The new guy.

[Roger]

Hi I'm Roger- I live in Australia, am 47, a happy, fit , family man. Got Tinnitus ( the jet engine, 24/7 type) on July 26, 2013. I flew to Adelaide ( which I do regularly) and voila!, that night The sound was 'there'. The sound's been there 24/7 , both ears but as times gone on, the volume seems to be tapering. I have bad days and good days. The style of the noise changes from a jet/ vacuum/ oscilating machinery churn through to almost pleasant "millions of tinkling fairy bells" to cricket chirping down to the odd few competing solid tones or whooshing/ whistling noises. At least its not a constant, boring tone. I had that too, earlier on, for a couple of weeks.

I did the usual doctor and ENT visits. Predictably their best advice was "get used to it". I knew the noise was in my head, not anything to do with my ears. My desperation and constant thinking about it seemed to fuel the noise in the earlier days. I spent a lot of time checking out the universe of Tinnitus material on the Web. Even thinking about it made the T worse. Distracting and accepting seems to be the way to go. Chamomile Tea helps too I think.

Tinnitus made me realize what a positive person I normally am. The early weeks really knocked the stuffing out of me. Not wanting my kids or wife to grieve for my loss of silence , I kept it pretty quiet. My wife's aware of the ups and downs but the kids just get on with their lives which is the way I like it. Now, on the days when its really bad, I just kind of cope by getting on with things. Its no fun though. On the good days i rejoice- and probably get less done because I'm so relieved. I'm lucky in that I can still sleep ok. Tinnitus made me realise also how resilient our minds and bodies can be.

Tinnitus is a mobile, evasive, shape-shifting target. Thanks for letting me be part of this forum. Tinnutus can be a lonely, unhappy thing. All the best to you all. Rog

 

[Sherri786]

Welcome to the forum Roger, great post.

 

[Mike Blundell]

Hi Roger.

Your situation is akin to mine and I guess most others on the forum. You are spot on in your analysis, and for me when we feel positive and keep that level of focus and levels of activities high, then T rarely affects us, but when we do think about it, it is like the brain receives a signal to turn the T volume up to 11.

I'm new to this forum too, but I think that if we share our own experiences on how we as individuals approach the habituation of T whilst reading/listening to the experiences of others, as a collective we can all help, especially during the 'volume 11' times.

Mike

 

[Riikka]

Hello Roger,
you have found the right place with people who understand what you are going through with your T and your ups and downs. It's good to be able from time to time to complain and have people who can give you new ideas and advices.

On the other hand, I think it is good to also have people who don't feel sorry for you having tinnitus. I think it will be very helpful for you that your kids just live their life as usually. They will give you some distraction and you won't have too much time to worry about the T on your bad days.

 

[Karen]

Hi, Roger, and welcome!
You have described your tinnitus experience, including the sounds you hear, very well. I particularly like your reference to tinnitus being a "shape-shifting" experience. So true!

I agree with Riikka that having your kids just live their lives as usual is a good thing. Most of us have learned that being distracted helps a lot; when you're really busy with your family, your job, and other interests, you don't notice the tinnitus so much.

We're glad you joined us!

 

[Roger]

Welcome to the forum Roger, great post.

Thanks Sherri. I'm glad to have found this forum. Helps to know others are in the same boat...it makes you think of them rather than one's own dramas! R

Welcome to the forum Roger, great post.

 

[astronomer]

hi roger,
i am kevin ( astronomer) up here in canada,i have had it since april 12 2013, i am starting to accept it as a fact of life but will not let it ruin my love of life,deal with it the best way you can and dont be afraid to keep in touch,all the best

 

[Roger]

Interesting. Think a pattern's emerging from the madness. I've been keeping a daily log (not obsessively) on my noise ratings, runs, gym visits and weight. A typical day's scribbled entry would be: "Rode. Ran 8k . 79.5kg. T3" - so it doesnt take more than a second to do. On the T front I have 2 good days ( 1 out of 5 ) followed by 2 bad days ( 3 out of 5) . I stopped marking it out of 10.
So, that's something. With the log I think what I'm actually doing here is owning it. Just like I own the good stuff. I think thats important.