Strange Reactions

I can't help but notice the strange reactions of people when I stick cotton in my ears or cover my ears with my hands.
They stare, laugh and have said things like.. "Oh you think THAT'S loud?"
Or, "Ya my ears ring too but I don't think about it," or "Just ignore it," and "But you should be used to loud sounds."
I'd like to say, "Yes, I think that's loud," and "I'm sorry your ears ring too," and "Yes, I ignore it," and "I'll never be used to loud sounds."
But I just say, "Tinnitus sucks," and usually get a weird look.

 

People are heartless! Well some... They don't understand...

 

I get the same, I wonder what people are staring at and then I realize its the plugs. You you would think that there were more intersting things to stare at.

 

Lol i would use skin toned plugs back when..people cant even notice they were on..im the type of person that can careless what ppl think..

 

Same here, no explanation helps.
People just don't believe that they could get tinnitus.

 

i have to admit I feel like a mental patient covering my ears in public, kind of like those people in the hospitals that sit and rock back and forth covering there ears and humming. I wonder if they have T.

 

I don't give a shit. They're my ears, my life and sometimes I even tell people why..

 

Yeah I had to face a similar thing. I used to be into the rave scene. Nothin "cool" about ear plugs at all. I had to just decide that in 30 years I'd care way more about the constant tea kettle whistle in my left ear than what people around me thought at the time.

 

Hi I Who Love Music, you'll get some weird responses from some people. There are some folks out there that don't even have a clue what tinnitus is. I've mentioned the word tinnitus to a few people and they shook their head and then I said ringing in my ears and then they acknowledged what I meant. In certain situations we need to protect our ears. I would rather look strange to someone else than hurt my ears anymore than they already are. Take care..... God Bless...... Rich

 

I have never noticed, probably because I couldn't care less what others think about how I look. This is nothing new,
even before T and my hearing aid/masker and plugs. I have always been this way.

 

The only person walking thought the city with fingers in ears, when an ambulance is passing by, is me!
I have never seen anyone else in the last 4 years, but I don't really care!
I'm the one living this nightmare

 

I do not have to plug my ears since I have no reactive T or H.
My T is constant from the first to the last second every day (but it can change every day).
But on most days I am listening to crickets, music or talk radio on my mobile with in-ear headset.
People just think I look cool like a teenager. Others look strange why am I sitting in a restaurant with a headset.
My wife just says: If they help you, who cares?
I told once to my audiologist: If you can program the WNGs with cricket sounds, I will take some. But white noise does not help.

 

Keep your ears protected and act like a psycho. They'll shut up. Really, when my wife and I are walking and are confronted with loud noises we immediately plug our ears with our index figures until the noise is gone. But then again in NYC we look normal

 

I wear earplugs if people don't like it they can look away I'm not risking a spike over other people's opinions.

 

Sorry to hear that. I've found to the contrary in clubs etc, people are usually very understanding. In fact, my friends remind me to put them in.

 

I actually notice that most of the times people don't even look at me when I put ear plugs or simply sit on a full bus covering and uncovering my ears all the time. On the other hand, I really couldn't give less crap and I don't pay attention if sb is looking at me or not cause anyway it won't change my behaviour. I lean they look..but it's not a naughty way. 2 days ago I was getting on the plane - plenty of passengers, so the queue to the plane was long. I was wearing my huge ear muffs and was happy to have forseen them as all the airport workers were wearing them too, even though theirs weren't that impressively big For sure everybody looked at me at least for a second, but I guess some of them were maybe wondering if they shouldn't have done the same thing. Still, it's amazing that T being such a common problem, I'm always the only one to cover my ears or react to loud sounds..

 

Honestly I don't think people care, they are too busy with their own lives. I've had ear plugs in In public a lot now and have rarely had anyone say anything. If they do, they just ask politely, I tell them my ears are damaged, that's it. Sure they look as it is unusual but that's just human nature to be curious.