Martyn, UK
Martyn joined CBT4T with TWO appointments included
13 weeks after Martyn enrolled, he had completed Stage 6:
Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI): 78.4% (category 5; very big problem) > 24.8% (category 2: small problem)
- Martyn says at the end of Stage 6: "I’m not the finished article in my tinnitus journey but I now have confidence that I can live my life with it and I’m not sure I could have said that in May when I started."
Q: What is your own impression of your progress to date?
A: "For my own story. My tinnitus was very bad and that was reflected on the initial questionnaire and indices. I first went the route from various GP visits, several ENT Consultations and was told ‘unhelpfully’ that I would have to live with it and habitualise it in time. I felt desperate, alone, like no one understood what I was going through. I literally did not know where to turn next. Luckily I contacted Tinnitus UK and found CBT4T and Debbie on their website.
I started CBT4T in May and now is August. I estimate I'm 3/4 through. I have come along way. I wish I could say tinnitus is a thing of the past and I’m cured. That’s not possible, I never will be but I am now living my life with tinnitus much more in the background as opposed to centre stage. I have bad days but I have more good days now. I know I will make further progress yet and that fills me with optimism."
Q: Do you recommend others to use the CBT4T programme?
A: "If I hadn’t started the process and knowing what I know now, I would do it all over again. It’s the highest recommendation I can give. It has given me coping mechanisms and I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through it with out it. You must really dedicate yourself to it to benefit from it. If your tinnitus is severe enough you will do it."
Q: What benefit have you experienced using the relaxation element of the course so far?
A: "Initially I found it difficult to schedule the relaxation breaks into my day even though I’m retired. After a while I found a natural rhythm to it. Top Tip: I found setting my phone alarm at two hour intervals kept me on track. I had done quite a bit of meditation before but these exercises are a little different. The breathing exercise is the staple and I mix them with the other relaxation exercises. It wasn’t really apparent during the exercise but they must work well as I feel much calmer."
Q: How has the neuroscience-based learning about the amygdala, autonomic ladder and brain plasticity helped you to relate to your experience of tinnitus, anxiety and stress?
A: "All of the information on how and why our brain works the way it does and why we behave and think the way we do is both very interesting and helpful. By understanding that tinnitus is driven by and fed by our emotions is really helpful. It teaches us that the more anxious and stressed we feel the worse the tinnitus will feel. Hence why the breathing and relaxation exercises are so Important. There is no short cut or rushing through this process. It must be followed consistently and at a pace that works for you. We are all different. I often needed to go back and re read sections until I felt I understood it."
Q: What have you learned from the costs & benefits transaction work (used from stage 3)? Estimate how much you have already adjusted from having a problem-oriented perspective towards a recovery-oriented perspective (e.g. 2/10 > 7/10 indicates an improvement of 5 so far)
A: "I hadn’t realised how much self talk was going on all the time in my head about anything and everything. Much of this is in my own self conscious. Much of it is defaulted to be negative, tending to catastrophise based upon my own negative thoughts that I’ve never challenged. The cost and benefits section has helped me to challenge those thoughts and attempt to bring balance by considering an alternative positive outcome instead. It’s time consuming trying to retrain our thought pathways and I’m still learning. Sometimes better than others so work in practice."
Q: You are likely to have had your first 1-1 by now. Did you benefit from your 1-1 and if so, how?
A: "The 1-2-1 is a useful opportunity to ask all the questions and doubts that you have. It is placed in the right position in the process as any earlier there would be so many questions that later on you would work out the answer to on your own. Suggest you make a list of all the things you want to cover. Debbie is very helpful and very generous with her time. I went way over the one hour allocated."
Q: The weekly SITREP was introduced in August 2023. Have you found it useful to report in weekly and if so, why?
A: "There is a weekly sitrep. Use it for an opportunity to update Debbie on the progress you are making and also as a reminder to yourself of your own progress. It doesn’t need to be long just capture the bullet points."
7 weeks after enrolling in the 8 stage CBT4T programme, Martyn completed Stage 4:
Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI): 78.4% (category 5: very big problem) > 45.6% (category 3: moderate problem) at Stage 4
"It has been so helpful for me to understand why I feel the way I do. It really helps to understand how the brain functions and then to learn that it IS possible for me to influence and change it in a positive way.
In a few weeks I have gone from feeling completely out of control, isolated and alone to much calmer and back in control. Doctors, friends and family don’t understand what you’re going through because on the outside you look like you always did. It was such a relief to find someone like Debbie who DOES understand what is going on in your head. This is not a quick fix but if you are prepared to apply yourself little, often and importantly consistently it will help you. Learn to trust the process. If your struggling with tinnitus I recommend this to you."