Trouble with working in full time employment

[Lesley2065]

Hi all,

Would like to know how others cope with working and managing tinnitus. Do your employers give assistance when you are having a bad spell? If so what do they do for you.

Is there any legislations or guidelines from an organisation that they can get advice from?

I work in a busy operating department as a staff nurse so stress can be a big factor in my everyday work environment. My manager tries to understand the impact tinnitus has on me but they lack the knowledge to understand my needs. I have tried to find guidelines etc but to no avail. So if anyone has had a similar experience i would love to hear from you.

Lesley

[Ruud1boy]

Two questions to start with Lesley. Do you have a hearing impairment alongside your T? and, are you in a trade union?

If you have a hearing impairment, then legally that's classed as a disability, so the various bits of legislation - Disability Discrimination Act, Equality Act etc - are all in play. Tinnitus isn't a disability (legally), but a hearing impairment is.

If you're in a union, speak to them to see what assistance they can offer in dealing with your employer.

[Lesley2065 in reply to Ruud1boy]

Hi Ruud,

Thanks for responding. Yes I have hearing loss in one ear ( the one I have tinnitus in) but I do wear a hearing aide as part of managing my tinnitus. I do belong to a union and hadn't thought about asking them for assistance. I will keep that in mind though as I have on a couple of occasions been questioned by my boss about my tiredness etc and all the usual things that tinnitus brings and them thinking it was for another reason and not because of my tinnitus.

People who don't have T, do not understand how it impacts your life at times,

Lesley

[markclay2]

I work as an asbestos surveyor/analyst which at times can drive me insane. I notice on here that people say they don’t like taking medication yet if I didn’t, I might have ended it all by know, having been close on at least two occasion. I have been taking prozac for the last two years and my tinnitus is nearly always there, but it just doesn’t seem to bother me, my current employers know about my tinnitus and are supportive yet I very rarely use it as an excuse. I feel that in a way I have habituated, but don’t give up on medication, it has worked for me,also I have been doing the same job for so long I can just go with the flow, I rarely get bothered, also I have the rare luxury of working in an industry with significant numbers of vacancies, so employers have to keep you happy, or I could just walk away.

[Lesley2065 in reply to markclay2]

Hi markclay2

You are lucky to have such supportive employers, and pleased to hear that you don't let it interfere with work.

For the most part, my boss is supportive and these days it's not very often that it affects my work but when I'm having a bad spell, and I not getting enough sleep, it does impact my work and I tend to struggle a bit with concentration.

I don't take any prescription medication at the moment because I don't feel I need it and I would rather not just in case I need it in the future, but I do use melatonin if I need to and use sound therapy at night which helps with sleeping and in the past year and a half I've been living my life as I used to before T started and feel that I have accepted my tinnitus.

I was just curious to know how other people cope with working and if there employers know how to support you. To my knowledge though, there are no guidelines for employers to help employees with tinnitus in the working environment and think that as it is such a common condition ( 1 in 10 ) maybe there should be.

Its interesting to hear other people's experiences too.

Lesley

[Keoni]

Hi, Lesley2065,

I haven't mentioned much about my tinnitus at work mainly because I don't want to use it as an excuse if I happen to make a mistake or forget to do something. That might make someone question my ability to do the work. Even when it's spiking I just battle on.

I'm trying my best not to let it beat me.

I take inspiration from my father who was disabled, yet despite his limitations raised a family and maintained full-time employment throughout his working life.

Respectfully submitted,

Keoni