Hi everyone, I wanted to share an update on my habituation journey and ask the coaches and anyone further along a few questions. As some of you might know from my previous posts, I’ve moved past the 24/7 distress mode, but the tinnitus still demands a huge part of my attention. However, I recently had a really good phase: two weeks where the noise was mostly pushed into the background and felt very bearable. Right now, I’m in my second week of vacation. Unfortunately, the weather has been pretty bad, meaning I’ve spent a lot of time indoors. Because of this, the last few days have been much more exhausting. I’m noticing the tinnitus constantly, and honestly, I feel quite bothered and a bit down because of it. Despite these ups and downs, I haven't given up. I’ve managed to get through this challenging period without using any masking. If I can hold out until Sunday, it will be four full weeks (28 days!) without masking. Personally, I feel like this is a huge milestone for me. For me, actively choosing not to mask is my way of trying to practice acceptance and learning to embrace the sound. Looking at my journey as a whole—with these changing phases—I’d love to get some perspective from the coaches and the community: 1. Is this experience typical for the habituation journey? Do others also experience this pattern where the tinnitus recedes, then becomes louder and more noticeable again, yet you still find the strength not to resort to masking? 2. Is this what progress actually looks like? Is it a normal part of the process to hear the tinnitus more or less constantly, to feel that your days are somewhat dampened by it, but to still successfully carry out your daily activities—like reading, checking emails, or playing Xbox—without fleeing to masking? 3. Will it continue to get better? I am consciously showing my brain that the tinnitus can be present without being the center of everything, but it is exhausting. Will this eventually lead to the next level where the attention shifts more permanently?

Hey awesome people! Are you ready for my normal level of content again? 😄 I’m now beginning week 2 here in Peru for our gap year overseas, and we’re finally starting to settle down a little. That means my content generation should gradually start increasing again, videos too, and I want to begin with a topic that keeps coming up everywhere: In live workshops. In coaching sessions. In online tinnitus discussions. And in the private messages I receive from people who are trying very hard to make progress. The topic is: tinnitus fluctuation. The good day / bad day cycle. This is one of the most frustrating parts of tinnitus recovery. Because a good day gives you hope. The sound may still be there, but you feel more in control. You focus better. You feel calmer. You sleep a little easier. You start thinking: “Maybe I’m finally turning a corner.” Then the next day, the sound is louder again. Or your nervous system feels more reactive. Or you wake up tired. Or you start checking the sound before your feet even touch the floor. And suddenly, it feels like all your progress disappeared. This is where so many people get pulled back into the tinnitus loop. They start asking: “Why is it louder today?” “What did I do wrong?” “Did I lose my progress?” “Am I back to square one?” “What if this never settles?” But here is the important part: A bad tinnitus day is not a reset. Fluctuation does NOT mean failure. Tinnitus progress is rarely a straight line. It often looks more like this: Good day. Hard day. Better day. Spike day. Calmer day. Frustrating day. Another good day. Before habituation becomes more stable, that back-and-forth can feel emotionally exhausting. But the fluctuation itself is not usually what destroys progress. 👉 What creates the setback is how we RESPOND to the fluctuation. When the sound changes, the brain often wants to react immediately. Monitor it. Compare it to yesterday. Search for the reason. Look for reassurance. Test it in different rooms.

Well, it happened again: non-lasting relief yesterday. Awoke very early am to silent T. Always a shock. It’s like I’m inhabiting someone else’s body at first. As the hours of the day passed, I remained silent. Once again the simple pleasure of sitting in a quiet garage cannot be underestimated. Anyway, bedtime came and still silent. What a wonderful experience - until it wasn’t. The 24-26 hours of no T symptoms now replaced by the usual this morning, albeit slowly and subtly at the outset. So, there was a little “mercy” involved.🙂

Most of you know Sue from our live workshops. She's been showing up week after week, doing the work, asking the honest questions. What you might not know is what she walked through to get here... A year and a half ago, Sue had some mild hearing loss and didn't think much of it. An MRI found a large acoustic neuroma. She went through a 12-hour brain surgery, woke up deaf in one ear, and had to relearn how to walk and talk. And on top of all of that, loud tinnitus. 24/7. Nine months ago she described her life with one word. Hell. We sat down for an interview this week and I'll be honest, there were moments I had to just pause and take it in. Because the Sue in this video is smiling. Sleeping again. Her words, not mine: "I'm happy. I smile. I can live my life." 🥹 @Susan Harcharik Sue, thank you!! For your courage, for your honesty, and for sharing this so someone out there who feels lost right now can see what's possible. 🙏💙 This one is dedicated to everyone in this community dealing with tinnitus from a medical condition who's wondering if their situation is too complicated. Watch it. It isn't. What part of Sue's story landed the most for you? Comment below your thoughts, questions, or anything else that comes to your mind after watching this video. 💬 Yours truly, (your tinnitus) Guy.

Hard to believe we've been here for 5 days already... Before the move we were in moving chaos. 😳 Now we're in settling down chaos! 🤣 Stable Internet connection is #1 priority I'm working on, with mobile backup. Then, there a bunch of things we need to get to feel comfortable in this apartment. Work in progress... Meanwhile, here are a couple more pictures from our trip and final destination. Warm regards from Peru! Leo, Luli, and Guy. PS - It's now winter here.