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This is the success Story of my Dad, a 59-year old, who has very loud severe Tinnitus for 16 years and is the happiest, most active and successful 59-year I know. he has very high pitched, whistle-like Tinnitus.
Let me tell you a bit about my Dad as a person, how he got T, and how he got over it.

My dad works in a bank as a software developer. It’s a very stressful job with a lot of hours per week. He goes to play badminton every week, is a great and wise dad and is always making jokes, and is very happy in general.

I didn’t know that he had T. when he manchend that he had T I thought to myself “Well it must be very mild then, if he is so full of joy”. Then one day I was very depressed and told him again about my Tinnitus. He then told me that he had piercingly loud T (!!) I didn’t believe him!- WHY? – because he is so happy and active and enjoying life to the fullest. So I couldnt understand. He has T since 16 years. He describes his T as very high pitched, like a loud whistle on both ears.

In the year of 2000 he had an operation because he had a perforated eardrum when he was 17 that left a hole in his ear that never healed. My Dad was always very active. He says that stress at that time also might have caused his T. Having a 4 year old child, having final exams in uni, no money, being one of the leaders of the Iranian group in Germany and also helping an HIV infected person might have caused due to the stress.

This Operation was also made because his middle ear was always infected. he says he remembers sitting in a car right after the operation, and realizing that a high pitched sound was there. He didn’t know what it was. He felt really scared at that time (no hyperacusis though)

"The first time hearing it I got scared. It scared because I was thinking “ I always hear drums, ringing” That feeling of being scared was everything I felt. "

He then had Novocain infusions multiple times, which didn’t help one bit.

“ I can ALWAYS hear my Tinnitus, if I focus on it. In the shower. In the train, on a car drive. In the middle of a big city. Traffic noise everywhere”

When I explained to him the scala 1-10 from severity he said that he rates his T a 9/10

TRT and psychological counselling

“I was scared and the infusions didnt help one bit. So they sent me to her (a psychologist)"

“My psychologist taught me what hearing is. And how to focus on other things. For example being focused on T, then I went outside and listened to the other sounds.. Because I understood that we hear on different levels. I went outside and heard a dog barking in the distance, birds singing, the sound of rain….From that moment when talking to the psychologist I understood that I can oust my T. I felt better immediately and started to live again.”

Then he said, that he forgets about his T. earlier today we were cooking together, and he told me that while he was distracted he didn’t hear his T. He didn’t know the term “habituation” probably because he never read so much on the internet like I did. But he is habituated.

He says to me on’t sit down and think “I have Tinnitus”

“Its true. Having T is nothing to be happy about. But since I have so much other stuff to do than concentrating on my T its not wearing me down. Tinnitus means: running, laughing, going to a museum, meeting friends, make money, studying hard”

“I am not a superman but I don’t see Tinnitus as an obstacle in my well-being and ability to do things”

So yeah..that was the story of my Dads T. He is a strong person but also full of love and joy.I think sometimes we forget how many people are habituated because the majority of things we see on the forum are negative ones (not criticizing anything - just saying that not every person that feels better and not bothered by T anymore comes to this forum). The people who suffer do.

He even goes to clubs ( for people who are over 40) with his Tinnitus and without earplugs!!! (a 59-year old lol) and then his Tinnitus was louder, but he doesn’t care at all. He knows that nothing is going to happen. No pain. “That’s how I think about it” - that’s what he said.

So yeah its good to basically have a success story in real life just in front of me. A happy successfull man, with severe Tinnitus, living his life to the fullest!

Stay strong fellow sufferers!