What Jobs Can People with Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Do?

Hello all,

It's been a while. Things have gotten bad for me physically and financially. My tinnitus & hyperacusis are still bothersome and debilitating. I have been trying to live in a peaceful environment which has been near impossible. I'm trying to move to live comfortably which is difficult since with this condition I haven't been able to work. But I'm afraid at this point I need to try to work at least 15 hours a week if possible. Hopefully that with my benefits I should be a bit better. Things have been so bad that I had to sell my laptop .

What are jobs that we can do with this condition?

I was thinking ultrasound tech as it is quiet. However I'm not sure if there are enough jobs in this field and I don't want to waste anymore time in school.

 

Language editor (proofreader) / copywriter / translator if you know a language.

Maybe not for you, but just a few ideas. All can be done from home.

 

Maybe some apprenticeship at school library, or organisation of some events, pharmacy assistant, or babysitting, some assistant or apprenticeship position in gardening and/or caring for flowers, maybe writing things for some local town newspaper could get you some money. You could definitely consider some job that requires you to prepare, plan or organize some things or events, but you wouldn't necessarily need to attend those things.

But, I would definitely hold on to any job that I get, and then I would try to sound-proof myself in one way or another, e.g. by wearing ear plugs that no one can see.

 

Not saying that this is the best path for everybody, but I find peace with tinnitus and solace within the ocean and therefore I am Aquaman:

Aquaman - Official Trailer 1 - Now Playing In...

 

Don't limit yourself. You can basically do all jobs except the loud ones (construction, music, certain customer service jobs) and jobs where you are responsible for someone else's life (surgeons, for ex.). Yes, I would say that most office type jobs do require a lot of concentration; do whatever you can to help you concentrate (masking, telework options if possible, etc.).

 

@Pawel1 those are great ideas!! I am definitely gonna look into those, thank you so much.

 

Those ultra quiet jobs mentioned above would drive me crazy!! I want noise, not NOISE, but some kind of distracting noise. I am at my best when I'm talking and interacting with people. It takes my mind of this eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

 

There's a cool newsletter called Rat Race Rebellion that shares all kinds of work at home opportunities. You can Google it and subscribe on their page. Many of the jobs are probably phone work and may or may not be something you can handle, but they also have email based customer service type jobs.

 

Ideally you want to work from home. I myself an accountant who works from home with my own business and realised if I was working for another company I would definitely struggle with my Tinnitus

There are many accountants and book-keepers that work from home using online software. I know a lot of people who have change careers and gone into book-keeping. Its not as difficult to learn compared with other occupations

Some of my clients have just set up on Amazon FBA and doing well. Just need to find a product (s) that is Niche and if that doesn't sell then try another one.

 

Do bookkeepers make a good wage? How long is the training?

 

Marching band? Navy Seals? Road construction?

 

You laugh, but aside from "marching band" which is a pretty hard way to make money, there are lots of people in the military and construction with tinnitus, often badly.

When you have no good choice but to continue doing something, or lose the ability to provide food and shelter for oneself, most people find a way to keep doing that, because survival is a fundamental drive for most.

I know a number ex-service guys who ended up getting partial disability for tinnitus/hearing loss after they completed their tours (heavy gunners, submarine radar headset operators, etc). I don't know anyone who tried to get a medical discharge for this during their service; I'm sure it happens, but it's not very common. It's not as though most people working construction are bored biochem degree holders exploring other options. If you are 8-years skilled as a bulldozer operator, you're making very good money doing something, with a skillset that's not really applicable to doing anything else. Tough situation.

If you're someone who's in a position to be able to decide what kind of work to do based on your shitty tinnitus -- well, you're really unlucky to have the shitty tinnitus, but also pretty privileged to be able to make the choice. This very much applies to me, at present, and I try hard to remember to be consciously grateful for that every day.

 

Yes Book-keeper do very well in the UK, I have come quite a few recently only started a couple years ago and already taking on staff (doing better than me). They charge around £15-£25 an hour. Don't even need a formal qualification

A couple just changed careers and not even had any experience in book-keeping though they might have had some finance experience

Book-keeping is not difficult nowadays due to software and is just common sense. I have trained my clients with a few hours training. If you are fairly numerical and have some IT skills then you should be okay. There are book-keeping courses online

Everyone has a skill they can sell. They just need to learn how to market and sell that skill (as well as enjoy the work this is important). I wouldn't recommend doing something where the money is good but you do not enjoy.

One Caveat the market is getting saturated due more people choosing Accountancy as a career and technology advances reducing the demand for accountants/book-keepers. In a competitive market I have been fortunate to find a niche which has helped my business grow. If you are able to find a niche in any field that you should do well.

 

I agree with you. Yet, let's remember that Tinnitus sound itself is not the only problem in having Tinnitus. There are many unfavorable things that accompany the bearers of Tinnitus, for example - some sleepless nights, being unable to cope with very stressful situations, etc. Let's be honest, being a Tinnitus sufferer, is sometimes enough for someone to just have a hard day, without even going to work. Being a relatively sensitive person, I wouldn't set my professional goals too high, but that's just me.

 

People keep repeating that, but I have searched, and searched, and searched, and searched, and can find absolutely no reputable jobs in proofreading, and no copywriting jobs except for those with many, many years of solid journalism or corporate writing experience. And I'm near a major city. Seems like another dead end. Same with technical writing... Extremely difficult to break into, very few jobs and all of them are office-based.

 

College professor.

 

I'm a web developer and I work from home, my room is my entire universe now, it's my work area, my rest area, my entertainment area. I hardly go out of the house anymore

 

You point this out yourself, so I'm thinking you're not totally happy with your current situation?

I'm also looking for a change of job but it's hard diving into the unknown when you have a family to support and no guarantee of making it work...

I haven't tried but I think working from home would make me notice my tinnitus more and drive me nuts, although I would have to try to know for sure. Are the people working from home using any masking or mental trick?

 

I myself am trying to find a career path that I can live with, or that my tinnitus can live with. I don't know when I will be able to return to my previous career.

For some of you with experience in content creation, writing, web programming and such, remote and at-home jobs are plentiful... for the rest of us, though, who don't have the time, energy or ability to transition into such fields, let's share some ideas of what career paths are feasible. Especially for those with reactive tinnitus, where some office environments can be too much... what have you found for work? Any ideas on viable at-home careers?

 

My new job at a warehouse in IKEA keeps me distracted. It's not too loud, for the most part I can control it. It helps me keep my mind off things. They treat employees well, but there's plenty of jobs at IKEA that are quieter than in the warehouse.

 

A warehouse sounds like a very noisy place. Presume you have ear protection on all the time?

 

I lost my job more because of hyperacusis than tinnitus, I was a support worker, working with adults with learning disabilities. I now help my wife out with doggy day care and boarding, which apart from dogs barking is far more manageable than being in a busy noisy environment. The dogs only bark when someone rings the doorbell so I run the other way. No commuting and not being in a place with lots of people talking which I can no longer handle.
Life's certainly changed a lot over the last 15 months but I'm still here and slowly getting used to my new reality.

 

Find a niche product and sell it on Amazon FBA. I know a few people that have done very well within a few months on Amazon and it’s not difficult as amazon despatches the product you basically just order. If that product does not sell then try something to sell. In fact try to sell a product that you have an interest in or passionate about perhaps related to a hobby. For example If i ever decided to sell something it would be related to the gym or music.

 

That's not a bad idea.

Anyone else out there... what do you work as? How has it changed since tinnitus?

 

I currently work for a management consulting firm. I think it’s going to be as quiet a job I can get. But with my hyperacusis getting bad fast, I may need to look for something from home.
Anyone got any suggestion?

 

Doesn't severity of tinnitus make a difference. It does for me.

I am not only suffering from tinnitus torment, I also have frequent ear pain especially my left ear. Maybe a narcotic would help with that but I can't get one. I can't work with these two problems. The tinnitus is so FUCKING LOUD. I don't know how anyone can do a normal job with their head and ears "full of a buzzing and ringing noise." For me, it's several tones.

I wish it was at least not so severe that I could try learning an IT skill. I would try to work at home but I don't know what I can do. It's difficult to concentrate when the brain and ears is in this state. I am really bored and I think death is preferable.

 

I've seen you bring up ear pain a lot. It might have to do with hyperacusis, I don't know.

For me, certain sounds that are high pitched or loud litterally feel like they stab my ears. I have to find a balance between overexposure (for my particular case) and still having sound around, and keeping busy and distracted.
Can you maybe try to do some online IT course? I don't know if you can get out of the house with your sensitivity?

 

I had ear pain for many months but then it went. It was years ago, before the tinnitus. Nobody could work out what it was. TMJ in the end...

 

How many types of hyperacusis is there? I don't think I have the common type. My ear pain usually has a delay until I really feel it although it seems to come on after a noise. It doesn't burn or go down my face. It's difficult to describe. I had left ear pain when I first had the acoustic trauma which led to my tinnitus and initial hyperacusis. I had the amplification that people talk about.

My ear has clicking or crackling noises on occasion and an uncomfortable feeling or sensation - it's difficult to describe. Maybe a hollow or fullness sensation? I dunno. I just know something is really wrong with my left ear.

I wish the problem would go away. It's a two-fold problem with severe/loud tinnitus. My tinnitus is so damn loud with so many tones.

I can't work with this. I want to but I need this to go away or improve. I think about suicide every day. I hate life and this has ruined it.

 

I believe what you might be experiencing is pain hyperacusis.
You can read this if you want to know a bit more about it. There's also the podcast that was done by Tinnitus Talk.

Sorry you're going through this. It can't be easy. I hope you find some answers.