First Summer with Chronic Tinnitus Coming Up

1.5 years ago I couldn't have imagined what tinnitus was like. Why would I, when you are generally healthy, you don't tend to think about the what if's. I think it's definitely true many don't appreciate what they have, only do they realize that after they don't have it anymore. Regarding health it's easy to forget how fragile we are. How quickly we can lose anything and everything.

Tinnitus first became part of me early last year. I was very hopeful it would be temporary, not lasting for the rest of my life. The spring I spent waiting for the miracle, sleeping less than ever before, adjusting to the constant irritating sound was bothersome to say the least. At summertime I continued to be positive and hopeful, I didn't really consider it permanent at that point. I had read stories of how one's tinnitus took almost a year to diminish and disappear. I guess I thought I'd be one of those.

By fall I began to understand that waiting for it to go away was just plain useless and started making me more anxious and stressed. It would go away in its own time, and even if it never did, I could continue living almost* normal life. It's not like I was hit by a bus and became quadriplegic or had a severe brain injury. I consider myself lucky in that aspect.

This summer I'm hoping to do all the things I used to love, enjoying the people around me & the nature and our summer house by a lake & just being content with myself. Besides of course being online and here with you folks.

*Tinnitus hasn't beaten me, I'm starting to think I've beaten it, which of course means that I'm quite successfully habituated and don't pay that much attention to it anymore. But I still have some bad days and especially some irregular problems with concentration, and I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed silence the same way I used to. I used to love being in silence and tinnitus has somewhat robbed me of that. I can be in silence, but I don't enjoy it the same way. I guess that goes for many of us.


Hope we all have a special summer ahead of us.

Do you remember your own first summer with chronic tinnitus?