If you find it impossible to run and hide from the unrelenting noise and stress of your tinnitus, here’s something that may help.
Tell it to buzz off! Tell your tinnitus you’ve got better things to listen to. Other things that deserve more attention.
Easier said than done? Well, yes, if we don’t work at it.
This week, for me, it’s an easier task than usual because I’ve got some great distraction: a week at a pretty cottage on a beautiful lake with two grandparents (one of which is me), four not-as-old-as-us adults, a six-year-old, two 4-year-olds and a 3-year-old. The activity is nonstop and the external noise is constant.
Scarcely a moment to stop and realize, hey, my head noise is still there.
And when I need a break from all that, I take off my hearing devices (I forgot to bring backups) and jump into a kayak and paddle around the lake. The kayak is a lovely shade of blue and the water is gray-greeny. Swallows are swooping. The only thing I can hear, of course, is my head noise but – hey, it doesn’t matter! Because the blue kayak and rust-bellied swallows are much more important to me than the whistles, bells and roars of my tinnitus or hearing loss. By focusing on the beautiful stuff, I push the head noise aside.
At least for now, in this moment.
When we can do this, we’re saying: “Not now, tinnitus, get lost! Hearing loss – who cares? No one is talking to me out here, and what I’m seeing is better than listening to you, you naughty mess of head noise.”
Now, you might not have access to a cottage or a blue kayak or swallows. You may not even like these things – but there are events or sights or activities in your life that have the power to knock your hearing loss or head noise out of the limelight on your internal stage. These are the things that you can try to shine a light on and push your tinnitus into the darkness. Even if it’s just for a little while because every little bit helps. Try it.
If you’ve already tried it and it didn’t work the way you wanted, try it again.
Reading something interesting helps me. A good movie or TV show. An insanely fun conversation. And, this week, having a blast with the small humans. They clamor for fun and I’m happy to join in, even though they have the attention span of puppies. With them, I can ignore much of my head noise until the quiet time comes.
Yeah, right. It’s not that easy.
No. Not always. Tinnitus is a seductive siren song that’s hard to ignore. But isn’t it better to engage in the good stuff than to sit and listen to the bad stuff?
It’s worth the effort to Focus. On. Something. Else. It’s a powerful and possible way to get your head back, even just for a little while.
Get lost, tinnitus, we’re busy!
Yes, that’s right. Just ignore it. I’ve done it, three times. I think your subconscious will make it go away if you tell your subconscious you don’t want it. It’s a powerful force if we know how to use it to our benefit.