1) How Old Are You? 2) Are You Able to Function with Your Tinnitus?

There are threads on Tinnitus Talk regarding age but I haven’t found a thread regarding age and severity of how debilitating tinnitus is at a young age for people with intrusive tinnitus.

Being young and having tinnitus with decades ahead of you is a very horrible, specific experience. I’m 23 and it prevents me from doing so many things, and I feel so alone because I haven’t met anyone in real life my age who has tinnitus, and missing every social opportunity because of this feels so horrible. I’ve missed out on my youth because of this and I don’t want to live like this.

I just want to hear other young people’s experience with how tinnitus affects their lives. I feel so alone and isolated because of how young I am and how getting tinnitus when I was a teenager has ruined my life.

 

Hey @pleasejuststop, I'm very sorry to hear about this.

I'm 23 as well so I can somewhat relate. I wouldn't consider my tinnitus severe in terms of volume (more like 6/10), but I have pretty significant loudness hyperacusis and reactive tinnitus, which limits my life enormously. I think what's keeping me sane is the fact that I can still work remotely and manage speaker meetings (with protection) without too bad effects. My job enables me to have some social interactions, and money earned are going towards a grand dream a few years ahead. Outside of that, I have one good friend who occasionally comes over for a game of chess, but that's about it.

I hear you about the feeling of missing out. Pre-tinnitus we'd meet up for nights of board games, which I can no longer join in on. Additionally I loved maintaining and driving my car, which I can no longer do in the same capacity. It truly sucks. However, as I'm your typical computer wizard, you wouldn't see me at bigger gatherings like parties anyway, so in that sense, this miserable existence is not radically different from pre-tinnitus, at least for me.

Despite the crappy situation, I still very much maintain faith and hope. I am convinced that there will be some good decades ahead, with or without a cure - I just need to hang in there. If my tinnitus would stabilize, most of my freedom would return.

This truly sucks, but please, hang in there and keep hope.

~Stacken

 

Some of us have learned to carry on and not let tinnitus rule our everyday lives. I've got days where it becomes so intrusive I find myself in a quiet place. I don't do loud places like pubs. I suggest you go out to meet new people who understand your condition. It does get better.

 

May I ask how you think you got tinnitus?

 

I am not saying this is your intention at all, but you can’t say “it gets better” if you do not know that. It isn’t factual. And it makes some people feel so much worse. It’s good it got better for you. It hasn’t for me and people who say this need to understand that their experience isn’t universal. I’ve lived with this for 6 years and it’s gotten progressively worse for me. On top of tinnitus, I am facing other horrible events that are literally catastrophic.

I also have already thought of and tried to meet new people and socialize so many times and I’ve had permanent worsening of my tinnitus during many events. I still try to because not being able to socialize at this age drives me crazy.

There is nothing wrong with asking someone if it has gotten better for someone, but telling them it will sometimes originate from fear of accepting life doesn’t end with a happy ending for everyone. The phrase “it gets better” is great to apply to minor issues, but using it for something as serious as disease and parental death is known as toxic positivity. I’d recommend googling toxic positivity and reading about it. Without knowing someone’s life and situation, it can make someone feel much worse and isn’t correct. I appreciate you thinking it’ll make me feel better if you do understand what I’m saying.

Like I said, it’s gotten progressively worse for me and I’ve lived with this for years and it’s of no fault of no trying, believe me, and the phrase truly isn’t helpful for everyone. Ending here, I am glad it has gotten better for you.

 

Sure. Loud noise.

 

I’m sorry. It is so limiting for me too. I can’t go to social outings, friend’s parties, and I miss out on so many social opportunities.

Thankfully I have 2 friends I can still talk to but I can’t go on most of the outings they go on so I can only text. Friendship, dating, has been impossible. I’m 23 and knowing other people my age don’t have to live like this is isolating.

It gets worse so easily. I’m so filled with anxiety daily. I have another chronic illness and other events in my life that are objectively catastrophic so it makes it even harder, and I feel like I’m in prison for a crime I didn’t commit.

My only comfort is that eventually I’ll die. I hope it improves for you if possible.

 

@pleasejuststop, please know people have good intentions. For 34 years, from age 40 I have lived with tinnitus 24/7. I pushed through working in the tech field as a System Programmer. There were times I had to stop working when my tinnitus became unbearable/spiked. I want to live, so I always pushed to work.

A few things I learned through the years:

Try not to stress. Easier said than done. If you decide to socialize with people in a loud venue, do not assume earplugs will reduce the dB by the rating on the package! The true deduction rating is 1/3 the package rating. Same holds true with earmuffs. I also take medications to help with anxiety. Do not be afraid to ask for mental health support. Yes, this insidious condition is alone and isolating.

I hope you have a good supportive family. I pray everyday for better treatments or cure.

 

It does appear that each sufferer needs to make their own personal choice on this;

1. Stay at home and hibernate with the silence.
2. Go out and do things, accepting the risk of noise exposure.

It depends on what is most important to you; reducing your tinnitus symptoms or living life as normally as you can.

Point is, you can't really have both.

 

Jeez, sorry I said anything. Only tried to help. And for a lot of folks on here it does get better once they realise life goes on and they learn to accept and adjust to it.

 

Did your tinnitus not get any better? I see it says your cause is plugged nasal Eustachian tube.

 

I'm 22 now.I have had tinnitus since I was 19 (caused by a concert which was so loud that my body was shaking even in the back row). In the beginning it was pretty bad, I was in hospital a few times, did HBOT. But then I somehow got used to it and did not really care about it. I was just carrying earmuffs in my bag, if something loud was happening, like ambulance etc. I was going into restaurants with friends and wore ear protection only if I knew that I was going to some too loud environment (plane, graduation party).

Theeen in 2022 my tinnitus spiked after a concert with double protection (don't do concerts guys, I later learned that it was too loud even with -35 dB reduction because it doesn't block bass very well ) and I went to hospital (high doses of IV Prednisone) and my tinnitus got better -> better than it was before the 2nd concert. I also did some HBOT -> got better again.

Then a stupid nurse spiked my tinnitus because instead of a tympanometry, she did some reacting to noise test and bursted 110 dB in my eardrums... I did HBOT again and took oral Prednisone because I had some university stuff to do and could not go in hospital. That worsened my tinnitus permanently but I can't change it now. Maybe I could sue the hospital? After that I started to avoid any noise and got like extreme depression. I got hyperacusis, my ears hurt when I'm near someone talking a bit louder (I'm not sure if it's because I'm avoiding noise or if I got it after that wrong hospital test). Right now I'm trying again to get used to that there will be unexpected noise I can't avoid and slowly it's getting better.

Good luck guys!

 

I'll be 71 in a few weeks, and have had tinnitus for 20 or 30 years... My tinnitus goes up, goes down, sometimes it is very loud, other times I go days w/o noticing it. Not so bad at all on the good days, there are ways to mask it on the bad days.

I've learned to avoid stress, eat right, stay active and avoid noisy environments. Unexpected loud noises are not fun, if I have a noisy neighbor and can't get any help w/ management I move. A lot of people can be real jerks about noise, I won't put up w/ it.

 

I'm 26, and the above is 100% how it's going for me as well but I would rate my loudness a 2/10 (it's so subjective though). I'm pretty much a recluse and it seems nearly impossible to find quiet places to be outside of my home or a friend's home and it's hard to keep friends when I can never do anything because my hyperacusis is bad and noise keeps making my tinnitus worse.

 

After 1.5 years with tinnitus, I moved into the life goes on camp. Unfortunately, life is really fucking loud so my tinnitus is three times as worse as when it started and this shit really sucks.