Hello Everyone, My Name's Callum and I'm New to Tinnitus

[Hardwell]

Okay so I'm 20 years of age and have been experiencing T for the past four days now. I'm yet to see a doctor as the earliest appointment I could get isn't until Wednesday, but it doesn't take a doctor to know what T is.. I used to love music festivals and night clubs and never had a problem with my ears ringing at all. I haven't been exposed to Loud noises in over two months as I've stopped drinking and clubbing.

So this is the annoyance for me that it seems T came out of the blue. I had taken a phone call from my old boss about taking my old job back, I've been very stressed and could do with the cash so I got into the shower and ponderd the idea of going back to work for him, it was when I got out of the shower and entered my bedroom I realised I could hear this ringing sound in my ears, I over think and panic about everything so naturally I consulted Dr Google and find out it was Tinnitus.

While the ringing sound is mild and a background noise if anything, I even have moments where I have to stop and focus because I think it has gone only to be disappointed it's still there, while I remain optimistic there's an underlying cause that can be fixed and T will disappear I'm not ignorant to the fact this isn't always the case. At the present moment while the T is annoying I believe I could put up with it at its current state, my biggest fear is that T will change me and I won't be able to live my normal life, I already don't feel like meeting any of my friends for a drink or telling them I have this noise is my ears.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm scared I'm going to go from someone who was always so social to someone who becomes lonely and chooses to stay home

 

[Keith D Mitchell]

We have similar stories and let me tell you that staying inside is the worst thing you can do. Being around people, having conversations, enjoying the sounds of outside and more have helped me cope. I'm on my PC right now listening to the sounds of outside right now and it's completely taken my mind off my T. Other than that i've been listening to soothing music as well as my current albums. I even enjoyed a 3 hours gaming session, after which I swore I didn't hear my T for a good 10-15 minutes.

As I was told, don't let it stop you from doing what to like to do, just be a little more careful when it comes to loud noise.... though I would love what people clarify as loud noise (50 dba and up?).

The moment we stop trying to listen for the T, which I'm trying to do right now over the noise, is the moment we win.

 

[Hardwell]

I thought as much @Keith D Mitchell when I read your thread which in return encouraged me to write one myself, I have yet to partake in any social activities since T came due to a large portion of my friends being in Amsterdam and the rest working.

I have realised that while I'm at work myself I notice the T even less and when I do notice it I shrug it off because I have things to be doing, I've been watching boxsets to distract myself from T, I'm waiting for fallout 4 until I play my Xbox again. As much as I love music I'm a little too afraid to listen to it in case I make my T worse.

I have no idea what's considerd a loud noise but as a young man the realisation that I wouldn't be able to go to nightclubs again really put a downer on it for me

 

[billie48]

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm scared I'm going to go from someone who was always so social to someone who becomes lonely and chooses to stay home

Welcome to TT @Hardwell and I did share your fear like you posted above. I had loud and ultra high pitched dog whistle T and severe H which turned all normal sounds so loud and piercingly hurtful. When even the soft voice of my wife spoken too close hurt, I had to withdraw from all social functions, not to say clubs, cinemas or gigs. I had horror vision of a life filled with loneliness, boarded up in closed, quiet rooms. It sent chill through my spine and panic set in every time I thought about the future. But T often uses distorted thoughts to haunt us, something they called catastrophic thinking about the future as a cognitive distortion in CBT.

I never thought I could go out and live good and fun life again in the darkest days. But nowadays, I live a normal and absolutely enjoyable life. I even fly often and go cinemas without ear plugs. If necessary I use earbuds and fingers. LOL. H just faded over time while T stays. But my brain is now hardened to the T sound and not scared by it any more. So in a few years, life is good again even with T blasting most mornings, lol. I wrote my success story and listed many helpful points in my turnaround. If you want to read it, here is the link:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

 

[uae96]

@Hardwell stop going to clubs man , these places are tooo Loud I've only rarely been to few prior to t and I still thought they were too loud , it's good to take a break from work to rest you're ears from these clubs u go to , and make sure u get a hearing test done to see if you have hearing loss , it's ok to listen to music at low it good to mask you're t

 

[Hardwell]

@billie48 its certainly reassuring to know I'm not the only person who has had these thoughts, it's even more reassuring to know you've had them and overcame them and proceeded to live an enjoyable life. It feels me with belief that if this T is here to stay I'm not alone and there's a light at the end of the tunnel! I'll be sure to read the link you've shared thankyou.

@uae96 I never put much thought into the volume of clubs until now, it's amazing and shocking how little people know of the risks of tinnitus until they have it. I imagine my Gp will send me to have a hearing test to identify hearing loss if any