Could I be okay working in a grocery store with reactive tinnitus? Can that desentisize me?

[Alugo6340]

I been crying and feeling crippled these past 6 months. If my tinnitus wasnt reactive or sound sensitive to almost every noise and didnt spike from it then I'd be okay and carry on with life but I get this loud whistle through almost every sound and today I tried listening to my pop music and this loud whistling appears and ruins it for me so I break down crying. I have to go back to work in 2 days. I hope i can sleep the night before i go to work. I havent worked in a month and a half due to abstence leave. My tinnitus would scream loudly after a 4 to 6 hour shift from working. It's been 6 months and it's a tiny bit better some days but really bad on others. It was also a little better before I ran out of lorazepam. I wanna be able to go to the park, the fair, the mall and other shopping centers when corona is over and everything opens up and everyone is having a blast. In a few weeks when hopefully doctors will be more available to treat other patients besides corona patients, I will go back to the ENT and get looked at and this time I'll make sure he sticks a camera in my nose and looks at my Eustachian tubes and hopefully he will find out why my tinnitus became reactive and why my hearing is distorted. I have hearing loss I was born with but no issues until this cold started 6 months ago. I been turning my hearing aid off for 30 to 40 min and resting my ears after 40 min of being exposed to sounds like cars passing by in the neighborhood and fans running and the television on then I turn my hearing aid on after 40 min of shutting it off and letting tinnitus calm down and repeat. I dont know if this makes the sensitivity thing worse or not. I cant wear ear plugs, I have severe hearing loss and I have one ear that doesnt have an ear canal so I dont think ear plugs would be effective so I turn my hearing aid off however I wont be able to do this at work as everyone is wearing masks now so I need to have it on to hear them despite my T reacting to everything. I'm scared honestly. I wanna make money and do this but I'm frightened this distortion and reactiveness wont go away as I cant listen to music or watch tv like I want to. I'm only 23 and I dont live in the UK so I dont know where to get white noise generators that i can wear or if they'll be effective for someone with bad hearing loss. I have bone conduction headphones but I heaf listening to white noise through that wont be effective. What can I do?

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

Hi Alugo. Sorry to read that you're under a lot of stress and having such issues with your tinnitus. One of the things that we can take for granted in the UK is our NHS and access to healthcare services - that reassurance about our wellbeing isn't the same in every place in the world.

Do you feel like the technique you've tried with your hearing aids is helping you - are you noticing a benefit from it?

Obviously your medication supply running out isn't helping with your anxiety - do you have any other way of getting help with that issue (the communities here on Health Unlocked which can offer advice on that problem)?

Wishing you the best and I hope you notice an improvement in your tinnitus soon.

[ejm1]

So sorry to hear you are struggling . Can you get appointment with your doctor even by phone . Not good to just stop taking medication and this could be contributing to your anxiety and tinnitus . Is it possible to get stress /sick leave as must be so difficult to work in this current environment when hearing impaired . Masks are very difficult . I’m not sure where u live or what entities to . Just remember you are not alone . Have you family support ?? Sending a virtual hug 🤗 Emma