When Did You First Realize You Had Tinnitus?

I can clearly recall the first time I realized I had tinnitus. It was a winter day and I was watching tv when I heard the hissing of steam. It all seemed normal to me except that it was on for a longer period of time than usual. For some reason I got up and checked the radiator and to my surprise it was cold! I was, of course, both puzzled and alarmed. It continued on, day after day and then I felt it would be my constant so I went to an ENT physician and was given an audiology test. It was determined I had sub-clinical hearing loss in my right ear and he told me there was nothing much I could do. I began to question how I got tinnitus but not everyone can pinpoint the reason from the multitude of possibilities. I had for the longest time become irritable when loud noises occurred but it is inevitable to escape from sudden and unexpected loud bursts of damaging sound. Prior to my getting T ... when all was quiet I enjoyed my silence and -- perhaps as we all had -- took it for granted. Strange.. how what we assume we will always have we somehow lose along the way.

After speaking with my husband several times about my T, I was very surprised when he finally told me he too hears a hissing sound in his left ear and now realized he has tinnitus. I think he has had it for a long time, had not realized it (he doesn't care for silence) and is usually always listening to music or tv and this blocks his tinnitus. Some people like my husband do not care for silence while others like I, relished it. I recently had a doctor's appointment (unrelated to T) and when I mentioned to him I had tinnitus, he told me "everyone has it". I didn't want to be disrespectful but politely told him I didn't agree. I am not sure but perhaps he meant all people hear some level of inner noise when there is absolute silence. In the past this was not the case for me.

I have now become accustomed to my tinnitus and when I am absorbed by activity or listening to music it fades into the background; however, when I make a conscious effort to listen to it, it is ever-present. Of course, I have tremendous empathy for those who have extremely high-pitched sounds with which to deal. I know each person has his/her own challenges - no matter what they are - and we have no choice other than to learn to accept and cope with anything thrown in our path. Each obstacle we successfully overcome serves to strengthen us and in this Life, inner strength is what we all need.

Wishing everyone a peaceful day.