Affected Going to Work?

[Tennrltr]

How have you coped with working and dealing with tinnitus and the spikes?

 

[SusanGee]

How have you coped with working and dealing with tinnitus and the spikes?

Hi there. I'm a Manager in a call centre and I had three month off work initially and it helped me adjust to T. I went back to work 5 weeks ago and I did a phased return for 2 weeks just working part time hours, which helped me to adjust back to work. I've found it not too bad actually; better than I thought. I find the noise at work actually masks the T most of the time. I also work from home a couple of times a week which gives my ears a break from the noise. I've had a couple of days where the T had really bothered me, but I persevered and got through the day. All in all its been ok and I'm actually enjoying being back at work as its a good distraction. Hope this helps

 

[PhilB]

I initially thought it would be imposssible to continue working full time in an office with T but it has got easier as time has passed. Mild H is turning put to be more of a problem at work. We have a fire alarm test in the office once a week and I always stick my fingers in my ears when the alarm goes off. No-one else in the office feels the need to do this but I find the high pitch fire alarm really difficult to bear. The other day it went on amber alert which means that we have to prepare to evacuate but not actually leave the building. I was sat at my desk with fingers jammed in ears for 10 minutes and I could tell some people thought that was a bit weird. Before H, the fire alarm wouldn't have bothered me at all. I think @SusanGee is right that work can be a useful distraction but when work is stressful, the stress is exacerbated by T. Even so, it is better to carry on as normal than to allow T to impose limitations upon your lifestyle, either in terms of work or leisure activities.

 

[geg1992]

Working is one of the best things to do imo. It may be a struggle at first but it's the first step to normality. I can go hours without hearing T as my mind focuses on work instead. Being stuck at home only makes you focus on T more IMO.

 

[Karen]

I've had severe T and pulsatile tinnitus for over five years now, and mild T before that. When my tinnitus first became severe, I took a leave of absence from work. Returning to work was hard at first, and I remember having spikes during working hours that were really hard to deal with.

Now, five years later, I am actually past retirement age, but I've returned to work (in human resources), working 30 plus hours per week. I find that being at home makes me think more about my T, and being at work is a great distraction, and great therapy. Since I've been back at work, my tinnitus has actually improved! I do have a fan under my desk that I often keep running, and that helps distract me from any annoying background noises.

All in all, I'd say that returning to work is great therapy for me!!

 

[Rube]

Depends on what type of work you are engaged in. I work in an office environment and sometimes it's quiet enough to annoy my t, but overall going to work is a welcome distraction. Sitting at home all day is not only unhealthy but it makes you unnecessarily focus on your t ALL day long.

 

[Richard Wallace]

Like most of the other folk's said in their posts, sitting around home does make you focus on the T more. I have an eBay store and business has been slow for the past couple of months due to summer. Thus I'm at home more often and less busy. I can tell that I've been more stressed out about the T because of being less active. So going to work and being busy sounds like a good plan. God Bless .... Rich

 

[DanielN]

I've struggled to stay at work with this (newbie to life-altering T)... I haven't missed a day yet but I've had lots of appointments for therapy and left early to go walk around the zoo one day.

 

[svg1204]

I'm with you I just quit my job on Monday , it was very stressful and wasn't helping my health. I already found something better and pretty soon I'll start volunteering at the zoo see if I can get a job there ,also getting my real estate license.