Bill Garvy

Sarah,

Do a search for Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, or TRT. It has helped me a lot, and I was just diagnosed with tinnitus with a hearing loss in my left ear, where my tinnitus currently resides. The pitch of my hearing loss, 8kHz, is the pitch of the tinnitus ringing. My perception is that my left ear hears better, but my recent audiological examination proved otherwise.

Regardless, the goal of TRT is "habituation" which, by analogy, is like living near the "L" tracks here in Chicago. At first the sound of the trains keeps you up all night, but before you know it, you hardly hear the trains at all, unless you listen for them. Our brains are a powerful tool, it's simply an issue of learning how to use them.

Since early June, when my tinnitus started, there are only certain times when I hear it. What helps me is being in a sound enriched environment, and avoiding "extreme" silence. The sounds of fans, a white noise generator that simulates the sound of the surf pounding on the shore, provide enough of a sound distraction to keep my mind from "revisiting" my tinnitus and focusing too much attention on it. I would suggest natural sounds as a source of the necessary sound enrichment as opposed to the sounds of a television or radio, but either way, find what preference works for you.

Be aware of those circumstances when you can not hear yours. It is usually natural sounds that seem to provide that very important sound enrichment I mentioned. I understand it can take a year to a year and a half to become habituated. I am hopeful.

There was an experiment done in the early 50's where they placed 80 or so tinnitus free subjects in a sound proof room, and then asked them to report on what they heard. Thinking they were being subjected to some kind of hearing test/experiment, 90%+ of the subjects reported hearing sounds similar to the sounds of tinnitus, i.e. ringing, buzzing, clicking, and so forth.

I think we all have tinnitus to some degree or another, its just a question of the circumstances that bring us to its awareness, whether through hearing loss, ear infection, or some other means.

As I concentrate and focus on writing my response to you now, my tinnitus fades into the background a bit. I think you can catch where I am going with this. Best wishes to you, and remember, that which does not kill me makes me stronger.