Hello, I'm new here and let me introduce myself

Hey, my name is Ziv and I'm sixteen years old from Israel.
Well, let me tell you my story.
It's been almost a year, I still remember my pre-tinnitus days and quiet sound, how my dream became my worst nightmare nowadays.
I got my tinnitus and hearing loss in one ear (left) due to a pressure in my ears, I went to a scuba-diving courses, one day when I got out of the water I found myself completely deaf in my left ear, but with the team it got better but not completely good. and after a while I got tinnitus. I remember at the first I thought I'll go to the doctors and everything will be fine.
When I went to a few expensive doctors, it was for nothing, plus I've wasted alot of money on them to find out there's no cure.
Sometimes I had depressions, and yeah, Sדuicidal thoughts were around, I couldn't believe how my dream became a nightmare, when I see my family goes scuba-diving and I'm staying at home doing nothing, shitty feelings.
It ruined some of my dreams too, like to become a solider in the IDF (Israel Defense Force).
I tried to give up my caffeine and alcohol habits, I gived a try to a chamomile tea because I saw on the interent people that it helped them, but nothing has changed.
I've decided to live my life normally again, not giving up at anything because of that worthless sound.
I hope there'll be a cure in the near future, can't wait to have quiet
I hope it will help me speaking with people which suffers from the same thing, in real life I only know one person with tinnitus and he suffers from vertigo too.
It will be nice to talk to people with tinnitus

 

Hey man, you right - being young has it perks.
I wanna live my life normally and not to feel different from anybody, sometimes I see people that sometimes cries about how hard is life and they are tired of everything but they're just whining around and they doesn't know what are difficulties are, well I was like them when I was younger.
I hope there will be a cure when I get older, when quiet plays a bigger rule in life.

 

Hi Ziv, I got tinnitus when I was 17. It's nearly been 10 years now, and it hasn't killed me or kept me from doing cool stuff. Just don't let the anxiety get you down, and you'll come to think of it as normal or just another thing. Time is the best healer, along with staying busy.

The future has never been so bright for the possibility of tinnitus treatments as well, so hang in there on that front. Maybe someday we'll have a meaningful treatment.

 

Sometimes I let it get me down, but when I hear music most of the times it makes me happier.
How did you get your T, Hudson?

 

Rock concerts, but one particularly loud one I think.
If your dream is to be in the IDF, why not join anyway? I have known several old guys that have been in the US Marines and Army who have had tinnitus for years yet went and did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan anyway. They just wore earplugs. As long as you don't have hearing loss, they won't reject you.

My tinnitus has never been affected by anything except for loud sound. If I had not exposed myself to loud sound over the years, it would have stayed the same. The only times it has gotten worse for me have been when I was around loud sound. Caffeine, smoking, drinking, salty foods, supplements, medications, nothing ever changed my tinnitus but loud sounds. All people are different and it is important to pay attention to what effects you.

 

Hudson beat me to it, but T. shouldn't stop you from doing things. Get yourself a good pair of plugs. Such that fit only your ears and no-one else's. I did one tour 10 years ago with the Swedish KFOR-unit and tinnitus didn't stop me. I do however, think that coming under fire/explosions with IDF is more likely than it ever was with KFOR, so maybe it isn't worth it.

All other things, should be very possible, though.

 

Hello Ziv,

Thank you for your post, I can relate to your story in so many ways. First of all I also got my tinnitus from a scuba dive. I couldn´t equalize probably, and after the dive for the first many hours I had a clogged/blogged feeling in my left ear. It wasn´t before 4am that I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night with a hissing and high pitched tone. I never had felt so terrifeid before that in my life, and I was trying to calm myself down by hoping it would be gone the night day. It didn´t. So here I am, 5 months later with this bloody thing. Anyways I am sorry you have it, but at the same time it is nice to hear from others who also got it from scuba diving as most people on these forums have theirs from noise induced traumas. It could be good to hear what works/hasn´t worked with you? You menion you cut down on caffeine, alcohol etc.? Do you still do this and does it help? I have have cut grealtly down on coffee but alcohol on moderate levels help calm my nerves and so does smoking waterpibe

I agree with Hudson and Sven - if IDF is your dream, then go for it! Just as long as you remember those earplugs. For your information, I´m in the army myself, and even though i have this really annoying sound and stupid prssure feeling in my ears, its not going to stop me from working and doing what I like (to some degree of course). So far I seem to mange being in the military with tinnitus; and i know a lot of soldiers who also has tinnitus. Espcially older soldiers, as they didnt use proper ear protection back in the day. For them it's normal, so if they can do it, then so can I, and so can you! So join the IDF, remember your earplugs, and know that you always have the possiblity to stop if you feel uncomftable with what you are doing.

And as you said, I too like to talk with people who has T. It makes me feel not so alone with this! Keep us posted Ziv, and as a sidenote, thanks to Markku for creating this forum

Mark

 

Hey guys, most likely i can't join the IDF as a solider because of my hear-lossing, it isn't that bad and I still have normal life with it, but I don' t they they will let me join. well at the last weeks I've cut my caffeine compeletly, and alcohol until last night. no change at all (I guess I'm lucky!), I'm about to start taking caffeine like I used to in the past.
Those things doesn't affect my T, it seems that my mood is the only thing which affects my T.

MarkW, it's really nice to speak with another scuba-diver who got T from it.
You still diving?

 

Alcohol affects my ringing to the worse, but only temporarily and only when I drink a little too much.

 

I just found out today about a really close person to me who suffers with T, god T is everywhere!

 

Okay, if you have a hearing loss then perhaps they wont let you in, but you cam always try to join and see what happens. Maybe your hearing loss isnt that bad?

Yes its great to hear from others who also got it from diving. And as it only was an introductory dive, to try it out, haha, (worst decision in my life), I dont plan to do it again anytime soon. It was a great experience, the water clear, and many beautiful fish and corals, but on doctors orders I wont do it right now.
However if you are a keen diver, and really want to go out again, I have read some articles saying that diving not necessarily worsens your tinnitus if you already have it. If you want to dive again, google about it, and maybe you still can do it. Somewhere there was this diver instructor who went back fiving again after he got tinnitus, because it was his life. and he felt that his tinnitus was temporarily gine when he was diving. I will try and find the articles and post them.

And keep us posted how it goes with the caffeine

And yes, tinnitus is everywhere, once you start telling people about it, a lot also mention they have it..

 

Sorry to hear you got it on your first diving experience buddy, I got my issues a few days before I finished my courses.

 

hehe, yeah it sucks that I hadn´t dived that much. Sometimes I also feel like blaming the diving instructor, because he should be aware of stuff like that. But what can he do now.. that´s life, I'm still happy, and that is what counts

You plan on diving again?

 

Nah, never, ain't gonna take the risk losing my good hearing in my right ear.

 

Hi Ziv we are all in the same boat, all we can all do is raise awrenwss and money for charity to try and get a cure,there are days when you think you cant go on believe me I am there at times, but I am trying to focus on the days when its bearable. Today mine is through the roof but I am trying to remember yesterday was bearable. stick with the forum, you wont feel so alone.