Tinnitus Triggered by School Bell (Rant)

I realise that this probably sounds insane but around the time my tinnitus began, a couple of years ago, I remember the school bell going off literally right next to me (less that a metre). The bell was played through speakers attached to the ceiling of the hallway and I was stuck because it was crowded. It lasted around 10-20 seconds (which was way too long imo). I remember mentioning to a few of my classmates because my ears felt strange, but none of them really seemed that bothered by the loud bell. At the time, I worked in a crowded kitchen where stuff was thrown around a lot and even to me, it sounded way too loud in comparison to pans being thrown in the sink, cutlery smashing against stuff etc. So it was definitely unsafe.

Well, fast forward to later that day in bed. I noticed that my ears were ringing and pretty much had a panic attack. It was (and still is) the loudest on the ear that was facing the speaker. I saw a doctor and was diagnosed with Eustachian tube dysfunction but I feel like that was only a factor, and I still have the suspicion that the bell is what ended up triggering my tinnitus. They seemed to be totally careless with the volume, it seemed to differ every time and was sometimes in damaging territory in my opinion. After that, I basically quit my job, stopped going out and stopped attending school. My ears were too sensitive to really do anything anymore but quietly study at home and listen to music on low volume.

It almost wrecked me academically, I pretty stopped going to school, studied at home and only returned for exams. I couldn't deal with dodging the bell 5 times a day and other noise. It did end up working out (probably better than it would have if I was attending) but it was definitely stressful and my teachers were convinced I was going to fail before I actually got my result because I had basically stopped attending but the results were surprisingly very good. They ended up inviting me back for some celebration or something as an example of "academic improvement" or some garbage, but my results were in no way attributed to the school. I studied alone at home. Honestly, the nerve of them to play a part in triggering my tinnitus, making zero accommodations for me when I was able to make it there and then taking the credit for me doing well.

I was always very far from being a bad student, but after the event, I admit that I have a pretty big grudge against them. I just got my grades and got out, screw them. Tinnitus took my job, my social life, my school experience and my well-being.

I know that this is pretty much just a rant, but it is just so frustrating. I haven't been back there in over a year and will probably be far away at university very soon, but I guarantee that they are still being totally careless about the volume and more people like me are going to end up with some damage eventually, seeing as it's played so long for so many times a day, literally everywhere in the building. It's pretty ironic, considering how much it will likely harm academic performance when more students get hearing related issues. I really just hate how they get away with it.

 

So, how is your tinnitus right now after 3 years? Did It become louder/the same/lower...?