Learnt to live with it.

[bantams]

After 2 years of suffering with Tinnitus I think I have finally " learnt to live with it" as I was told to do by many people when I first started with this horrible ringing noise in my ears

I still hear it every night I go to sleep (except if I have had a few pints) still here it every morning I wake up (even more if I had a few pints) but I no longer get depressed, frustrated or annoyed about it, I just try to live a normal life as much as possible.

Just one question, Have I Habituated??

[Gobeblu]

I’m new to it ( a year ago) and it’s irritating but similar to you , the key seems to be ‘accepting’ it.

[rabbits65]

Hello bantams, what a lovely uplifting post, thank you. So nice to hear your positivity , and yes I think you have habituated definitely far more forward than I have done. May you carry on enjoying your life 😊

[doglover1973]

Nice work bantams It sounds as if you have. That's very good news & very encouraging for all of us. I'm 20 months in and hoping I might get there too .

[Happyrosie]

Hey bantams well done. Here a description of the stages of habituation:

Habituation to tinnitus is a gradual process that occurs over a long period of time. To guide your progress, this note describes four stages of habituation. These stages provide an overview of the process as it unfolds over months and years. The stages help you what to expect and provide a yardstick to gauge your progress.

Stage One

Persistent awareness of tinnitus except during sleep and masking by louder sounds.

Frequent worrying and depressing thoughts about tinnitus.

Concentration on mental tasks difficult to sustain for more than a few minutes.

Absorbing activities provide only slight distraction.

Insomnia (if present) is severe. Cumulative sleep loss in some cases necessitates medication.

Stage Two

Intermittent awareness developing—especially during absorbing activities. There are moments when you are aware that you have not been aware of tinnitus.

Improvement in concentration reflected in increasing engagement in usual activities

Beginnings of emotional acceptance; the implications of the noises no longer seems catastrophic.

Gradual return to normal sleep pattern (if disturbed).

Stage Three

Awareness mainly limited to periods of fatigue, stress or quiet.

Noises intrude mainly when listening and mental concentration are important (at social gatherings, the theatre, lectures, etc.)

Noises are annoying rather than emotionally distressing

Stage Four

Attention rarely given to the noises. Attention limited to periods when they are louder than normal or you are reminded of them.

Noises do not intrude into normal activities.

pleasant nor unpleasant. Emotional acceptance is achieved

So, I think you're there - congratulations!

[surreycccfan]

Nice one, great news on learning to live with it.

Re: habituation I think a lot of folks get hung up on achieving this, but as you said what is it really. One macro definition is 'Habituation is a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations' and for a lot of T folks, this means we notice our T less.

When I was working on managing my T, I sort of dropped the focus on habituation, instead I said 'I wanted to live well with my T' a key part of this was reducing the negative emotional response to my T (fight/flight), I then realised if I was to live well with my T I would need to take its power over me away by giving it less focus. Ultimately, I accepted my T (this was not easy and took a long time working with behavioral tools), this stopped me seeing it as threat and that it was just part of me now.

So, for me I use the word 'normalisation' rather than habituation as I just see my T as another one of my bodily functions, this means I have totally desentised it, it no longer has a negative impact on my nervous system and ultimately it has no power of me.

Stay safe