I'm a 64-year old guy who just started getting symptoms of tinnitus on and off starting this January. By mid-February I mentioned it to my GP who referred me for a hearing test. Nothing but what was surmised as normal drop off for someone my age. Then the high pitched hissing became more a part of my day. I'm anxious by nature, so most of you understand that this has been setting me off numerous times a day. I have not yet seen a ENT specialist... that's 10 days away... and I realize I need to get more medical information before I jump to any conclusions. I also have what are probably exacerbating conditions like arthritis in my neck and extremely tense shoulders. I've viewed this whole thing as an opportunity to start taking much better care of myself... losing weight, managing intake of caffein, alcohol, aspartame. I'm also doing restorative yoga, acupuncture, and massage... as much nice stuff I can do for myself. But the biggest issue for me is managing my anxiety in the face of having to live with this for the rest of my life. I looked into this site as there seems to be a lot of hope here. I'm certainly not alone with this one!