Tinnitus

[sun_1234]

Is anyone find true solutions for tinnitus??????

Life is very hard with tinnitus.😢

[doglover1973]

Hello sun_1234 Here's a big hug for you ((( ))) It's not easy especially in the early weeks & months. Don't be tempted to buy into any 'cures' . The best solution for hearing loss with T is hearing aids . Have you been for the hearing test yet? Go if you can. Take someone with you if possible.

[sun_1234 in reply to doglover1973]

Yes doglover but I can’t do my hearing test because the sounds make me irritation. They will check me again next week. I have to wait for hearing aids. they said maybe few months. Thank you Doglover I really appreciate your response.

[rabbits65]

Yes your right , however although tinnitus can be hard to cope with , things should get easier for you in time . Stay calm . Keep busy , plenty of fresh air and walks . You will be ok. 😃

[sun_1234 in reply to rabbits65]

Thank you rabbits65.

[Happyrosie]

Hello Sun. We can see you are finding that Tinnitus is hard to cope with. But please be reassured, it WILL get better in time especially if you practice the advice you've been given here, like relaxation and breathing techniques.

If there were 'true solutions' I can tell you absolutely that you would have been told about them! There is no magic pill. But the solution is to begin to treat the tinnitus as an annoying friend that you are finding it hard to get rid of. It's not an enemy and does not hurt you.

[sun_1234 in reply to Happyrosie]

Thank you Happyrosie. I feel sometimes comfort when you guys give some positive comment’s.

[sun_1234 in reply to sun_1234]

I try breathing relaxation everyday but still I get anxious and panic attack.

[doglover1973 in reply to sun_1234]

That's normal in the early days sun_1234 The distress will gradually ease as you get used to the sound(s). You won't always feel the way you do now. Honestly.

[sun_1234]

I know maybe but I can’t control my self sometimes. musical sounds make more worse. thank you Doglover.

[NaiveGreen in reply to sun_1234]

Same here. I love silence - even now with tinnitus I sometimes prefer it instead of sound which supposedly should mask it. Take care and don't give up - but try to not stress much.

In my case I got up one day and was sooo tired with tinnitus that i simply ran of out hate for it - and now it is what it is - annoying as hell but i'm trying to not care...

(btw it's hard to express feelings in non native language )

[AldoArgentina]

Hello! I'm so sorry!! I’m doing all of these and my T is going down little by little: 1. You must keep your blood pressure low as you can and is important to control whether you snore. 2. Take Magnesium L. Threonate (Only this Magnesium!!!) 3 hours before bed. Look for information, this magnesium is really good for brains. 3. Try taking Idebenone 4. Do you know Mimicking fasting diet of Walter Longo? In Argentina there aren't doctors to guide us with this diet, perhaps you can find one. 5. And finally try homeopathy. I wish you much luck!!

[CLL23]

I have not. However, I have an appointment with an audiologist in a couple weeks. I will post if he has any new information on this frustrating condition.

[Tanney]

there are several things you could try in hope that your tinnitus level will decrease.1. see if you have nasal allergies. Allergies worsen tinnitus. If you do have allergies try to manage them with salt water flushes + good nasal inhaler

2. try to avoid salt. Salt makes your body retain fluids including fluid in inner/middle ears. Fluid retention in that area can make tinnitus worse.

3. ask your doctor to prescribe a sedative such as Ativan. Low dosage Ativan (0.5mg) placed under your tongue has a calming effect on the inner ear and I've found it very helpful in reducing my tinnitus level.

Let me know if any of this helps you. If you have questions feel free to ask me.

Good luck!

[sun_1234]

Thank you Tanney. I will do that definitely.

[surreycccfan]

Hi, 'true solutions for tinnitus'... where no physical reason for T and I not a specific type of T I would say the solution for T is to take back control from your T and reduce your emotional reaction (fight/flight) to your T. This doesn't have to be acceptance (but this helps) its about being able to live well with you T. Once you can dampen your emotional reaction it is possible to habituate and your T not to bother you.

By using evidence based distraction and behavioral techniques I have seen lots of folks live well with their T (plus this is the plan I used and my T rarely bothers me). Please dont think I am being dismissive as when I first experienced my T i found it so difficult which resulted in severe depression. However, after following what I had read on the BTA website, what I learnt at BTA webinars and BTA support groups I started building a 'toolkit' of these techniques and realised if others had habituated/accepted their T, why couldn't I. The behavioral techniques require constant practice but for most folks these types of techniques help shift how we think about our T which helps eventually to push it into the background as your brain starts to stop seeing it as a threat.

Examples of these evidence based distraction and behavioral techniques I followed are below but there are lots of ideas on the BTA website .

• Sound therapy - I used a sound generator app to help me sleep (sound of waves and rain) plus I used positive reframing while listening to these sounds (I thought of really nice beach holidays I had spent with the family; this was not only distraction but also helped enforce positive thinking while I was anxious)

• CBT - Although I was skeptical of counseling, I found it very helpful and helped me see what types of negative thoughts I was having and how this was affecting my feelings. I found tools such as the APPLE model very helpful as allowed me to – pause, reflect, and reframe negative thoughts. CBT also helped me understand our natural negative bias and gave me tools to manage my thoughts and feelings which ultimately took a lot of power away from my T

• Exercise – Not only does this release endorphins (destressed me) but even if I was just going for a walk I would not only exercise but use behavioural techniques such as active listening where I would listen 'through' my T (this is where you listen for 20 seconds to something in the distance e.g. car or planes and then listen to something close up for 20 seconds e.g. your footsteps, this helped my brain to focus on something other than the sound of my T and help 'practice' listening to the world around me. I also found Swimming really useful as I could not hear my T while I was splashing up and down the swimming lane

• Body scans - This type of mindfulness exercise was great to being me into the moment and away from negative thoughts and/or away from focusing on my T

• Video Gaming – Finding a hobby or activity that really makes you focus on something was really useful. I found online gaming really helped me as I was so engrossed in playing the game, I would have periods where I didn't 'hear' my T as my brain was focused on something I was enjoying. Most folks find hobby’s they really enjoy has this effect

• Affirmations – I had a list of sayings I would use to help me stay centred and grounded when I was struggling e.g. 'this will be pass', 'my plan is to manage my T not manage me'

• Avoid avoidance – Often we want to hide from our T and this is impossible so I made sure I lived my life by trying to avoid my T, I would use the distraction and behavioural techniques to ensure I was working a plan which would ultimately allow me to manage my T. One thing I found as I became more comfortable with my T was to say hello to my T before I went to sleep so I had acknowledged it and this allowed my brain to 'move on' to think about something other than my T

• Don’t mourn my old life - It’s very easy for our lives to shrink when we get T and we wish for things we had in our lives before T. I found this quite negative so I always tried to reframe my thoughts in a way where I was trying to effect the future with T rather than wishing for my life before/without T

• Empathy - I attended BTA virtual support groups, at these groups not only did I learn more about the condition, I learnt behavioural/distraction techniques but also by sharing and listening to others with the condition I felt a great sense of empathy and support which again helped with anxiety and worry knowing I was not alone plus there was hope that I could habituate and live well with my T

• Support Network - I realised that having a good support network was important as not only did this help my stay positive but by also having folks to talk to allowed me to decompress. The BTA virtual support groups were excellent but I also made sure my family and closest friends understood what I was going through and this helped me feel safe and positive which encouraged me in sticking to my T management plan

• Understand that the more I give my T focus the more I am feeding the T and the anxiety - This was important as when we first get T it takes over our lives but this constant focusing on the perceived noise of our T just made me focus more on it and made me feel down. To try and arrest this focus I would use a combination of distraction and behavioural techniques to take the power away from my T

• Kindness - Having T is tough and it’s not your fault you have so it BE KIND to yourself, beating yourself up will only feed worry and anxiety. I grounded myself when I said be kind to myself by telling myself I was following this plan of distraction and behavioural techniques which I know had worked for others with the condition so if I just stuck to the plan things would get better.

For complete transparency, I know when I first heard others on the BTA virtual support groups about how they were living well with their T and how they habituated i thought 'You don't know how bad MY T is' but after attending a few sessions I realised these folks had T that was the same (or worse) than mine and they had managed to live well with their T by following a similar evidence based plan. So, there is hope and however tough it feels now things can get better

Hope this helps in some small way. Stay safe

[sun_1234]

Thank you for your nice information