I Made It to Med School — If I Could Beat Tinnitus and Be Happy Again, I Can Do Anything!

[Apocalypse77]

Hi everyone,

I was a very active user a few years ago on Tinnitus Talk. Nowadays I still visit it from time to time and try to support those who felt the same as me when they got tinnitus in the first place.

This year I finally got in med school and will be starting my studies after the summer. I'm really excited.

I'm really proud of myself. Looking back, the first two years with tinnitus were really bad for me and I can say those were the worst years of my life. But they were not all that bad - I feel like they made me really strong. If I could beat tinnitus and be happy again, I can do anything!

Thank you for this whole community, the journey would have been much harder without you all ❤

 

[Michael Leigh]

Hi @Apocalypse77.

I am pleased for you and wish you every success at medical school. If you don't mind, I want to give you some advice and hope you follow it. Your tinnitus may be very low now and you have habituated which is splendid news. Please don't forget it was noise induced and this means it can get worse under certain conditions if you are not careful.

If you are exposed to overly loud sounds, particularly listening to music at clubs or concerts, even when wearing hearing protection, there is a risk of making the tinnitus worse. Similarly, if you listen to audio through any type of headphones, including earbuds, headsets, AirPods, noise cancelling and bone conduction headphones, there is a risk of the tinnitus becoming worse even when audio is played at low volume. This may not be noticeable at first but the tinnitus can suddenly return with a vengeance or gradually get worse and possibly change into variable tinnitus.

Please read my post in the link below that you might find helpful.

Take care,
Michael

Can I Habituate to Variable Tinnitus? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

[Nemoriri]

You can be so proud of yourself! I find you very inspiring. I relate to your story with spikes and worries concerning that and how to go about normal life and work. Good work on your path. Wish you all the best moving forward!

 

[NAPman]

Hi @Apocalypse77.

I am pleased for you and wish you every success at medical school. If you don't mind, I want to give you some advice and hope you follow it. Your tinnitus may be very low now and you have habituated which is splendid news. Please don't forget it was noise induced and this means it can get worse under certain conditions if you are not careful.

If you are exposed to overly loud sounds, particularly listening to music at clubs or concerts, even when wearing hearing protection, there is a risk of making the tinnitus worse. Similarly, if you listen to audio through any type of headphones, including earbuds, headsets, AirPods, noise cancelling and bone conduction headphones, there is a risk of the tinnitus becoming worse even when audio is played at low volume. This may not be noticeable at first but the tinnitus can suddenly return with a vengeance or gradually get worse and possibly change into variable tinnitus.

Please read my post in the link below that you might find helpful.

Take care,
Michael

Can you please point me to multiple, peer reviewed studies that support your comments about headphones?

I'm working with a tinnitus specialist (who has noise induced tinnitus themselves) and they said your position is not so absolute. In fact, my therapist wears headphones on all their calls and they have improved over time and have habituated. I don't think you can make such generalizations for everyone. It may have worked for you or others, but tinnitus is very complex and not completely understood.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Can you please point me to multiple, peer reviewed studies that support your comments about headphones?

I'm working with a tinnitus specialist (who has noise induced tinnitus themselves) and they said your position is not so absolute. In fact, my therapist wears headphones on all their calls and they have improved over time and have habituated. I don't think you can make such generalizations for everyone. It may have worked for you or others, but tinnitus is very complex and not completely understood.

I visit this forum to help people affected by noise-induced tinnitus with or without hyperacusis who are seeking help. My advice is based on many years living with this condition and corresponding with and counselling people that have it. I will usually correspond with forum members that approach me in a respectful manner but I want to make it clear, I will not argue or duel with anyone or try to prove a point. The choice is left to the individual, for I have never said my advice is absolute. Please peruse my post history and you'll see I have mentioned many times my advice is not absolute.

Since you seem content working with your tinnitus specialist, I suggest that you continue to do so and follow the advice on headphones. If your tinnitus increases, just remember the advice I give to people affected by noise-induced tinnitus, that they risk making their tinnitus worse when using any type of headphones even at low volume.

Type headphones in the search box at the top of this page and read the posts.

Michael