To the new folks on this site. There are exceptions to the following thoughts, but my non-medical experience is that the vast majority of T sufferers fall into the following trap: Tinnitis is a beast that feeds on fear! Feeding number 1. You wake up some morning and blam! Your world seems incredibly altered with this high pitched whine in one or both ears or all over your head. The adrenaline goes up, the fear goes up, you listen intently and you just know that it will be gone when you wake up the next day. . . week. . . month. . . . and it still hasn’t gone away. The T levels climb! Feeding number 2. You go to a well meaning but unknowing ENT (ed.: Ear Nose and Throat specialist) or Audiologist that says yep! You done got T! Too bad, just live with it! The worst thing in the world for you to be told at that point. The sound level notches up another 10 dB! Feeding number 3. You start looking at the internet and seeing stories about other miserable people, and reading about how there is no real “pill” cure even in the study phases, and how everything medically that has been tried and tested just plain didn’t work and how all of the herbs, and acupuncture, and howling at the moon in the world doesn’t do a thing, and the sound notches up another 10 dB. Feeding number 4. You start thinking about suicide and you go see your Doctor and he/she finally sees that something really is bugging this guy/gal and they talk about attitude and psychiatric things and you start feeling like you are nutty instead of suffering a true physiological thing and the sound notches up another 10 dB. Finally your Doctor says “well, lets put you on an anxiety drug cause you are probably really hearing this sound and it is probably stress related, so you finally get some Xanax or Klonopin or whatever, and you start feeling a little better because you just don’t even care about the sound ’cause of the drugs. Your fear level drops. . . the T starts starving a bit, you start enjoying things, chasing your wife/husband around the bedroom again, going to movies, quiet concerts, quiet restaurants, the T starves a bit more. Finally, one day you say to yourself. . . .“hey, I can live with this if I have to.” The T is starved a little more. In the end you say “hmm. . . I can still hear this curse, but to hell with it, I am not going to listen any more. I am going to get/stay in good physical condition, I am going to smell the roses, love my kids, pet the dog, see beauty in even that which might not really be beautiful, become a bit more spiritual and philosophical in my attitudes, try to provide more service to others, become less self centered about my own problems, and learn to be empathic and sensitive to everyone with anykind of health problem no matter how big or how small.” Finally; Blam! . . . the beast is a mere shell of its former self. . . Not dead, still twitching, but starved into submission. You have done just as well as Sigfreid and Roy, the famous magicians and animal tamers of the Las Vegs Strip! Don’t Feed the Beast what it likes! Do get a good physical checkout, maybe there is some underlying thing that can be fixed. . . probably not! Once the physical things have been ruled out, you will be the only person to Starve the Beast! You have to stare down the fear. If you need help in the form of anxiety medications, go for it without shame. If you need help in the form or Tinnitis Retraining Therapy (TRT), go for it. You can and will overcome. Many thousands have! You will too! Cheers! |