Please Help Me Understand Why Tinnitus Impacts Some More Than Others

Being in the early stages of tinnitus, I have been very vocal with friends and family about my condition, well- being and what was going on.

I am amazed at how many friends and family of mine claim they have tinnitus and it does not bother them at all. They either can only hear it if they think of it or the noise simply does not bothersome. Then, There are people on this forum that say its the worse thing that every happened to them.

I am in purgatory.

Can someone please help me understand the factors around how there could be 2 completely different sides? It may put my mind at ease more. Thank you

 

Maybe it is loudness what makes the difference

 

I think we all have our own breaking point and what we can cope with.
Sound and strength and one or both ears and head and multi tones play a big part and hearing loss and how long we have had it.
Also our own mental Health needs to be strong and looked after and sleep and diet.
Love glynis

 

Well you are not alone.....Club purgatory.

The answer is rather complex. I don't know how to explain it. Because it is so confusing.
For myself it is nerve damage.

Important to take that blame/shame out of the equation. There were times when I told someone I had intrusive tinnitus and they would reply back oh I have that it is no big deal. AHHHHH.

Good part is you can get out of purgatory. Eventually. I will send you down my rope ladder.

 

I 'm dying for you to disclose me the way of achieving this. Personally i am considering suicide. I am ashamed to tell this. It doesn't stop worsening. Every now and then i get a new sound. I have realised that it will never stop. There's no end to this. I wish i had money to try stem-cells.

 

I’m sorry to hear this, what caused yours And how loud is it? had it for a long time?

 

I can give you some good answers on this one. First of all, lets look at how loud the tinnitus is and does the person also have hyperacusis or not. This makes a HUGE difference. People can say that they have tinnitus and it doesn't bother them. Some people have very low tones/gentle hisses that are not intrusive and horrible. Some folks also do not have hyperacusis which can be very painful and It is hell living with it.

Next lets look at the mentality of the person. Some folks are mentally stronger than others. This is so vital, having a strong/positive mindset is very important...especially with tinnitus.

I have intrusive Loud tinnitus and it cannot be masked and I can hear it over the freeway sound, my mentality and accepting what I have and what I face gets me by it.

Next look at the circumstances, the lives people live. Some folks have children and can have a more difficult life too. Some folks simply have lives that are more difficult than others.

There are lots of factors that go into why some can handle tinnitus better than others. I am always preaching positivity, no matter what. Even if we are in a bad spot, try to be positive. Every post on this forum is from parts of my life and i have experienced it. It's not research that I looked up and then type answers to you folks... It's 30 years of living, experimenting and solutions that have made me live a good quality life.

I will say that hyperacusis was the biggest thorn in my tinnitus journey. Even mild and safe sounds use to have me on edges. Getting that issue addressed was the best decision I ever made.

I feel bad for all that suffer from this horror and that's why I come here to support people. Tinnitus can be quite scary and I was in very bad spots myself and know how it feels. This forum is a blessing and I wish it was around 30 years ago, when I first got tinnitus...

Even when things looked bad, I always had hope and never gave up. I have faced adversity since I was young and that never say never attitude is what pushed me forward and helped me overcome obstacles..

 

Thanks for your detailed response fishbone. I have a question about H. Is it a pain you get with sounds or an emotional reaction? I’ve never liked noise and some unexpected noise causes me anxiety but I have never experienced ear pain.

 

For me: Hyperacusis basically meant that my ears would hurt from noise(didn't have to be loud noise). Even if the noise was not super loud or damaging, it hurt my ears. Hyperacusis made my ears VERY sensitive to sound and that caused me pain. This is how it affected me. Others might feel different with their hyperacusis, so I am just talking about my experience.

 

Not all tinnitus is alike. I have tinnitus on my left side as well as my right. They are distinctly different. The left tends to be high pitched & loud while my right is low pitched & quiet. If I had on my left side what I have on my right, I wouldn't be on this forum.