As the Name Implies...

Hi there! Glenn here. I've been in retail sales for nearly 30 years, and before that I spent 3 years in the Army (where I was religious about hearing protection) and then college and some grad school. Despite growing up listening to rock music, I never have been one to turn anything up really loud. "I can hear that just fine at this volume, thank you very much!"

I first actually noticed my tinnitus in 2015. I think of it in terms of volume on a scale of 1 to 10. At first, it rarely went above a 2, so it was only ever a background sound. Then suddenly in August 2017, one Sunday I was helping the worship band set up at church (I run tech from the back), and suddenly the normally mellow sound of one of the guitars felt like it was piercing my ears. Then I noticed that the ringing that was usually in the background was now turned up to 8 and everything else hurt to listen to. I ended up spending the church service in the lobby, cradling my head and wondering what was going on. Just before Christmas '17, I saw my GP and he referred me to the tinnitus clinic at our nearby university hospital. In the meantime, I did research online (the usual stuff like the ATA site and hear-it.org, plus some clinical journals) and tried to understand what was going on. When I went to the clinic, they found very little hearing loss, even for someone in their 50s. I paid extra to talk to an expert...who talked to me for all of 5 minutes and then handed me an ATA pamphlet with a referral to a support group. Seriously?!? I wanted to punch him in the face, but I didn't.

Since then, the volume has never dropped below a 7, and some days (like today), it feels like an 11! On my worst days, I can't concentrate, sounds are overly loud, and I get nauseous. Being in retail, I have to speak to customers and listen well, and I can't always hear them. I have to make cold calls, and I find myself anxious about listening to the customer. A few weeks ago, as I was driving to work, trying to forge my way through a very bad ringing, I got dizzy and almost crashed my car. I have missed 2 to 4 days of work each of the last four months. Seriously, this sucks.

When people ask me what it's like, I open an app that simulates various tones and tune it to 9000 Hz. I can't distinguish the app's sound from the ringing I constantly hear, but the look of pain on their faces says it all. "And you hear that all the time?" they ask. "Yes, and often louder than that."

As my user name implies, I love to sing worship, and I live with and do ministry with others who play in the worship group. We have Friday night worship gatherings and normal Sunday services, as well as special events we do throughout our region. But some days I can't stand to be around people and the noise. Large crowds are a huge problem, and I hate the newer restaurants that have terrible acoustics and echoing design.

Trouble working, trouble joining with others for worship, trouble being around people in general. Sigh.

But, hey, at least I have the cutest granddaughter in the world!

 

Can relate. Not looking forward to then next 50 years of my life..

 

3-5 years, 10 tops there will be a cure. Hang in there. Search FX-322.

 

Thank you for the reminder of hope. It's what I'm holding on to.