Hello From New Tinnitus Member

Just like to say hello, my names Patrick and have suffered with tinnitus a good few years now, I first got it after getting very ill, I was put into incentive care and put into a drug induced coma for a few months as my pancreas just went bad,, when I was slowly brought out of my coma, I could hear a very light noise which at first thought it was because I was so ill, when I got a little better the. noise carried on, so I asked everyone could they hear a faint drumming noise all replied NO, then after a few weeks it started getting much louder in both ears but mainly my left ear, when I got out of hospital after 8 months it was quite bad, so had a gp come and see me as I was bed bound and was now finding it hard to cope with doc said nothing wrong with ears this carried on for two years till I went docs got told I listen to much and had a bit of an argument, and demanded I see a hearing specialist, when I seen this audiologist they said my ears are badly scarred did I work with explosives, I didn't any way I now have two hearing aids and have gone quite deaf. now my tinnitus is now much louder and makes my life very hard to deal with, and hope I can get some help on this forum, so that's part of my story, just wanted people to know my situation thanks for reading regards pat

 

You may already know, Pat, that T is the number one disability among veterans of the military. For them, tinnitus was noise induced. That's how I developed it, from artillery, and have had it now since 1972. The VA gives me a whopping $129 each month for the privilege of carrying around this noise in my head.

I've tried all forms of therapy and have found sound therapy to be the best. What I hear throughout my day sounds a lot like crickets. I listen to Mike Petroff's recording of crickets a good bit through my iCom transmitter that sends MP3 recordings into my hearing aid. If you don't know about the new transmitters audiologists sell today, ask about the iCom. You'll be surprised by how well they work.

So, welcome. It is indeed a challenging adventure, this life of no silence, but it can be lived with a few successes.
David

 

Sorry to hear your challenge with tinnitus and hearing. A big part of T suffering is mental. The mental side of living with T is what I can say a few things, especially dealing with loud and high pitch tinnitus. I have ultra high pitch dog whistle tinnitus. I can hear my T above the sound of jet noise during the last 2 flights I took. I can also hear T above the sounds of the raging, roaring rapids of the salmon river I fish. I also had severe hyperacusis which made all normal sounds piercingly hurtful. It takes time to get used to such high pitch ringing and hyperacusis, a few years in my case. It takes some attitude change, from fighting the reality of T to accepting its presence and flow with life's challenges. Today I am back to normal living a happy & enjoyable life and write my success story on TT. There are many success stories here on TT which can give you some hope about living with T and winning the battle.

I also learn the lesson from a young pretty lady Zoe Cartwright who turned completely deaf at young 15 and was so her loud T is unmaskable. I wrote about her story on page 14 and page 15 of the Positivity Thread on the main Support Forum (sticky thread at the top). She is an inspiration to me, a guiding light of sort during my darkest struggle. Besides moving on with life, she even made a tinnitus film. Read it up and watch the film to see if her story can help lift your spirit. Take care & God bless.

 

Pat, like David's post above, my T was the result of military service and happened in 72 and was caused by being to close to a hand grenade simulator in a concrete tunnel. For most of the time my T is more of a high pitched hiss. My T has improved when my accompanying hearing loss became severe enough to require hearing aids.

For me, my T ran from being a mild irritant to occasionally aggravating. I guess in that I'm one of the lucky ones. Han in, you do survive.
Albert