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Tinnitus Awareness Week
federica
Seeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
Thought some of you may be interested. I know I am.....
as a constant sufferer, it's nice to know we're being 'heard'....
as a constant sufferer, it's nice to know we're being 'heard'....
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Comments
At least obstacles are also lessons.
I am gradually going deaf, suffer from permanent 24/7 tinnitus and have a degree of hyperacusis to certain types of sound.
My specific tinnitus sounds like this:
Imagine going to a wildlife park or a zoo, and visiting the open-air aviary early one spring morning.
Now imagine every conceivable variety of native wild bird in there, singing their little lungs out....
Cacophonous, right?
There's one shrill little bugger who constantly sings one note higher than all the others; the tone is sibilant and strident, and unceasing.
The level of this noise varies; sometimes it's quite low, so I barely notice it. At other times, it is so invasive, I have difficulty focusing on whatever I may be doing; be it reading, watching or listening to something or someone.
The added complication is that, according to a specialist I have visited, my tinnitus is also imitative. For example, if I hear a smoke alarm going off, even when its noise has stopped, I carry on hearing it, for possibly anything up to an hour or more.
This situation was acutely brought home to me when, as a manager for a company, it was my responsibility to lock up some evenings. On leaving the store, I had to use an electronic gadget to ensure the alarm was set. This was signalled by a sibilant sound, which at one point, then ceased.
I never could tell when it stopped, because my tinnitus would begin to imitate the sound.
Fortunately, for security purposes there always had to be two members of staff present at lock-up.
Whoever was with me, always told me when it had stopped... !
I know that the condition can occasionally be helped by 'white noise' headphones, but these only provide relief while worn. Unfortunately (as in my case) tinnitus can sometimes 'fight' this white noise, and merely becomes louder to 'compete'.
It's very revealing to me that you can through similes and metaphors, analogies and anecdotes, quotes and conversations, that you can make people aware of things they can't necessarily experience. Zen Koans are a good example of shutting your mind up for a moment for example.
Out of interest, how do you deal with your tinnitus and hypersacusis during meditation, it must make the task all the harder, especially when the doorbell rings, or the phone goes in the next room? Or does it it give you something to focus on?
Mettha
I wish I could associate it with something: diet, fluid intake stress.... but there seems to be no definitive trigger, or anything which makes it worse or better.....
Decades of living in arms reach of diesel engine has done it I think.
I have it right now but am not sure if it was there before or if it just started as the thread made me think of it.
I think mine dates back to being a machine gunner but it's hard to know for sure.
Then the buzzing/ ringing slowly seemed to arise in response to my silent indulgence.
It thought it would just fade away as easily as it started up...but it didn't.
Later one researcher in the tinnitus field said that one of the theory's of what tinnitus is, is it's our brain seeking for and manufacturing the sound ranges that our ears are no longer hearing properly.
Many years ago...I guess it was in the 1970s -- one of my former teachers who lived in western NYS used to travel to Washington, D.C. (where I lived) and had acupuncture, which provided modest relief from her tinnitus.
You wouldn't mock a blind person or one with limited sight. And amongst the many afflictions it's practically the only one which is associated with also being stupid.
Which is why deaf people object to the added 'and dumb' because trust me, they're not... and "What the hell's the matter with you, are you deaf or something?!" is often hurled as a demeaning insult.
People's faces when I reply that 'actually, yes, I am losing my hearing and i do have an impairment. What's their excuse for being so crass and unthinking?' is often quite a picture...
Sorry @Zayl, but I just thought I'd clarify....
Now I am going to try to find the same fox hole I took cover in the last time I mentioned this on Federica's watch.
I was astonished to discover there is also a type of tinnitus audible to others as well... so it's fair to say that the term 'tinnitus' covers a variety of symptoms.
Easy on the foxhole, @how....no need.
But having endured this condition for nigh on 15 years, I hate to use a pun, but 'I've heard it all before'....
Yes could be. I suspect like the common cold, finding the causes has not translated into being any closer to offering a cure.
NOT funny.