Ahh, the sound of silence. I
remember it quite well. But that was before playing in a blues-rock band
without ear protection. These days I live with constant ringing in my
ears. I say ears plural as I have two different constant high pitched
tones. One for each ear. Yes, my old buddy tinnitus is here to stay. The
worst side effect of my tinnitus is, and will always be, the
accompanying insomnia. It seems we humans evolved a defense mechanism
that is now working against me. The last sense that succumbs to sleep is
our hearing. It is also the first sense to arouse us. Darwinian theory
suggests that those humans who did not arouse easily if a Saber-tooth
tiger or Grizzly were near (and making noise) soon became a midnight
snack for hungry prehistoric predators. Those humans who's hearing
functioned as an early warning system survived. Evolution at it's most
basic level.
Sound
arouses us. Sound warns us. Sound keeps us alive. Unless, of course,
that particular sound is user generated... like my tinnitus. My
subconscious does not seem to have the capability to differentiate
between a tiger's growl, a fire alarm, or my ringing ears. Ergo, my
sleep problem. Tinnitus is an alarm sounding... 24/7. During the day it
simply becomes background noise. There are times while awake that my
tinnitus is barely perceptible. But at night, when the television goes
silent, the lights dim and all background sounds disappear, my ringing
ears start screaming... YOU ARE IN DANGER! TIGER IN THE CAVE! GET UP OR
DIE!
So I got up, over and over
again....
...until I got sick of it.
That is one of the reasons this site was started. I was tired of being
tired. I knew decades ago that the sound of rain, fans, wind, music,
waves, crickets or almost anything else that makes a constant sound,
drowns out tinnitus. I also knew that deep meditation and visualization
helps with generic insomnia. You see, it seems I received a double dose
of insomnia as I have a mind that occasionally will not shut down for
the night. Is the oven off? Did I lock the door? What's up with my
pin-headed boss? What if the company loses that contract? Will there be
layoffs? Is there a tiger in the cave? Thinking, thinking, thinking...
STOP!
Learning how to relax is not
as easy as it sounds. I eventually discovered visualization. Visualizing
a pleasant scenario -
a beach vacation,
riding a train,
hiking to a
cabin - really did help me to sleep. Virtual Dreamer combines
naturally relaxing sounds with virtually real audio scenarios...
scenarios that can be visualized. It is the combination of the two that
has worked miracles for me. So, will I ever hear the sound of silence
again in my lifetime? One can hope for tinnitus cures but for tonight I
will settle for, hmmmm, lets see... how about
rain
on a tin roof with distant thunder? That's the ticket.
