Anyone Had to Quit Working Because of Tinnitus or Hyperacusis?

Anyone had to quit working because of Tinnitus or hyperacusis? I had to take 10 weeks of work this year because of it so far and I am barely holding on at work right now? Just curious to hear other peoples story of what this condition has done to their ability to make a living.

 

@dochappy I'm on disability short term and will likely not return to work, in the near term, got depression as a result of T and not getting anywhere with local med and getting support for treatment.

 

Sorry to hear, in the beginning I missed work a lot of work too. Curious, what kind of work do you do?
What are your challenges?

 

hey @dochoppy - I'm sorry to hear about your loss of work.
I had to give up performing for part of my income which has been very taxing on me emotionally as playing music is what I love to do and I feel like I've lost my direction in life. I still teach 5/6 days a week and am learning front end web development to pay the bills. It is hard but I have to try to keep on track. I'd imagine the stress of being a doctor is a lot with T and or H. have you ever thought about TRT or CBT? Possibly using some in ear maskers ?

 

After my T onset, I was off-work for 5 months.
Then I started working part-time again (because people say work distracts you from T, which does not for me unfortunately). I am working full-time again, but here comes the but:
I am teleworker and work from home (IT support). I drove to my company once or twice a month meeting my colleagues and boss. I work as good as possible from home, but do not drive to my company (because of anxiety and depression).
My company is ok with this, but I really don't know how long I can work that way.
Here are my options:
- I can continue like this and work towards my habituation.
- I can voluntarily quit my job and would probably get a real good package of money.
- I can try to retire (with loud T, anxiety and depression). But I am only 45.
- I can start working in office of my wife.
I really don't know what to do. It is a survival game for me. :-(
Loud, high-pitched T, depression and anxiety.
Sometimes I think, sitting at home working from there makes me even more depressed. :-(

BTW, my wife earns enough money for both of us. But who wants to sit at home all the time with loud T, anxious and depressed? And who wants such a husband?

 

Without going into too much detail, let's just say that tinnitus has had catastrophic consequences for me in every way.

And I am no sissy. Before tinnitus, I had not had a single day of absence from work for 11 years straight. And during that period I recall having both Shingles and a Salmonella infection. Still made it to work. But tinnitus...

 

I missed probably a week my doctor would not allow me to take short term disability which is 4 to 6 weeks till I got use to this terrible sound. I'd get up and force myself to work drive an hour each way it was terrible at first I turned back many times and would call in sick fortunately I had a understanding boss. Anyways its been a horrible ride and I hang on each and every day

 

6 years ago i made a choice, i decided to go full time with my hobby. I became a proffensional gambler, my income is mostly from punting and trading basketball and tennis in play, before T i was living my dream, business were very good and i could plan my time how i wished. The job involves a lot of stress but i never had any problem with that before T.

But post T, i really felt all the downsides of being "out of the system" with no insurances what so ever besides my own skill. During this 8 months of T i have "worked" maybe 50-60% of what i am used to and the stress from buzzer beaters and missed bps in tennis are a lot harder to take in my new state than before, and sometimes i am thinking of going back to my old salesman career instead, but who would like to hire a former proffesional gambler who also is a T veteran.

 

I had to to quit my job because of Meniere´s Disease (Tinnitus my main issue, unmaskable thanks to hearing loss). My employer couldnt understand my situation and paid me to leave.

Now i work part-time in a new place, take bupropion for anxiety and depression, visit psychiatrists and such every now and then... This is a battlefield and i try to survive. I wont give up. the last four weeks have been the best so far this year. and it is november already.

Yeah, tinnitus and other ear problems can be a bit effective sometimes.

 

Boy am I glad I'm retired,reading your post,I'm so sorry truly ,how this T and anxiety ,depression has messed your working lives up alone.
I use to work part time ,when I was getting by with my T prior to illness ,but there would be no way I could work now with all this I've got going on ,different T ,balance ,rhinitis,etc since illness I had ,changed my life completely .
Don't know how one copes who do have to work ,there's many a day I think of ones out there working with what I've got ,but when you got Morgages and bills to pay ,you have to work .How you've got to struggle getting through those days ,how you do it I can't begin to imagine .Best wishes to you all.

 

Working is kind of a double edge sword, it does take your mind off it, but it also increases my stress level which increases my anxiety , which is already at maxium limit due to dealing with T, evenutually you start not being able to sleep well and then a downward spiral. It is good to hear other peoples experience on this. It was really hard for me to be gone from work and then come back, people really don't understand and half of them probably think I am just crazy. T is a nasty deal all around. I have never faced anything like it in my life.

 

There is a significant difference between tinnitus and TINNITUS. When the medical audiology textbooks from the 1970s are eventually updated, we will be half-way through this century.

I seem to recall from some post that you are a doctor, so I will not try to teach you any tricks. But, as an example, my own GP had no knowledge of Melatonin as a sleep aid (until I told her about it). Therapeutic range as a sleep aid = 5 - 10 mg, ½ hour before bedtime. A most helpful alternative to real sleep medication.

 

@dochoppy You describe very well were I was before I stopped work, cant imagine returning to work. I never know what a day will bring and it hasn't gotten better since I have been off work, because now I have H as well.

 

I worked with T for 38 years (car sales till I couldn't hear phones or understand voices and then 20 years of construction till I couldn't even hear the loud cranes and machines I was around. If it were not for my beautiful loving wife I wouldn't even be here to day. For you guys and gals that are new to T hope for a miracle that will keep you sane thru this journey of unending changes! Never expect the same noises to be the norm, the only norm for me is constant change in tones and pitches. It seems that with every change in noise levels its like Fred Sanford used to say "Oh no Elizabeth this is the big one, but you get use to it and life goes on!

 

"Quit working?" = Completely...unless no humans around. Have not found any non-humans wanting to hire me yet.

Even after "stage 2" T I was "Superman" and always working at something whether "at work" or at home. After "stage 3" tinnitus and H in 2006 managed to get back to some work (self employed landscape design; consulting; etc.) with hyper hearing protection as needed. However, after "stage 4" T and H in late 2012 I have not been able to work reliably enough (guaranteed quiet job site) to commit to any clients so 'retired' officially.
The Hyperacusis/Reactive T is the main limiting variable...The screaming loud Tinnitus just makes me nuts. But there are lots of crazy people out there, just look at our Congress in the USA!

Best, Zimichael

 

I am on disability for awhile now, dealing with the T is enough for me at the moment.

I worked in a pretty noisy environment so I do not think I will go back to that place.

 

Not to be a jerk but why did you go into construction after suffering obvious damage to your hearing?

 

No work, no social life, nothing at all anymore. T takes the life out of me.

 

Telis ,sorry your having it tough ,what do you do with your day ? Do you get mates round ? Must be long ,long days .
Do you live on your own,or have a family ,can't imagine living like you mention .Do you know anyone with T close by ?
It's changed my life totally ,but I'm of the older set ,but I still get out as much as I can ,despite my balance being out of whack ,not easy but I push myself .
Your far to young to not socialise .wish for better times for you .truly do .This has been my hardest thing for all my years to cope with,when your down the only way is up ,so saying goes .
Best of wishes

 

@dochoppy
I was semi retired having income from royalties from my music and investments. But still needed to work part time...
IN AUDIO !
Not so much fun. Working from my home studio is what I sometimes do but it hurts my T after a while.
I have given up on some jobs in the city because of the stress and feeling like shit on real bad days.

On good days, like today (yea!) I worked on my music and worked out in gym. Almost felt human again...

It's hard to predict the bad days and I don't know how anyone works if your T gets to cat 4 or 5 like mine does. Nothing masks it when it goes haywire. It physically hurts and sucks the life out of me.

I can't imaging being a doc on bad days.
Hopefully I can deal better with my still active clients down the road but for now my best friend is pretty happy doing my audio engineering gigs.

Best wishes to you doc.
What kind are you if you don't mind saying. No worries for keeping it private.

 

I have my mom, she lives close and my gf which is around a lot. I also have a boston terrior which is the sweetest little thing, she never leaves my side, especially now that she knows I'm not well. I have given up on my friends, I don't get a lot from them, most hang out at loud places and are loud themselves. I can't be me so I just stick to myself most the time. Days are long and tough, spend a lot of time in bed or pacing the house. Not a good life, I try not to think of my fun filled life I had just a short year ago. I really really try and forget.

 

Worked for years with mild tinnitus but was retired when the severe T. sat in. There is no way I could do my old job now which required a great deal of concentration.

 

My compassion goes out to people that have left their jobs and ability to make money because of T.
I hope the best for them and hope their choices are the right ones for their lives.

Yet I agree with @Marlene, what about the bills, mortgages, food to buy, gas, your life to support, etc.
My T is screaming right now, yet I get up and work everyday,
I'd urge people to put their life first, just get up and go.
Work or being involved in a task can be a distraction, yet I'm looking forward to retirement.
(Besides, I have taxes to pay to help bail out the US Government).

 

Heart goes out to you Telis ,friends if they've not got this ,they're hard to speak to about it ,let alone understand it ,hard within ones family at times ,I play them what I hear 24/7 then my close family understand the change it's caused in me Telis ,your young so you still need friends,time to get out there and make new ones better suited to your life style .glad you've got your mum close by ,and your girlfriend to .Do you chat to them ,what advice do they come up with .? No one you know in your age bracket with having T locally ,that would help .Its telling people you have it ,I was surprised at how many I wouldn't have guessed they had T ,then said I've got that to .
To me it's like grief in many ways ,wanting things back as they were,wanting old life back ,not a day passes I don't think that .just want it fixed what's gone wrong .
Your dog sounds super company ,think they sense when your not great ,my 2 Cocker Spaniels did on my bad days . Stayed around me a lot .best ever friends .yours to by how you lovingly speak of her .
Wish could turn things around for you Telis .Big Hug

 

I think it depends on the severity of the T and the nature of the person who has it. When my T started out in 2009 I kept on going to work regardless because I didn't want to let it interfere with my routine. I didn't think I'd accomplish anything if I took time off. I can't remember too well but I remember how much I HATED T especially in the first few months and not a minute would go by when I didn't think about it. Nevertheless I kept at it with my job of being a delivery driver. Two years later I had a nasty few months battling with crippling OCD (which I won't go into detail with) but I didn't take a single day off work either, probably because keeping occupied helped me cope.

There is no right or wrong approach to working while learning to cope with these bastard symptoms (pardon my language), I wish the best to anybody out there who is going through hell with this so to speak. *hug*

 

I've been out of work for 4 months(under Doctors care) suffering from severe T and H,The onset of my T came from a car accident.. I had some minor head trauma and some whiplash but the T is the hardest to deal/cope with. I worked in a warehouse environment and just the thought of returning there to work with the T and H... I can't even imagine it. Plus all the anxiety stress panic attacks depression and PSTD associated with this condition has really changed my everyday life. My Employer just contacted me by a letter in the mail stated if I do not return to work by March 9th 2015 my job will be filled. Is this legal?

 

@jovionabedofrose Do you work for a large company, have LTD benefits?

 

I have had T for four months now.

Missed three days of work due specifically to the T.
One of those days was when I had to travel to see an audiologist specializing in T.
The other two were days when I was so depressed and anxious that I just called in sick.

I work in an office. Pretty quiet.
I have fluctuating T, so I get good days and bad days. On bad days, I just sit there and take it and try to keep my mind off it.

 

I can only deal with a quite environment. The T was bad but when H hit I was done. Depression and anxiety are secondary problems. I am a film producer and musician. I do neither. To hell with a cure how about some resonable relief without the hideous side effects.

 

i had to, as much as i concantrate my t goes up