Is this progress? 4 weeks without masking, despite a temporary setback

Jun 5 (edited) • ❓Questions

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:

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?
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?
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?

I’d deeply appreciate your thoughts and experiences. Thanks for reading!

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Is this progress? 4 weeks without masking, despite a temporary setback