Episode 153 - How Alice Went From Debilitating Tinnitus to Habituated in 9 Months | Success Story

Hey Tinnitus Friends, Alice's Tinnitus Habituation Story: From Debilitating Anxiety to Reclaiming Her Life In April 2025, Alice—a primary school teacher from Scotland—woke up suddenly deaf in one ear. After steroid injections restored her hearing, severe tinnitus moved in: a constant high hiss, multiple tones, debilitating anxiety, insomnia, and what she calls "doom and gloom Google scrolls." Today, less than a year later, she's habituated. In this conversation, Alice shares exactly how she got there—the breakthroughs, the setbacks, the tools that worked, and the moments she didn't think she'd make it through. What we cover: 🌀 The acute phase: insomnia, panic, and isolating socially 🔑 Finding ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) and the moment hope returned 🧰 The specific ACT tools that helped most ("It's my sound, not my state") 🎭 Masking: when it helped, when she let it go, and why 🌱 How spikes and fluctuations became evidence of growth (instead of setbacks) 💬 The first social event she went to with severe tinnitus—and what changed 📈 Why habituation is non-linear (one step forward, three steps back) 🎁 Post-traumatic growth vs. post-traumatic stress 📚 The "Learning Pit" concept Alice teaches her students—and why it applies to tinnitus 💌 What Alice would tell her past self at the start of her journey Key Quotes from Alice: "I started to see my emotions as glimmers of what they were before tinnitus." "I'm just relearning experiences. I haven't lost anything." "You can't see it now—and that's okay." "This challenge is associated with growth." About My Tinnitus Club: Alice's habituation happened inside a 12-week structured program rooted in ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy)—the same program that has supported hundreds of others through their tinnitus journey. 🏘️ Join My Tinnitus Club → https://mytinnitus.club 12-week structured ACT-based program Weekly live Q&A sessions with Frieder Weekly group coaching sessions A community of people who genuinely understand Community Spotlight section: more success stories from members who didn't want to be on YouTube 💬 1-on-1 Coaching → https://outringtinnitus.com 📊 Take the Habituation Quiz → https://habituate.online Find out exactly where you are in your habituation journey More Success Stories: Want more stories like Alice's? Check out the Success Stories playlist on this channel for more conversations with people who've walked this path. Inside My Tinnitus Club, the Community Spotlight section has additional stories from members who preferred not to share on YouTube. About Me: I'm Frieder—tinnitus coach, born deaf in my left ear, hearing aid user, and severe high-pitch tinnitus experiencer for 17 years. I use Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people habituate to tinnitus and reclaim their lives. I've coached 700+ people through habituation.