How Can I Pursue College Education with Tinnitus?

Hello everyone.

I'd say I am pretty new to tinnitus as I have only had it for 2 weeks. I suppose it isn't that bad as I mostly notice it when I am in a silent room but it does still get me down.

My question is: how feasible is it to pursue a college education for someone with tinnitus? I have mentally given up on pursuing a college degree since I have tinnitus which is making me a bit depressed but am still harbouring some hope that I might be able to.

 

As I explained to you yesterday @FakeBeans, pursue your goals and try not to let fear and negative thinking overwhelm you. This is the reason I advised you to print and read my posts and refer to them often. Tinnitus can be daunting in the early stages but it will settle down. If you are feeling stressed and anxious something that is quite understandable, talk to your doctor.

Try not to keep asking this question on anything similar especially at other social media sites, as you might get negative comments and that will not help you. If you associate with negative thinking people which you may not be aware of, their thinking can quickly become your way of thinking.

Take care,
Michael

 

No way you can give up education. Your goal is to protect your hearing now. That means 1) no loud places at all, no movies, no concerts or live events and 2) be careful when you take meds.

You have to remember for most people tinnitus goes down a lot and stay like that for a lifetime except for the occasional spike.

Let’s say you stop your college. Move forward 10 years. It’s 2031 and your tinnitus has been mostly quiet in the last 10 years and now we have a cure for tinnitus. In fear of tinnitus you are now older and you didn’t finish your education.

 

Hey again Michael. I will stop asking this question but I needed a little bit of reasurance today so I decided to ask it again.

 

Thank you for the encouragement! It means a lot to me right now!

 

Never give up on education. Education is the door to freedom and opportunities in future. Don’t ever ask this question no matter what comes ahead, no matter how bad it gets.

All the best to you.

 

I understand how you feel @FakeBeans and the fact that you are new to tinnitus. Give it time and try to relax by taking things easy. This will help to prevent you from becoming too stressed.

 

I understand your concerns and offer the following thoughts for you to consider regarding your decision.

1) When I developed tinnitus earlier this year, it is accurate to say that I was devastated and deeply questioning my path forward. I am a biological researcher with a PhD. I work for a university and my daily work requires maximum focus and mental agility. I can say that despite how new these tinnitus symptoms are in my life, I have been able to produce some of my best work yet while experiencing the symptoms. I had a few months during which I was too anxious to do much work, but after I decided I would not let this control my life, I am relatively OK.

2) A former employer of mine had painful ulcerative colitis prior to developing colon cancer, and eventually having his colon removed. His doctor told him early on that you can let this condition control you, or decide to take control of it. Easy to say...not easy to do. I think the connection here, and the reason I bring it up, is because we have the choice of making the most of our lives despite the biological imperfections that we all experience in some manner or another. Since I am a biologist, I take stock in the fact that Darwin reportedly had lifelong tinnitus, and the eminent contemporary biologist E.O. Wilson was blinded in one eye before conducting his most legendary field research.

3) As many war veterans pursue college on the GI bill after service, and tinnitus is a highly common condition among veterans, you certainly would not be alone as a college student with tinnitus. And if tinnitus were to impede your learning, you can and should take advantage of the disability services that exist on every college campus (in the USA, anyhow).

4) I subscribe to the concept that aiding brain growth (generation of new neurons and synapses) is one way out of auditory disorders like tinnitus. Since learning is one of the best ways to stimulate brain growth, you could view your decision to go to college as a way to aid your healing process.

5) Finally, plenty of research exists showing that tinnitus commonly resolves itself. It is unremarkable that this is the case considering that the body is constantly healing itself. It is likely that you will have moved past this hard time one year from now. The question is: what path do you want to be on next year, one of dwelling on an upset in your life, or a path of moving forward with your life's goals?

I wish you the best!

 

That is a beautiful message! There are so many legends who have tinnitus and they live successful lives.

 

Wow to say that I am speechless would be putting it mildly! What you have written really fills me up with hope and energy. I will try to push through this!

 

It is very possible mate. I'm living proof. I'm currently at university and doing just fine. A guy on my course also has tinnitus (very severe kind as well) and he's one of the highest scorers in the class. Tinnitus is annoying but there is no reason it should stop you doing a degree.

 

You are brand new to this and you are feeling traumatized by it. Do not let it affect your college plans. Go to college. Whatever you're feeling about it now, you will be less bothered by it in six months. Yes, you have a very low level tinnitus if you really only hear it when it's quiet. But I get it, I had it that way first too and it was super annoying because some people are more sensitive to audio than others. But trust me... it will bother you less and will not affect your studies. I dream that I could go back to the day when I only heard it when it was quiet... but I'm sure someone else has it worse still than I do now.

But do be careful. Avoid loud sound - wear earplugs... probably avoid clubs/raves/concerts (sorry, but even ear plugs can't protect the volume levels there). Avoid antibiotics ending in mycin. But live your full life with keeping yourself engaged in things. Filling out your life and focusing less on the tinnitus is the best thing you can do.

 

These posts are encouraging, but I still feel scared. I am supposed to start school in fall for a major in Chinese and Asian Studies.

My tinnitus is new but studying and reading seriously hurts. I can't focus. I'm so scared because I believe I barely had the mental acuity to go after a tall goal like learning Chinese when I was normal. Now it just seems impossible especially since it revolves around language and sound, albeit I mainly want to translate and read ancient text. Seriously anything scholarly just seems impossible at this point. I know I am supposed to overcome it but I need to be realistic. If I can't keep grades, I will lose aid and never finish and be way worse off.