Tinnitus, Deafness and Ear Problems Support Group
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I just posted this on another discussion but I thought I would make this information available in a topic of its own. I was responding to a discussion on masking T.
Today makes 7 months since the start of T for me. I have felt for the past 6 weeks that I am going to beat this affliction. Two books have helped me greatly, one by Carol Brook, Tortured by Sound. The ISBN for this book is 0-9664620-0-9 and I bought both books on Half.com. The other book is fantastic and is Tinnitus Retraining Therapy by Dr. Pawel J. Jastreboff. Dr. Jastreboff developed TNT and is successful in 80% of patients. This book is written for professionals that administer the therapy, but it is great because we with T can relate. This condition is complicated and Dr. Jastreboff has spent over 20 years studying and treating tinnitus. I gave $35.00 for this book and it is worth 10 times that amount.
I could not help for commenting on the masking comments made on this discussion. Dr. Jastreboff first divides into categories the different auditory problems, tinnitus, hyperacusis, misophonia, and phonophobia. A different therapy has been developed for each of the conditions or combination of conditions. I am very impressed by the in depth discussion and documentation in this book. It is based on years of research and has a reference to hundreds of studies or sources.
The reason that I wanted to respond was to the masking of T. Dr. Jastreboff states in this book that the use of sound therapy to treat T is just below the masking of your T. He explains that your brain can not habituate to a sound it does not hear. I have been listening to a rain shower cd that I bought and downloaded of the Internet. I am listening just below the sound of my T. I also have 2 sets of hearing aids that have helped me considerably. One came from the Veterans Administration that has a masking sound that is very low. I sleep with these, and the other set I purchased for $2500 about 3 weeks ago. They are programmed better to my hearing loss, and I wear them during the day. My T is 75% better than when it started. I did not think I could live with this condition at first. It was driving me mad. I quit all my medications for a while thinking that was what brought on the tinnitus. Now, I am taking most of my medications again, but I am not taking anything to help me sleep. I am sleeping on my own now and this was almost impossible when the T started.
I am looking for an Audiologist that has had the proper training in TNT and will be going through the therapy. I am also following the research on the vagus nerve stimulation. To read about this study Google Michael Kilgard with the University of Texas. It sounds promising.
I hope someone finds this information useful.
Today makes 7 months since the start of T for me. I have felt for the past 6 weeks that I am going to beat this affliction. Two books have helped me greatly, one by Carol Brook, Tortured by Sound. The ISBN for this book is 0-9664620-0-9 and I bought both books on Half.com. The other book is fantastic and is Tinnitus Retraining Therapy by Dr. Pawel J. Jastreboff. Dr. Jastreboff developed TNT and is successful in 80% of patients. This book is written for professionals that administer the therapy, but it is great because we with T can relate. This condition is complicated and Dr. Jastreboff has spent over 20 years studying and treating tinnitus. I gave $35.00 for this book and it is worth 10 times that amount.
I could not help for commenting on the masking comments made on this discussion. Dr. Jastreboff first divides into categories the different auditory problems, tinnitus, hyperacusis, misophonia, and phonophobia. A different therapy has been developed for each of the conditions or combination of conditions. I am very impressed by the in depth discussion and documentation in this book. It is based on years of research and has a reference to hundreds of studies or sources.
The reason that I wanted to respond was to the masking of T. Dr. Jastreboff states in this book that the use of sound therapy to treat T is just below the masking of your T. He explains that your brain can not habituate to a sound it does not hear. I have been listening to a rain shower cd that I bought and downloaded of the Internet. I am listening just below the sound of my T. I also have 2 sets of hearing aids that have helped me considerably. One came from the Veterans Administration that has a masking sound that is very low. I sleep with these, and the other set I purchased for $2500 about 3 weeks ago. They are programmed better to my hearing loss, and I wear them during the day. My T is 75% better than when it started. I did not think I could live with this condition at first. It was driving me mad. I quit all my medications for a while thinking that was what brought on the tinnitus. Now, I am taking most of my medications again, but I am not taking anything to help me sleep. I am sleeping on my own now and this was almost impossible when the T started.
I am looking for an Audiologist that has had the proper training in TNT and will be going through the therapy. I am also following the research on the vagus nerve stimulation. To read about this study Google Michael Kilgard with the University of Texas. It sounds promising.
I hope someone finds this information useful.
I am very glad you are finding relief. Thank you for sharing.
Sue
I am using the rain shower sound as a partial masker and just below the sound of my T as instructed in the Dr. Jastreboff's book; I am also giving credit to good hearing aids since I have high frequency hearing loss and in one ear which is severe loss. I think all of us are different, but Dr. Jastreboff therapy individualizes his therapy to the person's conditions. He also recommends not being in total silence, not even when we sleep. I am shopping for a sound machine to play at night when in bed.
First and foremost, get professional help. I have been to 2 ENTs that did give T the attention it deserves. The first said "learn to live with it." How stupid. The second was not much better. I found a good audiologist that has T himself and took about 3 hours with me fitting me with good hearing aids that has helped bring my hearing up to where I can hear sounds that I had forgotten existed. I can actually hear myself walk across the floor, and I didn't know that putting your clothes on made a sound.
Dr. Jastreboff's book explains that the brain has to be retrained over time to where T may not be gone, but is not a problem. I believe in this therapy and hope people on this site investigate for themselves. I am not a doctor, but I have been reading everything I can on T for seven months. TNT is the best hope for now until a cure comes along. I believe the vagus nerve stimulation has promise, and it is being tested now in Europe.
Hoping you find relief.
Any help?
Go to half.com and click on the tab books, and it is there you search by clicking the book tab then you search by title, author, or by ISBN. Half.com has the Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, but does not have the Tortured by Sound. You can buy them both at Amazon.com.
Make sure you get the blue and orange cover of Tinnitus Retraining Therapy.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_27?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=tinnitus+retraining+therapy&sprefix=tinnitus+retraining+therapy
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=tortured+by+sound&x=10&y=9
These books will help, especially Tinnitus Retraining Therapy.