Early Retirement

[Globedancer]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has had to leave work due to Tinnitus? I think I'm reaching that stage but worried about financial side and how we would cope. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. 😕

[Hidden]

I haven’t been in your position but no-one has replied so far so here goes.

Clearly your income would reduce so you might be thinking how can I replace this? Assuming you have one, your HR department might be able to advise on early retirement terms. Or can your employer - if you have one - change your conditions of employment in some way which might help? Working shorter hours? A larger company might be used to,this sort of question.

Then there’s benefits. For Personal Independence Payments, have a look at the gov.uk site for this and see if you might fit any of the criteria. Or indeed the criteria on any benefits that might be available.

Then there’s career change? Working shorter hours?

These are just thoughts that come to my mind - I expect your mind is running round in circles worrying about this. Maybe write it all down in two columns for and against?

[Globedancer in reply to Hidden]

Hi, thank you for responding, much appreciated ! I could take early retirement but would lose quite a bit of my pension in doing so. I could also reduce my hours / take partial retirement but I'm not sure what impact that will have long term on my pension either so certainly something I will look into. Slightly concerned that reducing hours / early retirement will just mean doing the same amount of work/ projects in a shorter week! Thanks again for replying, looks like few people have to leave work as a direct consequence of tinnitus only but I guess its very job specific - mine requires quiet concentration all day.

[Nathalie_007]

my partner gave up work due to his tinnitus and we both agree that it wasn’t the right decision. His whole day/life became about his symptoms and doing things to try and relieve them, if he had carry on working we both feel he would have kept normal day habits and routine too. My partner felt he couldn’t concentrate to do his role (he’s a builder) but he then found himself spending days in bed. If you do decide that you can’t work I would strongly recommend you find a regular routine in something else and sticking to it albeit voluntary work etc giving up work didn’t help him and actually he created more isolation. In terms of finances he was able to get signed off by the doctor and recieved a small amount for DWP but that was only for 1 year. He is hoping to get back to work (even though 58) to try and get back to daily habits/routine. Please let me know if you have any more questions always happy to speak from my partners experiences.

[Globedancer in reply to Nathalie_007]

Thanks Natalie, I take that on board. Bizzarly I honestly think if I was a builder or a driver or similar I would be able to work. I can manage my T by being active so if I had an active job I think I would be much better. My current job is sitting infront of a laptop all day looking at and advising on complex documents with no room for error and its at this time my T really comes to the front. Thanks for coming back to me.

[Kellythecat-74 in reply to Globedancer]

My computer always made my T worse. I ended up wearing wax ear plugs. I think there must be some sort of radio wave or the like, that the ear picks up but you cant actually hear it yourself.

[kenenu in reply to Kellythecat-74]

yes my job is WFH sat at a computer on my own all day plus team meetings. It’s not great for tinnitus. I have to go work in a cafe n pay for a coffee sometimes just to get the background noise and a break from the strain it puts on you. But the distraction of having to work is probably a good thing. Maybe it’s the type of work which matters rather than leaving a job.

[Globedancer in reply to kenenu]

Thanks, I've tried going to cafe occasionally for the same reasons but I find it difficult to deal with calls. Ideally I need quiet to review the types of documents I review so a bit of a vicious circle. Perhaps a change of direction and job is the answer.

[Kellythecat-74 in reply to kenenu]

try the wax ear plugs. the ear still makes a sound but never got worse. YES I think work can help even if it takes your mind off T for a little while . unless you can get very busy at home , you can be aware of T all the time

[Martymacfly]

Yes. I had/have it so bad (with headaches) that I had to give up work which was highly demanding on the night-shift. I guess it depends on the severity of your tinnitus and the type of work you do.

[Globedancer in reply to Martymacfly]

Thanks, yes 100% depends on job I think. If I'm out and about walking and generally being active I can manage my T better. When your job requires silence and concentration its probably (for me anyway) the worst scenario. It is to me a disability simple as that that prevents me from working properly but in my role I honestly can't think of any adjustments that can be made.

[Kellythecat-74 in reply to Globedancer]

of course silence is the worse for T . I use an earphone on talking programs very low volume sometimes it is so low I cant make out what they are saying But its easier to ignore tiny mutterings than a very high pitch single tone .

[Globedancer in reply to Kellythecat-74]

Thanks, I've tried similar tequniques but do not help when working.

[Kellythecat-74 in reply to Globedancer]

So sorry to hear that . Have you thought of a different job . I used to work with preschool children . I honestly didn’t notice it while I was at work . Would it help to be somewhere with more activity ?

[Globedancer in reply to Kellythecat-74]

Thanks yes, I'm constantly thinking I need a change of job - only problem I have is that I'm in a well paid job so doubt I would get anything near my current salary hence it would be a major step.

[daverussell]

I switched careers from teaching last year, where I worked part time for the last two years. It had financial implications, but I felt I hadn't given up. I'm now software development that id done before teaching. I'm in an environment where I have more control, but it still far from easy.The main thing for me is not letting Tinnitus beat me I'm not sure I'd want it to dictate my life. On the other hand your health comes first. The last 8 months have been mentally exhausting.

My advise would be to try part-time but I fully understand, as it is in my line of work that part-time just means cramming the same work in fewer hours. It requires a high level of discipline.

[Globedancer in reply to daverussell]

Not easy is it. Last thing I want to do is go sick as its just not me ( despite everyone saying I should) as I do have generous sick benefits - 6 months full pay I think.

[Supervision6]

hi there - yes I have had to retire from work. Earlier than I planned. I worked 1-1 with patients , pandemic, zoom meetings became impossible.

My hearing was too distorted with severe T. and hypercausis. I have had to adjust accordingly but the condition becomes easier to handle.

Wishing you strength and compassion

[Rustreloaded]

Hi Globedancer, yes I was retired early on ill health grounds which meant that my pension wasn't impacted although I did have two other conditions with which I was already struggling. I went to my GP as I was starting to feel overwhelmed and she prescribed Citalopram. Three days after I increased the initial dose, as instructed, I woke up with tinnitus and I think this extra plate to spin on top of the other two conditions tipped me over the edge from just about coping to not coping. Unfortunately one of the conditions I have gave me problems with word finding and a slow processing impairment. Like you, my job involved giving advice, usually on thorny issues where clients had already spent some time trying to come up with a solution themselves. Sometimes I could give advice in writing but more often than not it would be face to face meetings, and frequently meeting with groups of directors so the word finding and slow processing made face to face meetings difficult, particularly where I would be trying to process what one person had said and formulate a response before the next person iterated their perspective on the issue with which the organisation was grappling. Like you, the written advice meant lots of reading (also impacted by slow processing) and quiet time which was the perfect opportunity for my tinnitus to take centre stage and put on its best performance.

Yes, I would agree with others, maybe speak to your firm's HR and OH departments or contractors to see if reasonable adjustments can be made but also take your own advice on the impact to your pension of reducing hours. I soooo hear your concerns about less hours but the same workload; a very real lose-lose situation and you'll obviously be having discussions about that with HR should you go down the route of working less hours and looking for assurances from them (personally I'm not great at setting boundaries, particularly once I'm into hyperfocus mode and had I been able to take the reduction in working hours route, I would have wanted to be sure that the policing of my contractual time would sit with management and not fall solely to me).

The major issue, from my perspective, is that as you go through the process it may be worth developing your own sense of what you want your world to look like afterwards; a post exit plan. If you don't have a firm idea of this can you take a sabbatical to formulate this or if you already have an idea of how you'd want to spend your time afterwards to lay the groundwork for it? Check your pension provider's information to see if they have a "best three years" type of arrangement where taking a sabbatical wouldn't impact your pension.

As I understand it from off hand conversations with a CE in an earlier job who was dealing with something similar (I can't even remember how it came up now, it was at least 20 years' ago); they were exploring giving someone who was considering reducing hours, because of health issues, and whose skills they desperately wanted to retain, the option of leaving then coming back on a new contract at fewer hours thus preserving the final salary position of her existing pension. I don't know how this panned out but if they had gone down this route I imagine it would be simple enough to have agreed that the new contract would reflect any (non-pension) long service benefits which had existed in the original contract and even maybe to have built in contractual terms to the new contract to replace any statutory protections lost on bringing the original contract to an end.

Finally, do look at PIP and at both the daily living and mobility activities and consider how your tinnitus impacts them but do get guidance on this, it's easy to overlook or underestimate the impact of a difficulty your condition is causing because you've lived with it for a sufficiently long time that you forget how life was before and therefore do not give it enough weight in your considerations. I can very highly recommend Benefits & Work's guides on considering whether claiming PIP is worthwhile - it's an arduous process and not one you want to undertake unless you're confident you stand some chance of success.

[Globedancer in reply to Rustreloaded]

Hi Rustreloaded, thank you so much for sharing your experience in such detail, your previous role sounds scarily similar to mine! I can relate to the setting of boundaries scenario you refer to, I'm constantly telling myself I will finish on time but more often than not end up working extra hours due to not wanting to let people down; I know this would only be amplified if I was to cut my hours unless, of course, my projects were cut proportionately. I also find that I have to work longer and harder now just to counterbalance the impact my T is having on my working life. I'm a very stoic person and this trait was picked up during a self referral to occupational therapy via my line manager as even during that call I found myself downplaying my condition. She did conclude that I was fit to work at that time (over 12 months ago) but also considered that my T would be defined as a disability under the Disability Act 2010. I haven't even considered retirement on ill health grounds on the basis that I didn't think T would qualify me for that but, again, something I will look into although I suspect that will 'require' prolonged periods of sick leave which would be hard for me to do. I will certainly look into the other avenues you have very helpfully suggested above. Many thanks again

[D-w-L2023 in reply to Globedancer]

Nearly 30 years ago I was made redundant and started as a software development contract. programmer. I took out critical health insurance and had to detail everything that needed a doctor's attention. One of those things was tinnitus which I'd been suffering from for a few years. I got the critical health insurance approved but with one caveat... if I had to give up work because of tinnitus I wouldn't be covered. That was quite some time ago so things may have changed but it's worth checking it out before making decisions. Good luck.