The cricket convention has ended, we're back to just the regulars hanging around, much less noise. I switched from Diet Dr. Pepper to caffeine-free DDP yesterday, so maybe that helped, I dunno. And I caught up on the sleep I lost.

In all my reading about tinnitus, one of the things I read that I had not considered before is the effect of cortisol, the stress hormone. It can play havoc with all sorts of internal systems. Effective stress management is required to keep it down. Guided imagery, journaling, self-hypnosis, yoga, exercise, listening to music, breathing exercises, meditation, sex, and other techniques are all recommended.

Some of these I use on a regular basis, some I've never tried, one produced more stress than it relieved. Eventually, I intend to find what works for me. I feel hopeful and optimistic again, another key factor. Masking the head noise with white noise, distracting myself with something that is all-absorbing, avoiding television and my television-watching husband as much as possible also help.

Today my twh is having a security compliance evaluation with the NYL staff person in charge of these things. I helped him catch up on his filing yesterday, 90% of everything piled up in his office going to file 13, so he should be in pretty good shape. We managed to work together for almost 2 hours without him having a temper tantrum. I was pleased. While he's at the gym this morning, I'll straighten the house. The vacuum cleaner noise always blocks out the crickets.