the usual cause is being around loud sounds or using headphones even at low volume. I want to stress not everyone with noise induced tinnitus is affected by headphone use but a lot of people are. Therefore, it is something I don't recommend people with NIT to use headphones even at low volume.
If you would like to have a chat on the telephone please let me know by sending a private message. It is something I occasionally do to try and help people with their tinnitus.
All the best
Michael
Thanks Michaelee, it was a eear infection last November, guess I need to give it more time, all I want is to not in distress for the rest of life, thank you x
Stop telling people about wearing head phones. Your not an audiologist. We can listen in a safe volume, i have tinnitus and never wear them. Dont make people paranoid. Enough already
Hi Jeff, I don’t actually like the definition of the word which kind of means to ‘get used to something’. I don’t feel I have ‘just got used to it’’ and I certainly don’t feel I have to ‘put up with it’ anymore.
My take on it is that I think there are 2 stages to habituation. The first stage is built on longer and longer periods where you haven’t noticed the T due to being focussed on other things. Seconds of ‘silence’ become minutes, to hours, to days, to weeks.
Eventually as these ‘silent’ periods get longer and longer the brain seems to re-wire itself to the point you actually don’t hear it unless you make an effort to listen for it. Even then it can take quite a while to hear it as the brain has become so good at filtering it out.
I found that there was never anything constructive in listening for the T when you suddenly realise you haven’t noticed it. I think that just prolongs the time it takes for the brain to adapt.
Focusing away from the T onto other constructive things seems to help eventually break the negative feedback anxiety loop where anxiety causes louder T, which causes more anxiety....
At the end of the day, habituation is just a word, not a holy grail. What we really want is to reach the point that the brain has adapted so you no longer hear the T, unless you want to.
Lots of people I have met and spoken to have reached this point. Many seem to get there with no help at all. I believe those who are on the obsessive spectrum seem to struggle more breaking out of the vicious negative cycle as they tend to obsess about ailments more. I was one of those!
All the best.
Thankyou asw21, that is a great explanation and gives me hope 😊
Hi jeffse10 ! Habituation is both odd and illogical to someone suffering from early stage Tinnitus. Moreover the key elements of shock and fear are pervasive emotions overwhelming any chance of balanced thinking. By contrast, Habituation is a state wherby the key element of fear is missing despite the background noise being present and appearing less loud. At times, for whatever reason, the noise can appear loud but even here the Habituated Brain simply ignores it and gets on with far more pressing day to day matters of living or sleeping.
For example, I often wake up during the small hours for toilet duty, get back to bed, turn over, and think how is my Tinnitus ? its loud and then marvel at my being able to detach myself from its fear. At this point I know I'll be fast asleep within a few minutes. Next morning, I awake to near silence.
I do have another noise condition: Hyperacusis, over sensitivity to external noise that, in my case, other people cannot hear. For this I use a sound generator attached to loud speakers and set on a low volume because of the speakers. In doing this I have found it helpful not only for Hyperacusis but Tinnitus too. In fact, I put this down to my early Habituation to Tinnitus. The reason being, getting my Brain familar with noise overnight, that eventually, in time, would accept as harmless and ignore it. As stated, I do have nights where I wake up to loud Tinnitus but with the fear aspect missing. As my entire bedroom is filled with soft gentle music my Brain concentrates on the music even though the Tinnitus is louder.
I'm now of the opinion that getting used to the right noises overnight is a route to early Habituation. True, not easy, when one is used to silence, but workable. The downside, difficulty in sleeping in silence ?
Reading your post it seems that you keep ‘checking’ on your T. I personally think that’s not a constructive thing to do as your brain is gradually trying to learn to ignore it and rewire itself.
It sounds like the handling of your anxiety state is improving generally but maybe you fear noise to the extent it triggers fight or flight mode. I believe hyperacusus is caused by this extreme fear and fight or flight mode as one of the symptoms of this state is a much heightened sensitivity to hearing. It’s a bit like turning the microphone gain up too much on an amplifier, it causes the sound to distort and seem very loud. This is only a theory though.
I think your plan to gradually get used to external sounds is a good one. I’m sure things will work out for you. When the brain has become very good at filtering it out you should find the silent periods get better. Like I said though, don’t listen for your T when you realise you haven’t noticed it. Try to let your imagination drift into nice thoughts at night time and keep yourself busy doing nice things during the day.
Thanks for reply. You are right, I do keep an ear open to my Tinnitus. This I do sometimes when I'm not preoccupied with something else more important. Furthermore, it is something I would never have done pre-Habituated Tinnitus because the sound would grow my stress levels and that in turn would pump up the volume. I would do my best to avoid thinking or concentrating on the noise knowing to do so would increase my fear of it. Of course, when I Habituated I discovered I can filter out the noise as background sound for a more pleasant noise such as music etc. Now and again, I waken up to a louder Tinnitus than normal and then find I can filter down the sound in favour of a more pleasant harmony from my sound generator. Final point, I do a lot of reading and during this mind sometimes wonders off into Tinnitus land wherby I just switch back to reading mode.
It is impossible not to think of your Tinnitus; low,high,quiet, it is there all the time:the difference is your attitude before and after Habituation is the difference. I can sit at my laptop or read a book for hours to loud Tinnitus and go bed and be asleep within ten minutes.
The only reason I use my sound generator is Hyperacusis and not Tinnitus. It can be very fearful but there are ways of living with mild sound sensitivity. I use a sound generator and two large speakers to great effect, so much so, the droning sound of a local supermarket's air conditioning fan is 100 percent blocked from my ears.I don't need any sound blocker in the day time as ambient noise drowns out the source.
Lastly, 18 percent of the UK population suffer from EHS to various degrees, I'm one of them. Wherby one can be fast asleep and instantly awakened by a loud bang or sometimes an uncontrolled full body jerk, not often though. The peculiar thing is the noise appears ear shattering yet there appears no resulting deafness ?
Many thanks for your input , it is almost impossible to explain in mere words the illogical mystery of Tinnitus Habituation to those new to the club.
I’m certainly not new to tinnitus. After I got through the panic stage 6 years ago, I decided that it would be best to eliminate anything which reminded me of tinnitus. I stopped relying on babbling brook sounds and then eventually weaned myself off the tinnitus forum.
I believe that must people who struggle with T from the outset are on the obsessive spectrum. Obsessive behaviour is actually very useful when trying to deal with complex problems, however there is a tendency to obsess about ailments like T too. By the way I am one of those on the obsessive spectrum!
It seems as though some people feel habituation is when they have learnt to accept the T. To be fair that is kind of the definition of the word ‘to put up with’. The fact is that many people simply don’t hear it unless they search for it.
The trick is not to live putting up with it. Ignore it and anything to do with tinnitus. Focus on things you like doing. Eventually the brain learns to rewire itself. I think it takes longer to do that while we are obsessed with the T.
Well said asw21 ! I think it is a good idea to block the sound out of conscious if one leads a busy and full life. On the other hand for us retired members of the public with lots of time and other health issues, it is not so simple. But I guess it is a personal thing and each of us have our own way of coping.
p.s. My Tinnitus has stopped twice completly for several days last year so I'm hoping for more of the same in 2018.
You might fnd something is my free book helpful Jeff. At the very least I’d be interested in your comments.
sites.google.com/site/tinni...
Thanks Steve, I'll have a read.
Hi all do you mind if I ask Howe long it took for habituation to start?, I’m about 6 months in since my T became louder and intrusive, am finding it so distressing been off work for 2 months , I can’t believe this is it , any advise would be appreciated it breaks my heart my little girls ask me Daddy why you so sad
Mines just become louder as well. Had it for 35 years, but it hasn’t always been a problem. I got a serious ear infection when I was 23 and the noise was literally horrendous. After about 9 months I gradually stopped noticing to a point that I think it wasn’t even there, when I got pregnant it kicked off big time. Took about 6ish months to not be a problem again. Same happened with my next pregnancy. At those times I never thought it would ever calm down, but it did. I’ve had 2 episodes since then and I’ve come through them both. Now I’m going through it again, all the same fears and thoughts, it’s been 2 months now. I’m taking the advice from somebody else on here and that is fake it till you make it. It’s hard carrying on as normal, but that really is the only way. I’m still going to work, going out etc even when I don’t want to. Today my t is raging, but I’ve carried on as normal. Why it’s so bad today I’ve no idea, yesterday I had a couple of periods of not thinking about it and that for me is how habituation begins. Then it just builds up to you hearing it and literally not caring. I remember before Xmas chatting to my daughter and my t was so loud and I said to her - Bloody hell its loud today - and just carried on without giving it another thought.
Long to be back at that stage, but I’ll get there 😃
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