Why is it that tinnitus doesn't bother some people?

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socalrosegal	Why is it that tinnitus doesn't bother some people?	Lead	[-]
Posts: 6 (06/06/09 5:09 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None How is this possible? I've read that some people get tinnitus and it doesn't bother them one bit. How can that be? Is it, do you think, that some people have easy going "genes", or that their brains are built differently? I'm so intrigued that this could not bother some people, and why.... I guess an analogy would be that when you get toothache, your brain feels pain. Are there some people that have a toothache and don't feel it for some reason, and why? Is it because they have a more positive outlook on life in general, or maybe because there is sometihng different in the make up of their brain.. It's just so hard for me to look at tinnitus, a condition that pushes some people to the edge of the unthinkable, and then read about people for whom it doesn't bother them. A friend of mine thought that people who are very caring, emotinally sensitive, and empathetic to others seem to suffer more from having t. I wonder if that is true?
TammyAScuirus		#1	[-]
Posts: 822 (06/06/09 5:30 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Hi socalrosegal, Good question. With tinnitus, it could be the fact that some people have a tendency to have higher anxiety levels. It's the anxiety that causes us to react to t. Some of us stop dead in our tracks when we get anxious, and others learn to calm themselves and get on with it. I'm terrified of the dentist. Not everyone is. I can't fathom how anyone can even go for a checkup without an anxiety attack. But I still have to force myself to go. That's the thing with anxiety about tinnitus. You have to force yourself to do things otherwise the consequences will be far worse than the fear. T doesn't discriminate. It doesn't make a difference whether you're nasty or nice as to how you react to it. Susan
Rob x 2		#2	[-]
Posts: 1485 (06/07/09 7:05 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	What causes us to react as we do? Some folks love rap and others love classical? Some of us love to kick back in order to relax while others need to be busy and find that relaxing. Along with all the other ways in which people are different, we react in different ways to tinnitus. Some react to tinnitus and it makes them very upset and others don't. Very anxious people who are predisposed to viewing things in a more negative light can react with aplomb to tinnitus and very easy-going people with a positive outlook can be startled by tinnitus and made to feel miserable. Some folks can be under great stress and feel acutely affected by tinnitus and others can have the time of their lives and be stopped in their tracks when tinnitus sounds it's high-pitched call. It's a little hard to wrap our heads around, and yet the predominating percentage of people with tinnitus are not terribly affected by it once a little time passes. Are emotionally caring, sensitive people more prone to suffering from tinnitus? In my view, no more than insensitive, immature, clueless people. Tinnitus intrusivity is very democratic in that way. rob x 2
Roy 43		#3	[-]
Posts: 621 (06/07/09 7:49 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Hi socalrosegal This is a subject that interests me greatly. I feel that sometimes I become very anxious about things and I believe this brings on stress, which I also believe was the cause of me having to have a heart bypass. Thank God not everyone is the same, for example I have a friend who served with the British Army who has now retired along with his MBE, I have known him for a lot of years, but would you believe I have only just found out that he suffers with T. To say I was shocked would be an understatement, I asked him how he copes, he answered very simply "I just don't think about it". Our milkman also suffers with T, it does not bother him at all, I asked him how it started, he told me an articulated wheel and tyre blew up within in yards of him. I also asked him how he coped, he replied the same, "I just don't give it a thought", and believe me he is a very happy chap. Nevertheless I think the answer is simplistic, we are not all the same. There are people like Freddie who have had this Devils Symphony for over 50 years, I speak to Freddie most days and given the fact that I have not had T for a fraction of the time he has, were I should be supporting him, it's him who offers me great support, along with many other people from the board. Another interesting fact, if you go to " T Treatments - Snake Oil or Useful", look through this thread like I have done, the amount of people who no longer post here is quite amazing. Is this because they have come to terms with their T or has it possibly gone away ? Just a thought. Roy UK Warrior
reph		#4	[-]
Posts: 17981 (06/07/09 8:40 AM) Assistant Workhorse Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Are there some people that have a toothache and don't feel it for some reason, and why? Some people go without anesthetic when having dental work. They have the pain sensation but regard it as merely interesting. Somehow they distance themselves from it emotionally. I don't understand this any better than you do. I could never do it myself. Many people habituate to tinnitus quickly and easily, so that they don't hear their tinnitus unless they think about it.
RenoAlaska		#5	[-]
Posts: 191 (06/07/09 10:38 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Some people, like my nephew, have had it their whole life. He never knew quiet so you can't miss something you have never had in the first place. Reno
hopeinGod		#6	[-]
Posts: 4164 (06/08/09 3:45 AM) TSMB Supporter Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	It's the variety of intensity that causes the ups and downs of the condition, at least in my case. Numerous meds and other health issues can peak the sounds I hear in my head. I have ETD (Eustachian tube dsyfunction) and must have tubes inserted into at least one ear at any one time to help with drainage. When my sinuses act up, so does the ringing. The decibel level and frequency changes a great deal for me, as I hear all sorts of sounds at various levels: ringing, tapping, swishing, a low roar, clicking, and others. If it was just one set volume, tone, sound, frequency, etc. it would be a different story altogether. Sometimes I must wear either my Neuromonics unit or listen to nature sounds to distract me. Habituation is easier when there aren't as many variables, IMO. Dave
Oz Greg		#7	[-]
Posts: 14384 (06/08/09 4:02 AM) Under the Southern Cross. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	How is this possible? I've read that some people get tinnitus and it doesn't bother them one bit. How can that be? Is it, do you think, that some people have easy going "genes", or that their brains are built differently? I'm so intrigued that this could not bother some people, and why.... I guess an analogy would be that when you get toothache, your brain feels pain. Are there some people that have a toothache and don't feel it for some reason, and why? Is it because they have a more positive outlook on life in general, or maybe because there is sometihng different in the make up of their brain.. It's just so hard for me to look at tinnitus, a condition that pushes some people to the edge of the unthinkable, and then read about people for whom it doesn't bother them. A friend of mine thought that people who are very caring, emotinally sensitive, and empathetic to others seem to suffer more from having t. I wonder if that is true? Some people need to listen for their tinnitus in a room that is void of sounds, wheras some people can't hear the TV without turning up the volume because their tinnitus is perceived as quite loud. This is'nt the only factor and it also gets down to genetics. Some people worry a lot, some don't worry much at all. Some people with soft tinnitus have more trouble habituating to it than people with tinnitus that is perceived as loud. We are all different! I think that your last sentence has a significant bearing on one's reaction to tinnitus. greg
Mickw		#8	[-]
Posts: 984 (06/08/09 8:35 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	We are all unique beings. Im scared of heights, others arnt. Its just our psychological make up. As ive said before, my wife has percieved her t as loud, mine i percieve as quiet (after2.5 years of TRT). Yet hers causes her no concern, mine used to depress me a lot but doesnt now. I suppose all i changed was my feelings of what t was, changed from scarred to being like my wife. From hearing it over a car radio in a car on a bumpy road at 60, to a soft wisper. The brain sure is a weird thing. Certainly i think from personal experiences of people with t is that anxious, stressed, depressed people do seem to get it more and its harder to accept. I could be wrong though. Mick
swaddell		#9	[-]
Posts: 145 (06/08/09 6:35 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I agree that people who are predisposed to anxiety and depression can get hit much harder by Tinnitus. My Tinnitus was great for 13 years - soft, predictable and mask-able in about 95% of the environments I encountered. After an unknown illness it got LOUD and about 16 weeks ago I was a wreak. Now, even though it seems just a loud, I am not bothered by it about 80% of the time and know that I will reach full habitation again, like before. I know that it didn't answer your question directly but I think if you didn't acquire it as a young child it takes a bit of time for everyone to get use to it.The funny thing is the more I talk about it around friends, co-workers and family the more I find out that a good majority of these people have some level of Tinnitus and they were no where near as effected by it as I was, if effected at all.
MOXIE	Why is it that tinnitus doesn't bother some people	#10	[-]
Posts: 43 (06/09/09 6:11 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	A very simple answer to your question is. It's the volume of the T. If it is a quite T that you have to get in a quite room to hear, it does not bother you. If you can hear it above a vacuum cleaner then it will bother you. There was some nut on here a few months ago that said his wife had loud Intrusive T but she does not hear it. What an idiot statement.
swaddell		#11	[-]
Posts: 150 (06/09/09 6:52 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	http://www.tinnitus.org/home/frame/tin2d.htmThe presence of any continuous stimulus results in a process called habituation, whereby the individual responds less and less to the stimulus, as long as it does not have any special significance. Think of moving house, from the quietness of the countryside, to live by a busy road. At first the traffic sounds are disliked, and appear very loud. As this reaction diminishes with time (habituation of reaction) there is an automatic reduction in the perception of traffic sounds (habituation of perception), The final stage of habituation is when the signal is no longer detected, and cortical neurones are unresponsive. Habituation to loud Tinnitus is possible. I image many have and will continue to do so. Mine is fairly loud and I am coming along with longer periods of not hearing it daily. Last Edited By: swaddell 06/09/09 7:22 PM. Edited 1 times.
Rob x 2		#12	[-]
Posts: 1501 (06/09/09 7:11 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Moxie writes -- A very simple answer to your question is. It's the volume of the T. Moxie, your view is understandable. But it isn't correct. It is your experience, but it is not necessarily everyone's experience. Studies have been done on this sort of thing with over 1000 people in just one of those studies, all of whom had what they considered to be awful tinnitus just like your own. One thing clinicians learned is the volume of tinnitus has very little to do with what makes it so intrusive to folks. Folks with a comparatively very low volume of tinnitus can be made miserable by it, and folks with a comparatively louder volume can also be made miserable. The opposite is also true. Whether tinnitus is comparatively softer or louder, folks can habituate it - meaning it no longer bothers them and they are often not even aware of it. If you can hear it above a vacuum cleaner then it will bother you. I can hear mine above a vacuum cleaner, above all kinds of musical instruments, you name it. It doesn't bother me. But it used to. There was some nut on here a few months ago that said his wife had loud Intrusive T but she does not hear it. What an idiot statement. I'm pretty sure the fellow was saying although his wife's tinnitus was very loud, she often wasn't aware of it. The statement isn't idiotic and the person who came on the board wasn't a nut. He was just describing his wife's experience, like you are describing your own. Like swaddell says, habituation to loud tinnitus is possible. rob x 2
billie48		#13	[-]
Posts: 57 (06/09/09 11:07 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	My colleague today told me that his wife of 20+ years has had loud tinnitus for alomst same as long. She didn't want to talk about the subject much with him. That means she could handle her T without even needing to seek support from the spouse. She just has music all the time. Not emotional, just living her life with constant masking by music and their kids are now adults. Go to say people can live or habituate or adapt to living with loud Tinnitus without much fuss. This is to our amazement, but quite common with some folks and they are those never needing help from others. They just move on with it and don't think much about the ringing even the music is on. Go figure. I like to know what gene they are made of. Sometimes, I feel if we can invite some of these folks to talk about their approach in coping with tinnitus will be very helpful to the new sufferers.
reph		#14	[-]
Posts: 18040 (06/10/09 6:18 AM) Assistant Workhorse Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Sometimes, I feel if we can invite some of these folks to talk about their approach in coping with tinnitus will be very helpful to the new sufferers. Folks like those post on this board and do indeed describe their experiences and assure the new sufferers that things get better.
MOXIE	Studies	#15	[-]
Posts: 45 (06/10/09 6:42 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	There are studies to support anyones claim, but I still say for most folks VOLUME is the problem. Just ask any of your friends who do not have T to get in a quite room and stick their fingers in their ears and see if they hear anything. I bet most will say yes they do, but it does not bother them because the volume is low. Take yourself ROB. What would you give to have the volume down to a whisper? Just about anything I bet. Yes there will be folks who have loud volume who will get used to it and ones with low who will not, but the great percentage do not get used to high volume and prays for the few days when the volume goes down and gives them some relief..
Rob x 2		#16	[-]
Posts: 1506 (06/10/09 8:32 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Moxie writes -- There are studies to support anyones claim, but I still say for most folks VOLUME is the problem. The studies I referred to above are excellent studies, conducted by some very smart and caring clinicians, which involved a heckuva lot of people just like you, me and everyone else on the board. In other words, the subjects in the study groups all suffered from incredibly loud tinnitus which they found incredibly intrusive. Take yourself ROB. What would you give to have the volume down to a whisper? I wouldn't give anything. It's not an issue for me anymore. Yes there will be folks who have loud volume who will get used to it and ones with low who will not, but the great percentage do not get used to high volume and prays for the few days when the volume goes down and gives them some relief. Absolutely untrue. Moxie, your own subjective experience of tinnitus -- the only experience that matters to you, as it should -- is not applicable to "the great percentage" of tinnitus sufferers who have loud tinnitus. rob x 2
lodom.ampworkshop		#17	[-]
Posts: 15 (06/10/09 9:33 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I'm glad there are studies to support that people can habitate to tinnitus regardless of the volume, and I find this encouraging, since my tinnitus is much louder than it was last Sept. However, to me it is logical that louder more intrusive tinnitus is more difficult to habitate to than tinnitus that can only be noticed when listened for. Mine used to be that way a few years ago, and I'd learned to live with it on most days. I have a friend that developed it a few years ago, and he has to stop and listen for his, and it is only in one ear, so he didn't have to learn to habitate to it.
Mickw		#18	[-]
Posts: 986 (06/10/09 10:52 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Hi Moxie, its idiot here. If you read what i posted, i could hear mine at 60mph in a car with the radio on on a damm bad road. I could hear it over the tv, in a busy bus laden street, pretty much anywhere. Now? Mostly its a nothing, even if it does "appear" to go up, i know it hasnt and i dont care so it goes away. All i changed was my perception of what t was. As for calling me an idiot and inferring my wife was lying, i could also point out several of my friends with very loud perception of t who dont give it a second thought when they hear it. Its a nothing, an irrelavant nothing. My wifes radiotherapy and chemo even made the perception go up as she was under a lot of stress. But, and this is the important bit, she reacts like Rob. Its a nothing, its only noise and noise cant hurt you. Reactions can. By the way, have you had a t match done to see how loud your t is? It does come as a bit of a shock when you get the results but gives you the weapons to overcome this thing. Mick
MOXIE	I'm rude	#19	[-]
Posts: 46 (06/10/09 1:18 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Please excuse my name calling mickw. Just having a bad t day. I get 5 or 6 days a month when the volume is low and I can go much of the day without noticing it. But the rest of the month is bad and on mind most of the time. That's why, for me, and I bet a lot of folks on this board, volume is an issue. And how do we expect to get people to give to find a cure for this, when they get on this board and read how people are doing great and they do not even hear their T.
Mickw		#20	[-]
Posts: 991 (06/10/09 1:47 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Moxie, vent all you want. Been there done that and i found it helped. I still vent but not about t. You could look on this as a positive. Whats so special about me, my wife Rob and others? Nothing. We were you but you can be us. My brain has turned down the volume by nothing more than not giving a +%#+ what t does. I just woke up thought xxxx it and my brain did the rest. Chip away at it bit by bit. Expect relapse, but this stuff really works. Laugh, smile and remember, the volume isnt important. Its not caring what it does thats important and when you get to that point t just floats away, its just not important. Just on a controversial point, the volume doesnt change. We do. My t match came out the same loud day and quiet. Weird! Mick

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