Upset and Confused!

[Bobbie7]

Hi, I first began hearing some strange sounds in my ear about 6 months ago and when I consulted my internist he told me it might be caused by having wax in my ears. I was patient and waited a while hoping it would abate on its own but it had not. I then consulted an ENT person and I was given a hearing test as well as some measurements to gauge the pressure in my ears. I learned from my hearing test that I had some "sub clinical" hearing loss in my right ear. He told me that there is a little device I could place in my ear if I so chose to... akin to a hearing aid if the noise began too unbearable. At that time it was not but somehow it seemed to have gotten worse. It is almost like I am hearing white noise ALL the time in my right ear. I have no idea at all how this came about since loud noises always annoyed me so I tended to stay away from them. He also told me that it might be "age-related" but somehow.. I just don't buy that. I find this extremely disconcerting and I feel such great empathy for all you who have and continue to suffer from this malady. It surely is enough to drive someone crazy! I was curious to see how many celebrities also suffer from tinnitus and I was surprised to see how many are. They must also be suffering and yet they manage to continue on with their acting and various other professions. I suppose if one must become accustomed to hearing this AL the time, what other choice is there? I would like to know if anyone out there feels a "masker" device worn in the ear does help them. Thank you in advance for any replies I might receive. Wishing all a quiet day even though I know this is a mighty difficult feat to accomplish.

 

[billie48]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry about your suffering with T. I hope it will get better over time and with some good strategies. Wearing a device is one of those strategies what work for some people. But people get better by other ways too. If you read the success stories you will see a collection of various strategies which work for some people. What you can do is to apply their methodologies and see what work for you. I list my own strategies in my success story:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/from-darkness-to-light-how-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

Here is a simple strategy by I Who Love Music in his success story "Back to Silence"
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/

You are right about celebrities. There are lots of them with T. Google 'celebrities with tinnitus' and you will have a long list of familiar names, people like David Letterman, William Shatner (Star Trek Captain Kirk), Streisand, Bill Clinton, Ronald Regan, Peter Townsend, Phil Collin and many other singers/musicians. Here is a 1996 show of Letterman and Shatner talking about their T. Apparently their T was 7/24 but still manage to have a pretty productive life after T.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCdx8aueK9I

 

[Bobbie7]

Thank you very much for your response Billie48 and I most certainly will check out your strategy noted in your success story. I will also read all the other "success stories" as I need the inspiration and motivation to overcome this since it is very difficult for me as it has been for most as well. Wishing you a good day/evening.

 

[Atlantis]

I would like to know if anyone out there feels a "masker" device worn in the ear does help them

Hello my friend, I found the following thread of interest: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/wearable-in-ear-maskers-and-tinnitus.8981/

 

[Bobbie7]

Thank you Atlantis for letting me know about the thread you mentioned, it was very informative and I will be looking into it. Certainly something I will consider. What I find so mysterious is how the noise level varies so much but from reading the various stories thus far, I understand I am certainly not alone. Wishing you a peaceful day.