A Tinnitus Journey

You will eventually come across the term "habituation" in your research. What this means is that your brain will eventually get used to your tinnitus and stop regarding it as a threat to your wellbeing. This is what your doctor probably meant when he told you "you'll eventually get used to it". Habituation (getting used to your tinnitus) can take a long time. Every time your tinnitus changes (gets louder, changes pitch) your brain has to start all over again. I've heard to said that it takes months for your brain to habituate your tinnitus. If your tinnitus changes over time your brain needs to go through that process each and every time. Habituation is what will eventually allow you to return to some level of a normal life. All the techniques mentioned elsewhere (sound generators, relaxation, etc.) can help you get to habituation, but you'll want to focus on getting your brain to not regard tinnitus as important. It will fade into the background and, wh...

During my online searching I ran across many different ways that are recommended to reduce tinnitus... things such as: - sound therapy (noise machine, fan, in-ear sound generators) - in-ear (professional) hearing aids - stress reduction (breathing, meditation, etc) - therapy (such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) - acupuncture - dietary changes (eliminate caffeine, sugar, etc...) - exercise I am not including the quack/bogus treatments that are advertised on the Internet like pills and herbal supplements. Disregard these, as they are usually ineffective and can be dangerous to your health.  While visiting the online forums you will probably read of someone who tried one of these techniques and claims it eliminated their tinnitus. Then you'll try that same technique and find it doesn't do a thing for you. This can be very frustrating  Here's the thing: these are all legitimate ways that have proven successful for some people. The cause of tinnitus isn't the same for ever...

Many people find they can't tolerate loud sound (gas lawn mowers, vacuum cleaners) while they have tinnitus, and need something to protect their ears from sounds. I like those soft foam, roll-up and insert into the ear canal - type earplugs. They are cheap and easy to carry around in the car, suitcase or in your pocket. They seem to offer the best level of hearing protection out of all the types of earplugs I found, and are very cheap... Mack's Ultrasoft Earplugs If you find you have small ear canals you may want to try earplugs made for children... Mack's Slim Fit Soft Foam Earplugs I don't endorse this brand but have tried them and find them to work well for me. One issue with foam earplugs is fitting them into your ear canal for maximum noise reduction. One product I found that really helps is this... Oto-ease lubricant I believe this is made for use with in-ear hearing aids but I've found that a small drop placed on the end of a foam earplug (or even inserted di...

If you were like me, you probably scoured the internet for advise when you first developed your tinnitus. However, you've probably quickly noticed that most on-line forums and groups are abysmally negative places to hang out. It seems like people go there when they are in the initial desperate stages of their condition and the posts are mostly non-helpful. Occasionally a long-term sufferer will check in with a message of hope, but after reading the postings on many of the online forums I was ready to give up hope for ever living a normal life again. There are some useful resources online; however, I hesitate to endorse or name any in particular as I don't want to endorse someone who later turns out to be a fraud. But I would encourage you to read as much as you can online and form your own opinions about who to trust and what advice to follow.  I read the book A Roaring Silence Or: How to Stop Worrying and Learn How to Cope With Tinnitus by Frode Singsaas and found his message...

Just as tinnitus sound seems louder in the quiet of the night, it also sounds louder when using ear protection (like foam earplugs or 3M industrial  ear muffs ) and this can be very exasperating - you need the ear protection in loud environments but, for some people, hearing their tinnitus unabated for hours on end can cause a disturbing spike in their tinnitus... sort of a catch-22. My attempt to alleviate this condition led me to try AfterShokz bone conduction bluetooth headphones ... these 'phones fit snugly on your temples and conduct sound into your ears through the bones in your head. By playing distracting or soothing sounds through my phone to these headphones, while my ears were securely plugged, I was able to mask some of the tinnitus sounds and make the wearing of earplugs less distressing. Some people (including my family doctor) recommend using noise cancelling headphones such as those made by Bose but I did not have much luck when I tried these. 

I have had tinnitus for over 20 years. It started as a high-pitched ringing that was only audible at night when my world was very quiet. I also would experience it after a long car ride, or during times of high stress. That's when I had my first audiology test, but the results at that time showed no real hearing issues.  I started to notice that, after listening to content through headphones, the tinnitus would grow worse and stay at that level permanently. This led me to eventually discontinue the use of headphones altogether. Today I find my ears to be very sensitive to some sounds (the clink of a glass can set off a loud ringing sound in my ears) and other broad-frequency sounds (like the neighbor's gas-powered lawn mower) aren't tolerable. I understand that some tinnitus sufferers also have hyperacusis (sensitivity to sounds) - the two conditions seem related in my case. During the 2020 Covid pandemic I noticed a worsening of my tinnitus, and an increased sensitivity to...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that nearly 15% of the general public — over 50 million Americans — experience some form of tinnitus. Roughly 20 million people struggle with burdensome chronic tinnitus, while 2 million have extreme and debilitating cases. The cause of tinnitus is often unknown, but long-term noise exposure is often a suspected cause. I believe my tinnitus was the result of decades of loud headphone use listening to the radio and MP3 players. Tinnitus is often reported by members of the military who were exposed to loud gunfire, and musicians who are exposed to loud music on a frequent basis. According to my audiology tests I have moderate high-frequency hearing loss (above 4,000 Hz). That frequency range of the loss is the same as where I am hearing my tinnitus tones (roughly 7800 Hz, which is exactly where my hearing is the worst). Some experts propose the tinnitus is the result of the brain "making up" for not hearing those frequencies, thus ...

I created this blog to record my tinnitus journey. Hopefully some of what I've been through will give you aid, comfort, or hope as you go through your journey. If you are coming here for the first time after beginning to experience troublesome tinnitus, take away this message: there is hope!  Each of us experiences tinnitus differently. Even my own experiences change from week to week. Some times I think I've figured it out, then the tinnitus throws me a curve ball and comes back with something new. It is a frustrating, sometimes exasperating process, but you can get your life back.  But first, this caveat: I am not a medical doctor. Everything I say here is only from my experience.  If you are suffering from troublesome tinnitus please see your medical doctor, ENT and/or an audiologist for a complete evaluation ASAP. But don't be surprised if they tell you there is nothing they can do to help you. Because the reality is there isn't any pill, herb, cream, surgery, exerc...