Tinnitus Is a First World Problem

I really think the world needs to stop with the "it could be worse" bullshit.
"It" literally could ALWAYS be worse. Every single aspect of life.
So while tinnitus may not be killing you @epin3m It is killing some people here.
Take a page out of the elementary school textbook and if you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all.

 

She's more Australian than me. Val is what you'll get back if you talk too much shit.

 

What if I'm so good that she screams loudly and it makes my T worse ?

I'll have to cope with my pants then !

This is terrible help me.

 

@Foncky This is where a gag comes in handy but be sure she knows the real reason for it, otherwise she'll think you're trying to channel Christian Grey (and you won't want that).

 

Is Christian Grey a first world problem ?

 

I wouldn't know, I live in a third world country.

So wait, technically that makes all my problems third world problems (including T), which in turn invalidates OP's statement that T is a first world problem.

 

I must admit @Foncky I have seen a side of @valeri I didn't know existed. I wouldn't want to cross her....

 

Oh woman, just leave this board, you're too smart to hang out with us !

But all right, now T is a third world problem. I feel better. I hear silence now

 

Man, you are mostly correct.

Tinnitus can easily become another reason to victimize ourselves. That's just part of our evolutionary heritage.

The lion who had thousands and thousands of years to evolve and get to the top of the food chain, evolved along the way many psychological aspects to empower that, like self-confidence.
We acquired this supremacy in such a short period of time, we took over the planet. And through an evolutionary aspect we are just a frightened and always alert specie. We believe concerns can keep us alive. Most of it are just illusions.

This knowledge can bring about the realization that we are mostly just following a preexisting set of rules and behaviors. This realization can change our reaction to some concerns. This realization can also make we live closer to real facts and ignore imaginary ones. I will get older sick and die, this is real. My life will have ups and downs, this is plausible. I will have my life destroyed because this annoying endless sound, this is imaginary.

Of course there are undeniable cases where people are indeed incapacitated. Some mental issues and physical pain related to the tinnitus are often factors for that.

I share your observation, most of this forum is filled with shallow complains and would become more useful without it. But it doesn't exclude the fact that those complains are reflections of real and subjective suffering, and we must help.

For those who "disliked" this thread, you are missing a great opportunity to review your concepts, and come closer to what may be the most efficient solution for your tinnitus.

 

I understand the point you want to make but it's a very one-sided and ignorant point.

I would almost think that you were trolling. What a load of bs. I understand what you are saying to a degree but the rest of it is so ignorant and rude. If I could induce your brain with my T I would love to see if you were ever able to say the things you said again. Learn empathy and grow as a human being.

 

That implies that we have T that we can just ignore , that its mostly a mental issue ,which I will admit is possible in some cases, given time.
However , in many cases on this forum that is simply not the case.
Don't you think I have just tried to ignore it ? As well as a myriad of other mental exercises to cope ?
You don't survive 5 years of excruciating T just holding your breath.

I can't even explain how much I resent being told that I just need to adjust my attitude and I am whiner of some sort after all I have been through , what this has done to my relationships, my music career , my daily life , my hopes , my dreams, all the sleepless nights with my brain melting away in my skull, all the mornings where I wake up like I just came out of a car accident. And still getting up , waiting the 40-60 mins for it to reduce so I can tackle another day.

And i know for a fact that this applies to a lot of people on this forum.

I have the completely opposite opinion , on this forum we have some of the strongest people I have ever encountered in my life. All kinds of people with all kinds of T , from mild to devastating..some have H too , some have other health problems as well.

Its simply not helpful to make a sweeping generalization about T , its simply way too varied between people to do that and yet we have to encounter this attitude from all ENT's and everyone that should try and help ...and now on this forum and from its members as well.

That just sucks.

 

Aw jeez, don't you guys know when you've been baited? There's no way Epin3m has been on here as long as he have and not know what kind of responses he would get. This is not the first time such a thread has been made.

Either way, it's easy for people for people to forget how hard a problem was after it's over. He even says the time with tinnitus was the worst time of his life. Well gee I wonder why it got that ranking.

 

Dear RaZaH,

I understand your suffering and I am certainly not trying to depreciate it. I want to help.
What I am implying comes from my own personal subjective experience, only.

I had a different life once, where I was compulsively thinking, trying to find solutions to my problems, to understand what I have done wrong to deserve them, and worse: what will happen next? This leaded me to a sequence of problems and concerns and efforts to fix everything. I had a burn out.

On my path, became explicit that most, if not all, of those problems were not indeed real. They were not tangible or had no actual existence. They were just concepts I created and were living up to those beliefs. And when I started to question all of my beliefs, I couldn't find any that was not arbitrary. The bell rang: I was in auto-pilot.

What the author refers to "First World Problem", in my understanding, is related to those problems I was creating.
I believe that this forum may provide me with precious information to get my hearing back.
Now, the belief that because now I am deaf and listen to a loud annoying sound will make my life a hell, this is totally hand made. It is part of the arbitrary spectrum. And this is very very good news.

If there were a forum for people without legs or without eyeballs, it would be exclusively for personal confort. After all we are not even close to make legs or eyeballs grow back. So the subjects would be very limited.

This forum we talk now is for sharing knowledge to those interested, so we can get closer to a solution. This forum is also for personal confort. We don't have a solution yet, but the confort is available for everyone.

This provocative thread may be a rough for most readers, but I can see that beyond it lies the truth for the confort most of us here are seeking.

 

I think I was the case of a perfect ignorant example.

I got T originally from a Paxil withdrawal in 2010. It was probably about a 2/10 and bothersome at first but then it went down to a tolerable level maybe about a .5/10 where I could barely hear it. I went out to clubs, concerts, etc. over the years and nothing bothered it. THAT'S what I thought T was. I thought that was just about how loud it could get for anyone. I had NO idea it could exist at this volume or variety. This is what people do not understand. Never did I think it could have different tones, screeching or hissing (mine used to be a simple on and off ring in one ear). Now I fluctuate from 4/10 to 9/10 and have H and reactive T. There is NO maximum volume for T. I didn't know that H even existed or reactive T for that matter.

This is the problem with this affliction and why there is no cure. The majority of people who have it do not have it extreme. Then others just say things like, oh yeah, my uncle has that and just wears a hearing aid and he's fine.

There was a link on here, somewhere... about submitting a video about what T means to you but I can't find it. Can someone locate it? It might be embarrassing but let's try vent there and submit it. People love to watch videos of other people suffering nowadays so maybe it will finally get some well deserved attention. I'll do it if you do - who's in? Let's look stupid for a cure together.

 

@Cal18
I completely agree with everything you said. My uncle has had mild T since 3rd grade. I recently got it and it's already a severe electrical thunderstorm in my ear. My entire family thinks I should just be like my uncle...although they have no idea how severe T can really be. And I know for sure they have never even heard of the word, "hyperacusis".

I'm in with the video idea.

 

@AndreaM See, everyone's got that uncle! @Steve Do you know where we can find that link? I think it was called something like "what does tinnitus mean to you" and it was for submitting a video.

 

@Cal18 Haha! That's so true!

I will post a video and I will also get my bf to make one where he can speak out on how T has affected our relationship. He is almost as angry/perplexed as me that there isn't much awareness about this "condtion". We both personally didn't know it existed until I got it... Sadly, I'm sure that's what happend to many of us on this forum.

 

You can send something here via a conversation. Just upload it.

I did an opening video to give an idea of content but I will also gladly do more for it. I've never been shy of looking stupid

 

I must be dumb but I didn't get your point.

The loud T and severe H that are ruining my life are not real ?

 

Yeah tinnitus isnt a problem at all, people just come here to talk about that soft little noise in there ears right????

 

I mean I had mild T for three years then H came in but still had mild T so I never truly understood the suffering of thst makes sense.

Now I understand, crazy multi noise T with extreme H and it's just unbearable, I wish everyone got it this extreme as then we wouldn't have all this pussy footing positivity bollox thst only prevents anyone of importance taking us seriously.

 

You just have a vivid imagination Foncky!

 

I knew that ! I should be an artist right ?

"His tortured mind produced masterpieces. The legend says he was hearing noises in his head. Historians now believe that it was only a result of his vivid imagination... It was a time when T was only a first world problem, so it's unlikely that it caused his madness in the end".

 

As strange as it might seem Sam, I believe the majority of people that visit tinnitus forums do not have severe tinnitus all of the time. No doubt, their tinnitus at times will be intrusive but not to the point where it's seriously debilitating, otherwise they couldn't come here and type messages or worse unable to work. So it's something to feel positive about I think. Saying that: There is a serious side to tinnitus. When it is loud and intrusive it can be a very debilitating condition.
Michael

 

@epin3m heh mate, you are wrong here even if we u derstand what you are trying to say.

You cannot speak for the rest of the world, only for yourself and what you feel/experience.

It seems like you have very mild T in one ear only and is not a problem for you, however just note that majority of people suffering from T - have worse experience than you, even with same level of noise what is not "that bad" for you - can be very debilitating for others and indeed ruin their lives.

You want to tell me that loosing their jobs/families/fiends and more often become mentally "ill" is not a problem ? It is as bad as if person has terminal condition, because they get same "experience", it just never ends...well until like they end it themselves.

I would also like to state that you are pretty ignorant person without sympathy to others, which means you are simply - selfish. Be my will - I would ban you from this forum, however since you have Tinnitus yourself, it would be unfair to eliminate your ability to post here n case you need help or advise yourself.

 

The world is full of all kinds of people @lolkas and all entitled to their opinion, even if it's wrong as @epin3m is. He has no idea what loud intrusive tinnitus is like for an individual, and the effects it can have on one's family.

 

I think its very easy to assume everyone has a similar level low level tinnitus especially if you are new to it. I am a bit shocked at the hostility of some of the comments here. People like the OP just need to be politely educated, not verbally abused.

*puts abuse shield up*

 

I chose : "I have only one live. I will allow Tinnitus, hyperacusis and hard of hearing to destroy it".
I thought about it a lot, but the decision stands.

Perhaps the suggestion Troll is not far-fetched.

 

I know this sounds hard but i hope you will get very bad T for just 1 mounth but you would not know it was only for 1 mounth ofc You should also have many other site effect like VS and Reactive T and H so you can try them all Then i want to see if you could be happy all the time. And when you have VS you will also get other site effects like after image.(if you want to know more site effects you can google the rest yourself)

 

Well. Sticking my head into the fray to say the following only:

As someone who has what I'd call moderate tinnitus (high pitched, somewhat reactive, clearly audible over nearly any normal day to day sound) and who has dealt with periods of what I'd call severe T and some H -- I think my perspective on this is a little different than a lot of replies in this thread simply because of the period of time that I've been dealing with this stuff, along with the experiences I've had watching people die or deal with serious disability.

Tinnitus is a global problem, but if it's the "worst" thing you're dealing with then that means your basic needs are more than covered. So, tinnitus distress and anxiety as a primary lifestyle impediment is inherently a first-world problem. Meaning, if you suddenly had no access to clean drinking water, tinnitus by necessity would become a secondary concern even if it was still more distressing than the lack of water. So... so what? That doesn't seem like a very useful metric of how serious a problem it is, it's just a comment on your life circumstances. With that in mind, I understand why this thread went sideways as fast as it did.

That said -- the basic message here, of "get out and live your life, tinnitus be damned" is, I believe, absolutely correct. I mean, probably don't go to loud shows or take up machineguns as a hobby, but, beyond that, you've got to just fucking do things, and, over a period of time, it's the act of doing things that can "give you your life back".

I went skiing by myself yesterday, in near perfect weather. Very few people, and very little noise, just the wind in my face, some very low volume Johnny Cash in my ears, and through all of it, that piercing 14khz whine. Several years ago when I tried to go skiing I was aware of the tinnitus like 98% of the time and it "ruined" it for me. Yesterday I was consciously aware of it maybe 5% of the time.

My tinnitus isn't any quieter than it was a few years ago, that's for sure. It hasn't changed at all, I don't think. But, to some extent, my brain is changing around it - less H, and I can actually do things and get sucked into them and laugh about how amazing they are a lot of the time these days. It's not perfect, and I wish I didn't have the T! It's my biggest lifestyle complaint, by a wide margin. So, that's a bummer. But, the effort, over a long period of time, of just gritting my teeth and forcing myself to get off the internet, stop reading about T, and just do things and be active even if I don't feel like it at all -- that's the only thing that's really "worked". Drugs haven't really helped, and certainly, knowing as much as I do about this condition now makes me better educated on T than most audiologists, but none of that information has helped me either.

Our brains change every second. It's a machine. The way you think rewires you.

If you're miserable, and angry, that's okay. That's normal, that's a pretty fundamentally fucking human condition to be in. But, do not make the mistake, ever, of thinking you have no agency. You are making choices. You can read a post like the OP's, pick out the three most offensive things in it, and then tell him to "go die" or "I hope you get bad T" or whatever else all your toxic, narcissistic, nasty, unpleasant comments have said here. I get it. Venting feels good. But, if you want more positivity in your life, if you want a shot at reclaiming something like "happiness" -- then you have to fearlessly, calmly and without hesitation set aside your preconceptions of your self and your canned reactions and all of this useless, toxic ego wiring.

Yah dude, you and a lot of people, and that's absolutely your right, but then don't sit there and tell me that it's God or Bad Luck or Inevitability or Tinnitus making your life a living hell; you're doing it to yourself, and that's a thing you can stop doing in any moment. But, you've got to do it, and this isn't a "take the first step and the path will be clear" kind of thing, that's Hollywood bullshit. More like, "take the first step, feel worse but take a second with faith that some day things might get a little easier" and maybe eventually they do.

No, that's not what's happening here at all, I don't think. People are assuming that the basic message of "get out there and do shit and try to be happy in spite of it all" only applies to "low level tinnitus", and I assure you, that's absolute bullshit. The people who need to hold onto that message the hardest are actually the people with the most severe ringing. It's easy to stay active in your life and the agency of your decisions if you have a mild problem. It's hard as nails to do it with a more serious problem, but that's when you really need to do it.

Anyway, you know, call me an asshole, say I don't have any idea what your ringing is like (I don't), say I'm totally full of shit, w/e, that's fine because at the end of the day I'm just some guy on the internet. You're the one who has to live in your head 24/7. The tinnitus is already making it a less pleasant place to be, if you just want to dwell on that and not take basic steps to improve your internal life, it means little to me because I don't have to live with the unpleasant consequences of your self-centered and basically broken thinking.

Change is scary, and it's a lot easier to just sit around making unpleasant comments about strangers on the internet who have done nothing more than genuinely try to be helpful. Even if it's naive, even if it's misguided, so what? What do you want?

For fucks sake. Figure it out. Change is possible. How to achieve it is something everyone has to figure out on their own, and what the end results might be is left as an exciting exercise for the viewer.

Namaste, peace, love, and a side serving of snark and attitude, as always
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