Habituation?

[Liamovy]

3 and a half years in to my journey and still not habituated. There has been times where I felt I might be on my way but then my tinnitus worsens and I feel like I’m back to square one. My tinnitus has got particularly loud the last few weeks and I am really struggling with it. My question is does your tinnitus stay the same or regularly worsen? How do you habituate to something that changes and gets louder over time? How has your journey to habituation been and how long did it take?

[SueX]

I haven't habituated yet (but only 6 months in). My own perception is that i might be able to habituate if the noises didn't change quite so often! Also I have pulsatile tinnitus and I think it's harder to habituate to something that is drumming away in your head. I do think that habituation might happen in time - based on what people here say. Guess it takes longer for some than others.

[Liamovy in reply to SueX]

Hi sue yes I take comfort in other peoples stories on here and hope that I will also habituate but like you say it’s hard when your tinnitus changes and gets louder: Good luck in your journey xx

[Ray200]

My tinnitus is at it's loudest in the morning. I claim to be habituated to it, and I do so by largely ignoring the thing - 2 years in I would say I no longer remember what not having tinnitus full time is, which is a blessing

That said, I did have a few hours of no tinnitus yesterday. I take Ginkgo but not daily, and it's absorbed in the mouth (as the actual chewed leaf would be) not 'lower down'. Click on my username for posts on how I do it.

[Liamovy in reply to Ray200]

Thank you for your reply. I’ll take a look and willing to try anything that might help

[Upbeatmap]

I've had pulsatile tinnitus for 3.5 years now and I think I am habituated. I know it's there but have long periods of time where I forget about it. I have a condition called SSCD which comes with a bunch of other symptoms. I used to think that the PT was the worst symptom but I now think that the hyperacusis is the worst so I guess that means I have habituated to the tinnitus.

For me, sleep is everything. When I am tired, everything is worse and my head is louder so I do everything I can to get a good night's sleep. I have a sleep routine that I really try to stick to and I wear Ozlo sleepbuds which play the sound of rain into my ears all night which distracts it from the tinnitus.

[Liamovy in reply to Upbeatmap]

Thank you for the reply I will look into the sleep buds xx

[WildIris]

I've had tinnitus since 1969. Back then, there was no internet and I was an unhappy teenager at a school in the Arizona desert, a very quiet place, and had no idea how many people suffered from it. I felt alone with it. For years, I found various kinds of noise machines like fans and felt singularly cursed when I accidentally heard it.

Fast forward, to your question about habituation. My stomach stopped clenching all the time about it once I got out of the desert and lived my life. It has gotten louder as I've aged, but nowadays, it feels a little more like a blessing, not the sound itself, but all I've learned from struggling to deal with it.

And again, focus. back to your question, I did habituate to it in a year or two though I avoided quiet rooms for many more years. Mine is a constant ringing noise, an auditory nerve injury from a bad drug, not pulsatile or varying except when I have a cold or flu, so it's easier that what many people experience.

[Liamovy]

thank you for your reply. That sounds horrendous having to deal with this as a teenager when little was known about it as well. I am glad you have come to terms with it xx