Recent content by here2help

@daybyday, I’m sorry to hear you are having a rough time. There are definitely things you can do for your life to go back to normal. I agree with something you wrote – that is, I don’t think you can keep going like this either. Sometimes it takes feeling the way you do to make the changes we...

@Telis, I’m taking a risk by responding to your heartfelt post and I hope you will respond in kind. You aren’t being well-served by your doctors. Things obviously aren’t fine and the approach your doctors have recommended to you isn’t working. Second, you aren’t overreacting, you haven’t lost...

@LetyO, tinnitus is an infrequent side effect of Seroquel. By infrequent, I mean that only between 1/100 to 1/1000 patients report tinnitus as a side effect of taking the drug. I wouldn’t rule it out as the cause of your tinnitus, but in my opinion it is unlikely. I strongly suggest you never...

I think OSHA standards are woefully inadequate. The EPA's guidelines are much more stringent, something like 10db lower for anything over 60db. So, the EPA 8 hour limit is something like 75db which seems reasonable to me in general, but, all auditory systems are not the same! @linearb, the EPA...

@Bart, the audiologists and ENTs who assured you that the ears of someone with tinnitus or hyperacusis are no more prone to damage than normal ears are 100% correct and there is a great deal of evidence to support these views. (The perspective offered in this thread - that no evidence exists to...

@Asian, traffic horns are not loud enough to cause damage to the auditory system. @Gosia, overprotecting the ears is not a good strategy. Over time, it can lead to increased sensitivity to sound. Covering and uncovering your ears “all the time” is not a good approach. Taking a bus ride will...

@Keiv, @Quentino, @Gosia, @Nucleo, and @Alex Senkowski, there is some evidence that some people may be more genetically predisposed to hearing loss than others when exposed to loud sound. Aging, exposure to certain occupational or recreational noise, and certain illnesses or medication may also...

Paul, in my opinion, you aren’t describing habituation. Here’s what I mean. At this point, and please know that I’m not diminishing it, you are characterizing a very good day as one with almost no tinnitus and contrasting that with bad days when your tinnitus is loud. Someone who has...

@Naddesh, I read through your posts in other threads tonight to learn a little more. In my opinion, while your boyfriend kissing you on your ear and the emergence of your tinnitus occurred at the same time, one did not cause the other. Fluid in the ear or an infection in the middle ear can...

@Naddesh, Habituation of tinnitus isn’t only a state of mind, although it may start there. FWIW, my answers to your very good questions. Yes. Tinnitus has zero impact on my well-being or my capacity for happiness. No, my life isn't limited by tinnitus in any respect. Yes, tinnitus has...

JRS, Here is what Consumer Reports, the Washington Post, and Autoweek say about road noise in your vehicle. The vehicle isn't the problem. "The 2015 redesign addressed a lot of those complaints. Handling is responsive and yet bumps are nicely suppressed. Road noise is down, too." Consumer...

JRS – First, please don’t sell your car. It has 3500 miles on it. Look forward to the day when you can enjoy driving it. The car is not the problem. As you said, exposure to road noise in all cars appears to affect you to one extent or another. This is normal. Tinnitus spikes are normal...

@MattK, I appreciate your post in the other thread but you incorrectly inferred that I believe all tinnitus is the same. I haven’t said all tinnitus is the same. What I said, and will be glad to say again, is that when people with tinnitus rate their tinnitus as severe, the characteristics of...

@RichL, there isn’t a thing you can do about the volume of your tinnitus. It is what it is. You can continue to fetishize it and believe the loudness of your tinnitus makes you untreatable or not. That is up to you. You can continue to think about tinnitus in the language of daydreaming and...

@Kathi, thank you for your lovely post. I am thrilled for you that you have continued to make progress. I think you are right when you say things will get even better. @Rich, thank you for saying more about your situation. I haven’t had the time over the past few months to read other posts...