Thank You for letting me join.

[purenostalgia]

The reason for joining is that at the moment Tinnitus is ruining my quality of life. The little girl in the photograph has been my inspiration, having been diagnosed with cancer on the the day before the photograph was taken, she is now 15 years old having gone through years of chemo, I am sure I can beat this Tinnitus setback.

[doglover1973]

Welcome! What a lovely picture. So glad the little girl is still going strong. That's great news. How long have you had tinnitus? Have you had any help so far? You're in good company here. This is a great place to start or continue on your journey to a better quality of life 🙂

[purenostalgia in reply to doglover1973]

Thank you Doglover, I have had Tinnitus for about 20 years, but it is now screaming in my ears, my hearing is 70% in the low freq but 15% in the high freq range, going to try an hearing aid on 16th August.

[doglover1973 in reply to purenostalgia]

It's not unusual to have T. for a long time and all of sudden to experience an increase in volume. Especially if your hearing drops. I have a similar hearing loss to you in my right ear. This is what makes the T. so loud. It's not buffered by natural sound. Hearing aids may well help you. The good news is your brain adapts to the increase in volume over time but it's very unpleasant at first and can really interfere with quality of life . The more you can relax the better.

[Happyrosie]

Hello purenostalgia, and thank you for showing this photograph. Tinnitus isn’t the end of the world.If you haven’t already done so, get familiar with the website of the British tinnitus Association. This has lots of helpful information.

Also, I quote from a very helpful book: “ “Things change all the time. Most people “habituate” to tinnitus, which means they eventually get used to it, and their nervous system gets bored of checking up on it all the time“. — Tinnitus, From Tyrant to Friend: How to Let Go of Ringing in your Ears by Julian Cowan Hill

[1966366 in reply to Happyrosie]

Hiya HappyRosie, just wondering, because you have said before that we T sufferers eventually "habituate" to the awfulness of it, but I am now approaching my 7th year of suffering and things are getting worse and each time I have chats with other T people I have yet to find a single person that has! I speak from my experience with NHS ENT and private treatment and I must have now been in touch with a hundred people. Although I believe I have read an article on this forum about a person's life improvement in attaining habituation, and you are similar? Best wishes for the future.

[Happyrosie in reply to 1966366]

Yes, I have indeed habituated. I only think about it when I’m on this forum! Or occasionally in a car going at 60 on a motorway and I can’t hear my husband speak.I thoroughly recommend the book “Tinnitus from tyrant to friend’ . Just the initial chapters are helpful. I’ve got it on my kindle from Amazon. I can’t say, as this book does, that T has become my friend as I’m at stage six in his seven stages - have a look!

keep doing the things you love and especially walks in nature. Listen to the trees, the wind, the rain, the birds.

[1966366 in reply to Happyrosie]

I cycled last Sunday in blustery wind. I heard my T constantly. Even after all this time it was a shock; i'm sorry but I cannot agree with you on the "listen to the birds...." etc, though a nice sentiment. However, thanks for the tip with the book and I will look into it tomorrow. Thank you again

[Matt489]

Hi Purenostalgia.

We are both tinnitus long timers, me I 30 years, I got mine when I was 18.

So the way I look at it is, you are already half way there, as you have spent 20years living with T. Yes I agree it's a setback but you are already doing something about it. Many many people benefit from hearing aids and you most likely will too.

Keep doing the things you love, remember ist not the T that's stopping you from doing things, or enjoying your life, it's your sub conscious, it's telling you you can't. However it's your mind and brain. Change your mind, to change your brain, to change your mind. So when you hear yourself saying ' I can't do that because of my tinnitus, or I won't enjoy it because of my tinnitus, tell yourself to stop. Then tell yourself you can and will do it....and go for it. It takes time but works.

Great picture and let us know how you get on.👍

[Allgie]

Hello, Ive had Tinnitus for 21 years but it spiked about 4 months ago going from a 3 to 7. Been through all sorts of hell BUT I’m starting to a habituate, it’s there and it’s loud but my anxiousness and depression are subsiding, I’m getting back to doing the things I love, seeing my friends.

Im a DAB Radio DJ (my passion) and I’ve not been in the studio for months but I can see a light at the end of this tunnel where maybe, just maybe taking the correct precautions I can reconnect with that world again.

My point being, it won’t always be as bad as it currently is, go see your GP, discuss not just the Tinnitus but very importantly how it makes you feel and how it’s impacting your life. Ask for help - that’s what I did and I’m glad I did as I was in a terrible terrible place.

Good luck on your Journey, I hope to see you on the other side.