After having the first panic inducing tinnitus for 4 months I am starting to cope day by day not hour by hour as I was originally. My sleep has improved and I’ve found having a sleep routine of showering, reading a book and then having a rain background noise has helped me settle at night. I a finding now that when I get engrossed in baking, decorating (our bedroom needed repainting) or gardening I find the noise reduces a lot.
However today after talking about some good things that are happening I realised that my tinnitus had backed off to near silence. This made me really uneasy and started looking for the noise, so much so that I could feel panic rising.
I have calmed down a little and the buzz has come back at a quieter but higher pitched level but wondered if this is me habituating - but why the panic?
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Loucas12
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Congratulations. Sounds like you are. Your journey sounds very similar to mine. I developed T in July ‘24 - I passed out for what has proved an unknown reason and have had T ever since. Like you I use white noise rain to sleep with, and read a book in bed so my ears are heavy. Even when waking during the night I tend to get back off despite the constant ringing/buzzing. I wouldn’t say it’s great every night but I certainly feel I’m getting there and get 4 or 5 good hours sleep per night.
Don’t stress, you’re doing great. Keep positive and keep busy. Well done
I guess the panic becuase even though you have habituated there's still a lot of uncertainty with Tinnitus. We never know if it will change intensity or pitch and that can be really unsettling. Great that you have habituated. I'm not there yet!
well done - you’re doing well. That’s what happens. You panic because you’re so scared it’ll be unmanageable again. Keep doing you and you will fade it out and bring happy thoughts back.
My T seems to have been caused by one of two things, either stress/anxiety which really became bad in November '24 (I'm now on medication for it) or a Covid infection. In either case, it's still with me now and I assume it's permanent.
You can read my previous posts to see how brutal this journey has been for me, I was at times in a dark place. But in recent weeks, and perhaps with help from the anxiety meds, I'm feeling more relaxed and accepting of the T. In fact sometimes I even sit in a silent room and just listen to it, telling myself it's nothing and it's just my new silence.
At times it still bothers me, but I'm sleeping much better than before, and generally doing better in myself.
ENT has ruled out anything serious and I remain a bit hopeful it'll resolve itself, while being accepting that it may not.
I thing whenever your tinnitus changes there's a slight feeling of panic. Is it going to stay the same. When it comes back (and we rarely use IF) will it be worse. We get used to what we're used to and when we get habituated to it, change makes us uneasy, even if it's good change.
That is real good. Habituating isn’t so many things as others have said. It’s not linear, guaranteed, always positive, time conforming or pattern conforming. From all I’ve read of others you are definitely doing the right things for you. These small set backs are natural and expected and as ever it’s how recognised and managed them.
My T spikes coming on predictably from this forum and reading these posts so I try to only add my pennies worth only when I feel better able to cope with them. I’m never convinced that I’ve habituated and it’s been 10 years this April coming. Incidentally that ‘might’ be when I’m no longer employed so I’m predicting a T spikes then!
By the sounds of it you are doing really well and that is the be celebrated. Make sure when you next put your paintbrush down you have a nice celebratory cup of well earned tea, maybe a rich tea finger, other options ‘apparently’ exist and a pat on the back.
yes indeed it looks as though you have found a new norm in your routine.
I would probably think that when you heard silence, you were frightened of a new event in what had become you norm hence looking for the sound in your head.
I love the sound of rain, I work to it. I also the sound of an old vinyl or tape recording. And keeping away from loud environments.
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