First Job! What About the Sound??

Hey everybody! I hope everyone is doing fantastic.

I have been going to job interviews as of late and one of them called me back for the job. I was ecstatic. Then one of my family members says to me "You know that their workers have to wear ear pieces right?". And my heart dropped. I never realized that until now.

I forgot to mention, the job is at a convenience store called Wawa down here in Florida.

What am I to do about this situation??? I thought before I found this out that "Hey! This is perfect I'll be exposed to all types of sound and people!"

I don't only have a problem with Tinnitus I also have Hyperacusis. My H gets aggravated easily. In fact, it goes from mild to severe and back again in a heart beat.


I'm just so anxious about that ear piece. Help!!!

 

Can you tell them about your situation?

 

You will probably be alright as there won't be music playing through the earpiece. It's probably not a good idea to tell your employer about your tinnitus. Less said less accounted for. Try the job and I wish you the best of luck...

 

Why not tell them?

 

If the job requires you to wear an earpiece and you tell them about tinnitus and hyperacusis, and your concerns. They might, I say might, not want to employ you. Lets say your tinnitus and hyperacusis spikes, and you think wearing the earpiece has caused this. They might think you take action against them under health and safety. This could scare them and therefore they think it's not worth the risk and look for someone that doesn't have ear problems...
Follow your gut feeling and discuss it with your parents.

Michael

 

First job!! Congrats!!! Keep moving forward young lady, the world is your oyster and you CAN do what you set your mind to. I like this because YOU are not letting tinnitus run your life, good job!

 

Its more so not the tinnitus I'm worried about. I'm very afraid of something bad happening with my Hyperacusis. Simply because my H spikes so easy. Granted the spike goes down quickly but it really scares me. It goes from mild to severe very quickly and I hate it.

And it makes me so mad because this is an amazing company to work for especially for a first time job. :/ I wish I had some confidence.

 

good luck to you

 

Your hyperacusis will calm down and eventually go. Getting a job is the best thing for you and keeping a way from this forum and the negative thinking people in it.

Michael

 

@Taylorslay

If you decide to take the job and also decide not to mention to your employer about your tinnitus and hyperacusis. Please do not mention your tinnitus or hyperacusis to your co-workers. Again, less said, less accounted for. People can only hurt you with the information you tell them about yourself.

Best of luck
Michael

 

I understand that but I'm worried about spikes. That's my main issue. I can work fine and efficiently but spikes due to something as silly as an earpiece I just don't know.

 

I understand your concerns but it is the constant reading of negative posts in this forum, that keeps the fears you have alive. Even if your tinnitus spikes and I don't think it will. The best thing for you is to get out there and start enjoying life. Embrace it and run with it and in time you'll forget about spikes.....

Michael

 

Its not the Tinnitus spikes I'm worried about. My Tinnitus spikes never bother me anymore even when they sound like a screech from hell. What bothers me is my H spikes. I don't simply spike a little bit. No, I spike a lot.

 

I know you are concerned about hyperacusis. You have to realize tinnitus and hyperaucis can take up to 2 years to recover. Even if your hyperacusis spikes it will calm down. You are still in recovery. Worrying over this will not help. Try to calm down and relax. You have to make the decision.

If I were you then I would see this job offer as a way of moving forward with my life and not concern myself about hyperacusis. You are still in recovery and continuing to improve.

Don't let negative thinking stop you from living your life.
Michael

 

Such wise words!

 

I agree with Michael here (as he's probably noticed by now). American employers seem pretty harsh in comparison to those in other comparable countries. If you tell them they may then see you as a potential insurance liability. If you have some control over the volume in the earpiece (just say your hearing is sensitive and you don't need much volume..its not lie...technically), then it just may work out. Sometimes you just gotta roll the dice and think positive, no matter how cornball that sounds.

 

I used to work at a call centre.

I had a head peice but I didn’t have it right on my ear just behind it.

 

It doesn't matter if it's not music. It's still effectively the same thing as using headphones, something you and most people caution against. When I got tinnitus from headphones I was not listening to music. If headphones are dangerous they earpieces are too.

It is nice that everyone in here is being encouraging towards Taylor but her concerns are absolutely legitimate here.

Taylor, there is no need to be paranoid about talking to your employer about your tinnitus. It is not like you are trying to hold a long-running job that you have held for years while trying to support children. You are on an entry-level job and there's nothing to lose by talking to your employer about your concerns. What is the worst that can happen? That you don't get the job? So what?

If you don't end up in Wawa then there are other places you can go to.

 

Thank you. I have to use headphones for some school work for homeschooling because it involves a microphone and I gets spikes even when thats on low.

 

I tried to continue using headphones for a little bit after I got it. When you can, I recommend just getting a regular mic. You can get one for cheap, about 10-$15.

 

Thats what I was thinking about doing. I don't think I'd be able to work with an ear piece even if it was on low. I could definitely do a hand held walkie talkie but definetly not an ear piece.

 

Another thing I want to point out is that my family was forcing me to get this job a long while back. So basically if I turn it down I'm going to be held like a steak over fire.

So basically go through a job so I don't become the family disappointment or risk being disabled.

Well this is fun (sarcasm)...

I understand everyones encouraging words. As of the later months my mental state is not nearly as bothered by Hyperacusis or Tinnitus. I know everyone means well but everyone's Hyperacusis and Tinnitus react differently... and mine spikes up from ONE foul flutter/spasm of my eardrum and pain. I have every right to be worried about this situation.

Many people seem to think my Tinnitus is my worry, no. My tinnitus is bad but its not to the point I want to die. At times I can hear it everywhere but that does NOT bother me one bit. But my Hyperacusis causes me physical pain wherever I go. It physically disables. I don't spike a little bit. I spike A LOT. I go from LDL's around 80-85db to LDL'S to probably around 65-70db LDL's. Everyone here who has Hyperacusis knows very well, that those are awful LDL's. Those are my TYPICAL spikes.

Despite these spikes my mental state isn't nearly as affected every time I spike. I just carry on my day and take the necessary precautions I need to. Which is why I'm not on Ttalk near as often anymore. It's so exhausting to always be focused on these problems.

As much as I love the encouragement, that "Go get em" attitude. I am just not willing to risk my ability to function as a human being to please somebody else. Therefore I need to talk to my employer.

 

They can't force you to get a job if no one hires you. For them to force that, they would also have to force someone to hire you. If you already told them you got accepted, then yeah. But it's not your fault if you get turned down for wanting accommodations from your employer.

I don't know how you interact with your family, Taylor. But whatever happens, you really need to not say anything about tinnitus to your family. It's not something I normally encourage but I have gotten several red flags that your family is a straight up abusive. Taunting you in regards to this condition at such a young age is just cruel.

Of course, I do hope for the alternative that you can one day forge a relationship with them about from trust and respect.

 

You absolutely should speak with your employer. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects against job discrimination on the basis of a disability. I think the act is applicable to companies with more than 15 employees, which I suspect Wawa has throughout their locations.

Here is a link with more information, including details about reasonable accommodations (or adjustments to help you do the job) and an explanation of what qualifies as a disability:
https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/adaqa1.cfm

I also see no reason to not tell your coworkers if you’re comfortable doing so. The view that people will hurt you based on what they know is a cynical one. Instead, you may find helpful coworkers who take on the louder tasks, keep the workplace quieter, or just offer a bit of mental support.

Your family on the other hand, ugh. I am so sorry.

I wish you good luck with the job!

 

A lot of people say that, my counselor says they don't treat me right. I agree they are abusive. There's also a lot of shoved under the rug sexism as well.

 

Hang in there! One day you’ll be out from under their roof and you’re going to be stronger and capable enough to stand tall on your own.

 

Thank you for the link <3 xoxo

 

With respect, there is nothing that you can tell me about headphones and tinnitus that I don’t already know. Please peruse some of the old posts in his forum and you will see, I was the first person to continuously write posts, about the dangers of headphone use and tinnitus. In response to this I was ridiculed and regularly abused by some members using four letter expletives. Telling me that I haven’t a clue what I was talking about and have no medical proof to support my claims. I remained resolute in my beliefs and continued writing posts about the dangers for people with “noise induced” tinnitus listening to music through headphones. That they should refrain from wearing them even at low volume. I said these restrictions also apply to speech. People have contacted me that wear headsets in call-centres for long hours without a break and believe they developed tinnitus as a result.

However, @Taylorslay is a special case for she has made remarkable recovery, in the short period of time having noise induced tinnitus. I believe this is due to her being young. I have already told her that she is still in recovery and this can take up to 2 years. One of the biggest threats that will delay or prevent her making a full recovery, is being continuously exposed to Negative thinking people’s posts in this forum. It is very sad that I have to say this but it’s true. I have twenty two years experience with tinnitus and was recently been in correspondence with another tinnitus veteran in this forum, that shares my opinion.

There are some very helpful people in this forum, that give good support and advice but it is been marred by some people that are giving wrong advice, who are not very experienced with tinnitus and think they are helping but unfortunatly are often making things worse.

Michael

PS. This post may attract adverse comments and if this is the case I will not reply.

 

I think Taylor has done a wonderful job as well. Age is for sure a factor, but this young lady has the WILLPOWER to get ahead in life and will not let the affliction of tinnitus slow her down. Kudos to her and her progress

 

Indeed, I believe @Taylorslay has the willpower to do whatever she wants and best of luck to her....

Michael