Folks:
Long story short, I am 65 years old and retired. I've had a great life; the best wife ever, two fantastic sons, good friends, and a successful career. About a year ago I experienced a sudden onset of severe tinnitus (ringing in the ears). I suffer from that sound every single second of my life. Look up 6800hz on Youtube. That's what I hear, and it's the loudest sound I hear even when driving down the highway at 75mph into a headwind on coarse pavement. Imagine trying to sleep with that. In short, it's torture.
I've seen a half dozen medical specialists; audiologists, neurologists, etc. Tinnitus doesn't originate in your auditory system, it originates in your brain stem. There is no cure for tinnitus.
As a consequence, I have been seeing both a therapist and psychiatrist, just to keep my sanity. Learning CBT techniques has become a big part of my life - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT is a way to alter your mindset and not react to things in a manner that makes them worse. When tinnitus is ripping my psyche and spirit, I can either give it power and let it gain control....or not. It's an "upper" brain (good) versus "lower" brain (bad) thing. That's a huge simplification, but you get the idea.
I came across this video as part of my CBT studies. The woman is the "upper" brain, the man the "lower" brain. The video illustrates the battle all of us have with our conflicting thoughts, emotions, and reactions.
I think the video may have value to many of you, and for a variety of reasons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=vPaS85IA6oY
Cheers,
Scott
Long story short, I am 65 years old and retired. I've had a great life; the best wife ever, two fantastic sons, good friends, and a successful career. About a year ago I experienced a sudden onset of severe tinnitus (ringing in the ears). I suffer from that sound every single second of my life. Look up 6800hz on Youtube. That's what I hear, and it's the loudest sound I hear even when driving down the highway at 75mph into a headwind on coarse pavement. Imagine trying to sleep with that. In short, it's torture.
I've seen a half dozen medical specialists; audiologists, neurologists, etc. Tinnitus doesn't originate in your auditory system, it originates in your brain stem. There is no cure for tinnitus.
As a consequence, I have been seeing both a therapist and psychiatrist, just to keep my sanity. Learning CBT techniques has become a big part of my life - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT is a way to alter your mindset and not react to things in a manner that makes them worse. When tinnitus is ripping my psyche and spirit, I can either give it power and let it gain control....or not. It's an "upper" brain (good) versus "lower" brain (bad) thing. That's a huge simplification, but you get the idea.
I came across this video as part of my CBT studies. The woman is the "upper" brain, the man the "lower" brain. The video illustrates the battle all of us have with our conflicting thoughts, emotions, and reactions.
I think the video may have value to many of you, and for a variety of reasons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=vPaS85IA6oY
Cheers,
Scott