Finally Hit the Intolerable Threshold

You can't judge someones suffering.

 

It's simply not true though... There's conditions like severe chronic pain that make people feel like they're being stabbed 24/7. Chronic Migraines that make your head feel like it's being lit on fire and ran over by a truck all day. Diseases like MS that can destroy your body and leave you paralyzed. You're living in a fantasy world if you think tinnitus is the worst condition out there.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. But having had that experience, you should be the first to extinguish this "poor me" mentality. There's conditions that can cause pain and suffering that isn't even on the same planet as tinnitus. If the same people that say tinnitus is "the worst condition" developed any of the conditions I mentioned, I bet they would change their tune real quickly. And as someone who suffered from chronic migraines as a child, you folks saying T is the worst don't know ANYTHING about real pain and suffering. Luckily mine eventually lessened in frequency, but for some, that never happens.

 

MuteButton is the first real treatment, but it won't be the last with other devices and treatments in R&D. So, there is still hope on the horizon even it if it doesn't help everyone.

@AZeurotuner I would agree there are other illnesses out there that are very bad and severe, but I think Tinnitus ranks up there with the worst of them. OK, it won't actually directly kill you, but it is a kind of mental prison. I've often experienced extreme sacroilliac joint pain and the sensation of having a sword impaling me doesn't come close to messing with my quality of life and sense of being as much as Tinnitus.

 

I think T is as bad as quite a lot of conditions that may seem way worse on the surface level. You can't really compare them on a like for like basis, because T is invisible, whereas MS is visible. I met one lady when I went for HBOT who has MS and is deaf in one ear, with T. She still had a joy about herself and a kindness I found disarming.

 

You don't think being paralyzed or having extreme pain 24/7 would impact your quality of life? What about being blind? Or losing all of your limbs? Tinnitus is annoying as hell, and I would love to have silence again, but let's not kid ourselves here.

 

Yes, of course I do agree those things impact greatly on quality of life. I'm not trying to diminish the severity of the many other horrible conditions at all. Not trying to rank what is worse. I don't think it's fair to do that, but it is also not fair to diminish tinnitus and associated afflictions. We've already got the medical profession and entire world that does that already. It's affected me more than anything else (i.e. extreme pain) and my tinnitus, hyperacusis etc isn't even a bad case by a long shot.

 

Having had loud tinnitus for 6 weeks now (looking back I've probably had tinnitus for some months before), I find it scary that some of you think life isn't worth living. How long have you had tinnitus? How loud is it? Do you have loved ones/close ones nearby? Do you go to church? Have you seen a therapist/counselor? Do you have at least one thing that gives you joy in life, like a dog? Have you had no previous major sufferings in your life that might give you some perspective, or is the tinnitus part of a long list of sufferings? Do you have a lot of free time? Tinnitus has been debilitating for me, I now cannot even sleep one hour without prescription sleeping pills. I work at a quiet cubicle and I hear it then too. It has also caused me a lot of anxiety and sadness. I have stopped driving and wonder how I will travel in the future because of the sleep issue. I'm curious exactly how debilitating is your tinnitus.

 

I think it's fair considering the fact that I see it being done all the time on this website. I have a friend who was paralyzed in a roll over accident due to a faulty seat belt (Everyone else walked away with minor injuries from the accident. He was awarded about 1.5 million in a civil judgment from Chevrolet.).

He can't bath himself or dress himself. He has no control over his bowels so he urinates and defecates in a bag. He can't feel his penis so sex or masturbation is out of the question. He was an exceptional motocross rider, sponsored as an amateur and on the path to being a professional. He "rides" an electric wheelchair now.

Do you think a noise in our heads is really worse than that? Seriously?

 

While many are hoping Neuromod offers an effective treatment, and seems to be the treatment that this forum knows about and is focused on, it is not the last hope. There will always be new treatments, and refinements to existing treatments for every disease, including tinnitus/hyperacusis.

 

AZeurotuner, I have said many of the same things you said just trying to get some of these folks to realize this isn't the end of the world. I got lambasted.

I've got this shit and I bet it is as loud and intrusive as anybody's. But I too see worse conditions. It's a shame we have to see somebody else suffer worse than us to "help us" but thats the way it is. Therefore, I gut it up and move on. I'm here for the long haul.

To that Switzerland deal, which I've never heard of, that sounds like a horrible way to go. That would be about like having a cancer that you knew damn well would kill you in however much time it would take to make it to the finish line in Switzerland. The mental anguish would be unimaginable.

So to the OP, if you are serious, just take a load of sleeping pills and drink a load of alcohol and go to sleep. Celebrities do it all the time. Or get yourself an airtight deep freezer, get drunk or take some sleeping pills and go to bed. You won't wake up. Or get drunk, pull your car into a garage and go to sleep.

I can't believe I said that. But I guess so many on here talk about offing themselves, there is your solution.

But instead of all of that, go to a mental health clinic and get some help.

 

I don't think there needs to be a "mines bigger than yours" debate about it. There are a lot of terrible conditions, including this one.

 

Agreed. You can fight or you can give up and surrender... It's up to you. I think some of these folks have never faced any serious diversity in their lives before. Life isn't always peaches and cream, sometimes it can slap you around a bit.

 

@Lilah I've had it a lot longer than you and I wish not to answer any of your pointless questions related to my obvious situation that I've already explained in my original post. When somebody has reached their threshold there isn't much left to make life worth living. Let's hope that you never get where I am with tinnitus, if you do then you won't be asking such questions.

 

@AZeurotuner Wow! Gold star for you for comparing tinnitus to those conditions, you really are a smart guy. Do you feel big and better about yourself now? Well done have a prize as that must have been really difficult. I said that I didn't want a pity party not some guy underplaying tinnitus like its nothing. You are part of the problem as to why tinnitus is not taken seriously just like you don't. ****ing disgusting, obviously you have an issue with people suffering with tinnitus, you shouldn't be on this forum.

I've said my piece in my original post and created the thread to vent on how I can't cope with tinnitus anymore not for you to come in and troll by talking down to me and maybe others who are suffering badly and wind people up, just **** off will you?

 

@Tex I'll pm you at some point.

 

Hearing loss and tinnitus will eventually be cured, and it has NOTHING to do with how many people on this forum talk about suicide. Why can't people get it through their heads that becoming a tinnitus martyr does nothing for "the cause"? It just ruins your life. You're fooling yourself if you think research depends on how many folks like threefirefour and contrast incessantly complain about it.

Tinnitus sucks, but blowing this condition up to be the worst disease in the world is entirely self-sabotaging. And look what's happening, tinnitus talk is slowly turning from a support forum to a suicide forum. It DIDN'T used to be this way. A few "doom and gloom" members managed to gain considerable clout and it has had a cascade effect on this entire website.

This here is some tough love... Either take it, or keep your head in the clouds.

 

Couldn’t agree more. But the fact that you still have the anger to fight these heartless morons who seek to belittle sufferers, tells me you can still stand your ground against this horrendous disease. Channel your anger in to battling through each day. Take pride that you are still alive despite fighting through hell each day.

It’s a true purgatory my friend. You know it, I know it, many of us know it. We will not accept the bullshit people are trying to peddle for whatever selfish reason. Come on! Permanent screaming noise inside your own head. Not that bad?!? Go fuck yourself! It’s the worst thing that can happen to a sentient being, plain and fucking simple. Anyone saying otherwise either doesnt have it badly, is delusional or is a piece of shit troll. I would rip my balls off with my own teeth to be rid of this.

But keep fighting mate......Now is not the time to accept defeat.

 

We should all be allowed to die with dignity and without judgement about whether we threw in the towel too soon or unnecessarily. I'm sure OP didn't come to this decision on a whim. Just because others may or may not have worse pain in the view of others, doesn't invalidate his pain, nor his decision.