Calling Tinnitus T

I like how everyone calls this condition. "T" Like its supposed to be a cool hip friend lol

 

As hard as it is to believe, I have heard from people who have had tinnitus for many years who say they eventually "made friends" with their T and even enjoyed listening to it from time to time.
On another social media forum that I frequent, not T-related but sports-related, I posted a message about T and asked if others had it.
I got about a dozen responses from various people who said they had had T anywhere from a few months to decades.
One guy said he had it for 30-plus years, and "at this point, I would miss it if it was gone."
Another one said his T started out so loud he was debilitated by it and stayed in his house for weeks, but eventually it diminished down to a steady background hiss. He said he was so habituated to it that he had forgotten about it for years until he saw my post, and then he heard it again.

Another guy said he considers his T, "a useful excuse to pretend I don't hear people when I don't want to listen to them."

 

I knew what T was before I got it. My dad had it for 30+ years. But I still didn't pay attention because it is really hard to understand unless you have it. It's an invisible condition and you never think much it being something you will get. Other than my dad, I didn't know anyone else that had it in the past.

After I got T, I understood what it was all about. Then all of sudden, I was running into many people who had it: other relatives, friends and even some strangers. Even in my own department of 10 people at work-- 4 people had T, most for over 10 years. I got the same response most of the time- "yes I have it, hear it all the time" but it was no big deal so they ignored it. And they were fine. My dad after 30+ of loud military T is fine. People have it all around us and most just don't talk about it.

I think this was one of the factors that helped me get to where I am today. I have fluctuating T that can be whisper quiet to super loud. But to me I just don't really care about it that much any more. If it is quiet one day, I forget about it....If it is loud one day, I may hear it and notice that is loud that day but just like on the quiet day, I can still ignore it and go about my work. It took me a while to get to this point, perhaps a year or maybe two but I did and I suspect so will most people.

I type "T" because I get lazy and tired of typing out "tinnitus" 100x a day...LOL

 

I personally do not mind. Besides being a terrible affliction, its name (tinnitus) sounded horrible for me. Among the good things that this forum did for me was to make me stop cringing at the word "tinnitus" and its initial (T). I became semi-friend with the name "tinnitus", seeing how many fine people use it with no hesitation, and hopefully i will make peace one day with the condition itself. Thank you, Tinnitus Talk.

 

For me it's such a hated word I don't even want to write it in full!

 

Oh in no way is T a cool hip friend it's an unwelcome pest. Like most people I get tired of typing the word.

 

I usually try to remember to use a small 't' 'cos I don't want it give it the sense of importance that a capital letter implies. Although I guess by coming here in the first place I'm making that seem a fairly futile gesture. Oh well...

 

My friends used to call me T as a nickname (shortened form of Telis). I don't think that I would like that anymore. Lol

 

I do it on a forum because I'm lazy and get bored writing it in full that's all. In conversation I now call it my noise, I hate to give it its real name.

 

I personally don't consider "T" my friend. Or my enemy. It's a medical disorder -- and part of me, just like my chronic sinus problems. Heck, it's my own brain making the noise. It's something I have learned to live with.

But if it helps you to make it a friend, or enemy, have at it.
Oh, and like others, I consider "T" just an abbreviation, nothing more.

 

Exactly my experience. My dad also has had it for over 30 years from the military. Only I did not know he had it until I got mine and started complaining about it.

But I figure if I knew so many who had it and they could habituate, then so could I. It brought me comfort to know I was not alone and they were doing well.

Today my T bothers me maybe a couple times a year and I'm not sure why. But other than that, it simply doesn't affect my daily life.

 

That's what I do