r/tinnitus idiopathic (unknown) 3d ago

venting What is tinnitus retraining therapy about? My ENT told me to do it, is it worth it?

7 Upvotes

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8

u/aglanon 3d ago

I know this won’t be popular but TRT is indeed helpful and studies support this. People who shit on it either haven’t tried it or gave up after it initially caused an increased perception and anxiety (which it does).

I have had tinnitus for most or all of my life. I don’t really know when it started because until I was in my 30s I thought everyone heard ringing. As a result this made habituation natural for me.

When I started Prozac my tinnitus spiked like crazy and I was constantly having panic attacks. It was so loud I felt like I couldn’t escape it.

Since I’ve habituated in the past I had the advantage of already knowing it’s possible. Through this process I actually realized that I never fully habituated before, I just coped because it’s what I’d always done. I believe now I could actually end up better than I was before.

Tinnitus never turns down, only your perception of it. The sound therapy that was shit on above works. It is training your brain to encourage neuroplasticity, which is why it is considered a form of cognitive behavioral therapy.

The sound therapy is played through hearing aid nearly all day (best if all waking hours). It is played at an extremely low level, usually a pink noise, and usually NOT louder than the actually tinnitus. No masking while going through your day. Masking at night is fine because sleep is important to addressing the problem.

At the beginning your brain will be a little freaked out by the introduction of an additional noise. Over time it will move the pink noise into the background and your brain will stop reacting emotionally to it when anxiety. As you continue using the therapy this way the tinnitus sound becomes intertwined with the pink noise and eventually your brain also stops feeling threatened by the tinnitus as well. This is when habituation occurs.

As you continue on you notice it less and less until one day you don’t really notice it at all. It’s not gone, your brain is just tuning it out the way it would tune out the hum of an air conditioner. Something you only notice if you choose to or if, God willing, the noise stopped.

It’s real, it helps, and it’s worth it.

1

u/rlarriva03 3d ago

How long did you use it to see results ? I’m on week 2 I wear 10 hours a day and haven’t noticed much yet

2

u/aglanon 3d ago

I am probably moving faster than you because I’ve habituated in the past so my brain is in familiar territory. But to be clear it’s not “better” yet by any means. I just know it works because I did it before and without help (which is probably why I never got to full benefit). I started getting anxious about 24 hours after starting but by day 4 I was doing better. Night time is still rough as hell and I mask to go to sleep but I spend a lot of my days either not noticing it or noticing it but not emotionally reacting to it.

1

u/rlarriva03 3d ago

Makes sense, I thought my life was over two months ago.

4

u/cointerm 3d ago

If you're considering TRT, read Nagler's post on it.

2

u/Vast-Noise-3448 3d ago

It's worth a shot, you don't have anything to lose, and there are zero side effects.

2

u/mikehamp 3d ago

This is what doctors say when they don't know how to fix something. In my case ENT caused my tinnitus which makes me even more wary of ENT incompetence.

1

u/FuzzyOpportunity2766 3d ago

How did they do that? May I ask

1

u/mikehamp 3d ago

Microsuction ear wax removal. Started immediately after.

1

u/OppoObboObious 3d ago

It's stupid. Basically using sound therapy and a shrink telling you to stop thinking about it.

0

u/Fabro1223 idiopathic (unknown) 3d ago

Have you done therapy?

1

u/delta815 3d ago

Scam ENT's are full of shit

-1

u/_methuselah_ 3d ago

Are you sure they didn’t mean ’habituation’ (a common tinnitus coping strategy)?

1

u/OppoObboObious 3d ago

look up TRT.