Newbie Here, College?

Hello everybody, I'm so glad I Found this support. My tinnitus came on suddenly Monday night jam 5th after leaving the gym. I'm gurssing it's noise induced after years of listening to loud music. I see an ENT this following Monday, but from what I've read there is no cure which gives me no hope. I have had aniexty issues for about ten years as well and this has only escalated it. I'm only 30 and feel like my best years are behind me now . The sad thing is I'm in my last semester of college starting back up Tuesday and not sure how I'll be able to concentrate to to get through my studies and clincals. Does anyone have any success stories involving tinnitus and completing school?

 

I completed college after I had tinnitus. It had no effect on me being able to complete engineering school. If you stay busy with school and don't concentrate on it (easier said than done) you should be just fine! Welcome to our site.

Don't saddle yourself with questions like "Now that I have tinnitus will I be able to complete X still?" because the answer is.... of course you can.

 

Hey Dylan, I know your new to tinnitus, but if you haven't had it for 3 months then there's no telling its permanent, it might just be a temporary thing. I know how terrifying it is to be young and go through it, im 25 and have horrible tinnitus in the worst situation possible. As far as college goes, I finished right before my tinnitus kicked in, to be honest I thing as long as your able to take control of it you should be able to complete school just fine, it wont be easy but its definitely possible

 

Hudson that's great to hear congratulations on your success in engineering school. Stacey, I wasn't aware of the 3 month time frame that definatly gives me hope. I have gone to my GP she said I didn't have any type of infection but she did see some fluid behind the eardrum hopefully after that subsides it will lessen or completely go away. Scary stuff! I will never take something simple as silence for granted ever again. Thanks for the support!

 

It might not be a coincidence that it came right after the gym. From what Ive heard theres a correlation between heavy weight lifting and tinnitus. Ive seen people report that lifting weights spikes their tinnitus. I have no idea how theyre related. That being said, working out might decrease tinnitus also. It all comes down to what the cause of your tinnitus is. If its anxiety related, working out is definatly a good thing.

 

At least... consider the current AM-101 trials. Read about it. And if you consider it, then take that piece of information to your ENT so that you get the necessary paperwork for your next steps. I believe the trial is still recruiting. You can always roll back your decision later on.

My suggestion.

 

Hi Dylan!

I'm 24 and have had tinnitus for nearly a year now. So I'm rather jealous you got six more years over me... ha ha I joke...

I habituated to it quite quickly, but that's because I knew I didn't have a choice if I were to still keep my life in order and do everything I wanted to do. My tinnitus striked 6 weeks before I was due to go to Southeast Asia (I'm from the UK) traveling and teaching English. It took away all the confidence I had, drove my boyfriend insane because of course he couldn't hear what I was hearing and I had a very stressful job. But after a few weeks, it did calm down and I managed to take control of it. But I'm happy to say that most days I forget I have tinnitus and I'm still in Southeast Asia.

I'm hoping that for you very soon it will go away altogether. For a lot of people this is the case and sometimes it can be just a warning sign that you need to stay away from loud places and noise for a period of time. When I first got it, I was determined (if not slightly in denial) that I would get rid of it and so I started wearing ear plugs everywhere I went to protect my ears and give them some time to heal. It's amazing how loud everything is around you and not notice until something like this happens. Traffic, construction, restaurants, even the volume on a television are all things you need to be wary of straight after you are aware you have tinnitus.

Depending on your hobbies, the plan is to keep yourself busy. I spent the first week not being able to concentrate on anything but my tinnitus, and that is not the way forward - you will go INSANE! But then once I came around to the fact that this wasn't going away for at least a while, I began to get on with my life as normal, but make slight adjustments. For example, I read a lot more these days because it involves no noise levels and I can zone out of my life and into another upon the pages I'm reading. I go for lots of walks because obviously endorphins boost your mood and I can't hear my tinnitus when the wind is blowing. I'm guessing you're a gym goer and for some reason this really does spike my tinnitus to get very loud - maybe the mix of endorphins and blood pressure levels does something we all don't know about yet. The shower is now considered my new silence, as it blocks all signs of my tinnitus out and masks the irritating noise. You can also download soundscapes for tinnitus, depending on how it's affecting your sleep. These mask the noise in your ears and can actually be quite relaxing once you get used to it. If you have an iPod/Mp3, or feel you cannot live without music (welcome to my world) just make sure you have your headphones at a respectable level. I for one am guilty at turning my volume up to a song I love or forgetting that I have tinnitus once the ear phones go in, only to be well known to it again after I stop listening to music, because my tinnitus becomes very loud.

What does your tinnitus sound like - is it high or low pitched? loud or just in the background? Can you hear it above everything else? What masks it?

I hope I have helped in some small way and apologies if I've rambled in places.

This website is absolutely fantastic and I am so glad you found it like me. You are not alone - and you WILL get through your studies!

 

Great advise by others already. I have T for almost 6 years now. T has not left but I have left it. At some point, habituation kicks in. Now even I can hear my T above the sounds of the rapids when I go fishing or that I can hear my T above the jet noise in the last two flights, I can say that the tyranny of T over me is over. I don't react to it high or low and I go about enjoying my life as usual. I couldn't do this at the start. Most people couldn't ignore T at the start. But over time, or after learning some good strategies, with positivity, patience and acceptance, most people will get better and can focus on what they like to do. For students that mean going back to study without problem. I have read success stories of people who still go to medical school after suffering from T. Some got bachelor or master degree. One guy finished his phd. So it is highly likely that you can still do well in school. Don't give it up. Read up the success stories on TT and you will find many people recover. You can read up AnneG and her posted success stories. She is a young college student back to study after T.

Then there is the inspiring story of Zoe Cartwright, a young pretty girl with incredible challenge of total deafness at young 15. Her T is loud and unmaskable. Yet just like emmy above, Zoe chooses to accept her T reality even that young. She said either acceptance or total misery for life. So she moves on to live her life. Against all odds, she makes it to university where she made a short tinnitus film. Her T is loud and unmaskable. Yet she says she loves her life regardless of T. You can read her incredible story and watch the film on the Positivity Thread of the support forum, at page 15, post# 422 & 425 and hopefully you will come away realizing what an amazing story of courage and positivity this young pretty lady shows us

 

I got bad tinnitus and hyperacusis/dyacusis after hunting for a day with my brother using shotguns. I was 21 years old and at the time was in trade school for electrical maintenance. Slipped into deep depression...etc. After a year or so of mucking around I came out of it and became a better person. I couldn't continue to do electrical though; too much exposure to loud sounds. I finished the training in trade school with honours and enrolled in university. Been working part-time and schooling ever since.

I'm now 28, I finished a Bachelor of arts in political science with dean's list distinction two years ago and I am now finishing my Masters thesis in geography. Planning on doing premed and heading into a career in healthcare over the next two or three years. Life doesn't wait up...go out and get it done.

T is annoying and I definitely feel that it changed me; it forced me to grow up fast. I stopped taking things for granted and think positively about each and every day. I have travelled to South America and Southeast Asia and I must say that when I travel or go fishing, I am cured of T! There will be good days and there will be bad days but life goes on; you will have moments when you completely forget about it!

Cheers

 

Wow! I want to thank you all for the motivation and success stories really is a breath of fresh air. My T is high pitched with a roaring sound, but I have to admit the last two days it has calmed down and it really is only bothersome at night I can sleep if I mask it with a fan. I hope it continues to stay at this level or better yet go away! I have been wearing ear protection if going anywhere I suspect loud noises. I continue on with my daily routines regardless and that seems to help as well. I haven't notice the gym making it any worse and in fact I felt the sauna after my workouts calmed it a little bit ( could be in my head). I have made up my mind I will not let this run my life and will face it head on even more determined after hearing from you all. I see the ENT tomorrow already prepared myself for the words "learn to live with it".... Thanks again for the support you guys are great!