PamJ

I am a 65 year old mother of four who are all married, and I have four grandchildren, ages 4 to 23. I am a Christian, and I believe my faith has been a major factor in helping me live with tinnitus for the last 32 years. I was expecting my fourth child back in 1984, in my 8th month, when I contracted a flu virus. It was terrible. It caused me to lost seven pounds, and within three days, my hearing in my right ear was gone. I experienced vertigo for the first time while sick and could not lift my head from the pillow. The virus eventually ran its course, but it destroyed most of the nerve endings in my inner ear, and I was left with virtually no hearing in that ear, plus tinnitus. Doctors said the hearing might come back, but it never did. And the tinnitus has never changed or lessened in 32 years. The worst part is trying to sleep at night and hearing nothing but ringing. We use a fan to mask it somewhat (my husband developed tinnitus five years ago after an ear infection). I also use a white noise machine that I bought at Bed Bath & Beyond. It offers white noise and other sounds such as the ocean, rain, and a brook. It distracts you from focusing on the tinnitus. A few years ago I had surgery for a bone anchored hearing aid implant (BAHA by Cochlear). The high powered aid snaps on the implanted abutment and transfer sounds through the bone to my good ear. It helps tremendously with the deafness. But it does not lessen the tinnitus. I thank God that I have been given the grace to endure this terrible ear ringing all these years, and I thank Him for giving me the strength to raise a family and go through other trials such as breast cancer with this tinnitus always there as an unwanted companion. I pray that we all may get relief someday if a treatment is found.