Tinnitus

I wondered if there are many members here who suffer from Tinnitus.

After spending years in a noisy industry including having one of the most vociferous CSM's bellowing in my ear'ole for a couple of years I never had a hint of it.

This all changed for me after some pretty toxic chemo drugs but it can and does affect an awful lot of people either as a result of an accident or indeed a spontanious event.

It is difficult to accurately describe tinnitus to someone who does not have it. It can be anything from noises in the ears or head and consist of ringing, whistling, buzzing and humming, and be low, medium or high pitched.

To further complicate the issue it can be in one ear, both ears, or in the middle of the head and of course the noise may be continual or come and go when it pleases.

What is out there to help? Unless one was extremely lucky the stock answer from the GP’s surgery used to be that nothing could be done about it and you have to live with it.

I am glad to say that this is changing and whilst there is no 'cure' there is a lot being done to help the 15% of sufferers that find the problem huge to cope with.

I have nearly finished a tinnitus management course which is designed to retrain us into handling the problem a different way.

My advice to anyone suffering with tinnitus and having a dinosaur for a GP, is try and get referred to a good hearing therapist , believe me, every little helps.

Re: Tinnitus

My Mother suffers badly with it Hammer ....... I`m going to suggest this to her ...... Thanks x x

Re: Tinnitus

Mine comes and goes and is noticeably worse if I eat sugar in any form.

Re: Tinnitus

I have suffered from Tinnitus for a few years, Hammer and I was told by my doctor that there is no cure for it. Mine is there continually and it's difficult to tell if it's in one ear or both ..... I suspect both though.

To describe what it sounds like is difficult, I think of it as a droning, whistling noise that is far worse at night when all is quiet and it often keeps me awake through the night.

What did you learn from the tinnitus management course?

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Have had it for 25 years I can ignore it most of the time and have got used to it

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I have it too - from playing music to loud when I was younger

I'm not sure which ear it is tho, and can only hear it at night time when it's quiet.

I'd like to know how you are dealing with it too

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For folks who are not already aware of it there is an organisation called The British Tinnitus Association and they have a good website and local support network.

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I'd describe mine as like having static in both ears. When it keeps me awake at night I find running a fan for white noise helps.

The hearing specialist I saw years ago also attributed it to loud rock music (you're not alone there Azz!) and said nothing could be done but I do think it's worse if I have sugar.

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I rarely have any sugar at all so that can't be causing mine

Re: Tinnitus

Thanks for the replies folks, it is interesting to hear your experiences with it.

All the stuff I have read about it seem to suggest that about 85% of sufferers recognise that they have it but they are able to 'switch off ' from it and it does not affect them at all.

Sadly for the other 15% it is a real issue and can be really detrimental to a persons way of life.

I have learnt that Tinnitus itself cannot damage one's hearing but damaged hearing can cause Tinnitus.

I think having a good and tolerant therapist can make all the difference and just talking over the issues in a group environment has helped a lot of us.

It seems to me that retraining the brain in a slightly different direction is the most logical way of attacking this issue. It cannot harm you physically as some methods possibly can do and best of all, it costs nothing.

I would though strongly advise that anyone with a problem like this should get to see a professional and at the very least undergo a proper hearing test.

We have our last 2 hour session next Friday and by then I will have amassed a lot of handouts and details of excercises that can all be done at home.
If anyone is interested I will gladly knock some notes together and post them here if that is acceptable.