There has been times that I have prayed for deafness in my left hear. I have both T and hyperacusis in that ear. Just T in my right ear. I have heard of anecdotal stories where people have had the hearing part of the ear removed rather than listening to the T. I have also heard of anecdotal stories where it has been removed and people still have had T.
I don't know of and factual stories on this issues and wondering if you do.
Also, would you consider deafness over T or Hyperacusis.
Thoughts please.
Ade
Written by
ade-the-pade
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Hi Ade, I know someone who is very deaf but who still suffers badly with tinnitus. So I would say no to your question.
I don`t know this for sure but I have been told that tinnitus has more to do with the brain than with the ears. Personally I believe that there is more than one cause for tinnitus. Myself for example - I have pulsatile tinnitus and know what causes mine. Because I have lost 40-50% of my hearing I am picking up the sound of the carotid artery which runs very close to the hearing nerve.
At one of the BTA's recent information days, Don McFerran, one of the country's leading academic lights re tinnitus, talked about sufferers in the US actually having their auditory nerves severed, effectively voluntarily making themselves deaf, in an attempt to get rid of the T - without success. How true this story was is debatable, but his point was that you don't need ears or hearing to suffer from T. It exists within the brain, so whether you're deaf or not makes no difference.
Very interesting. It sounds like it would be way too risky getting the hearing nerve cut. It would be a living nightmare if you were completely deaf other that tinnitus. Deaf people talk about the social isolation it causes. My mum is 50% and can't make out any conversations in a group or social event. She has stopped mixing as a result.
If Don says it's true, it's true - what he doesn't know on the topic is probably not known to anybody! This may sound rather flippant, it isn't meant to - people who are profoundly deaf experience tinnitus, because it is generated by the brain, further up than the auditory nerve. So cutting the auditory nerve won't help.
I had an Acoustic Neuroma in my left ear and as a result had my cochlear and other bits removed. I have been deaf for 30+ years in that ear and now I have T. In my right ear (good ear), I have continuous hissing with intermittent high pitches. In my deaf ear, I can somehow hear a different high pitched tone . So whether your deaf or not you'll still hear the T signals from your brain to your proposed deaf side.
I also struggle to hear when in groups so tend to avoid those situations.
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Tinnitus and White Noise
New to tinnitus and frightened 
Pulsatile tinnitus more troublesome around noise
