I'm a Bit More Worried Than I Usually Am :(

[Zeneth]

I've been looking around here and there seems to be a lot of people who have had T for 4+ years, and they all describe it as getting worse and worse! I'm really worried because I'm only 13 and I really don't want this to get worse and have to live with it longer... Right now my T is mild and I've had it for 5 months....
I have hopes that it'll get better but who knows :/

 

[Jomo]

My uncle is 70...he had it for many years...he says he only notices it when its quite and i never knew he had it until i got it a month ago...hang in there...protect ur ears and u should be ok..take it one day a time

 

[Jacob83]

You'll have a lot more things to worry about in life in the next years than worsening tinnitus. It probably won't even be on your radar. I understand, though, this board can bring out a lot of fear.

5 months is stil early, too... might even go away...

You have the knowledge at your young age, so it'll definitely prevent you from being careless as you get older, which is a very good thing.

Also my dad has had tinnitus forever and said his never got worse and rarely notices it when I asked him recently. He's also had multiple heart attacks and on lots of drugs for his condition.

 

[MikeP505]

I have hopes that it'll get better but who knows :/

Yes very many people on here have had this condition for many many years. This does not mean it will be your fate! You have come to the right place for information and to talk to those who know your fears and worries.

Seems like at your age, your hearing is very delicate. Now you must take all the right precautions to protect your hearing as best you can. You won't always be able too, as there at times in life where some loud noise will just pop up and make you worry about further damage. Keep a pair of earplugs handy whenever possible and avoid headphones, earbuds, loud music in cars, noisy places when possible etc. Even long uses on a cell phone can do damage. Be as careful as you can without being paranoid about everything. Like I said, there are always times some siren, loud truck, loud bangs, breaking glass will just happen and no need to curl up into a little ball and be scared. Try to close your ears quickly until that firetruck goes by or whatever, but get on enjoying your life.

You can always come to any of us when you need some advice or even someone to vent with. We know what it's like. People who never suffer tinnitus can never really understand and that can be frustrating at times. So you need to understand that not everyone in your life will know what this is like.

Just be careful OK, and hopefully your tinnitus will totally go away. Big hugs from all of us!!

Mike

 

[stophiss]

And chase girls (if you are boy) and play sports and have fun with your friends and study enough in school to get good grades and enjoy your life. In your lifetime there will be a cure for tinnitus. This is my opinion.
As mentioned, the most important thing is if you want decent hearing well into life, you must protect your ears...always wear ear protection in loud environments and if listening to earphones keep them on 'low'.
Btw, I am an old man, ride my bike faster than 99.9% of the planet...ex racer...and listen to my Ipod on the bike everyday. I have a massive ITunes collection including probably some of the music you like
I am not going to stop listening to my Ipod and deprive myself of the music I love because I have tinnitus. I just don't crank it.
Have fun

 

[Michael Leigh]

I've been looking around here and there seems to be a lot of people who have had T for 4+ years, and they all describe it as getting worse and worse! I'm really worried because I'm only 13 and I really don't want this to get worse and have to live with it longer... Right now my T is mild and I've had it for 5 months....
I have hopes that it'll get better but who knows :/

@Zeneth


If you have straightforward tinnitus that was caused by loud noise exposure, then it's unlikely that it will get worse unless you do the following:

1. Attending clubs, gigs etc where loud music is being played and not using ear protection, like noise reducing earplugs.
2. Using noisy equipment such as a petrol lawn mower or electric power tools without ear protection.
3. Lastly, which few people like to hear: listening to music through headphones. In my opinion, this is the worst culprit of them all. Anyone that got tinnitus due to loud noise exposure and listens to music through headphones (even at low volume) is taking a risk of the tinnitus becoming worse.

Follow the above guidelines and I believe your tinnitus will not get worse.

Michael

 

[stophiss]

Michael,
What is it about listening to music at low volume through earphones at say the 10-20 dB sound level is hazardous to one's hearing...when ambient noise levels are above that volume level those when walking down a city sidewalk?

 

[Zeneth]

Wow, I didnt expect this post to be so supportive, thanks guys... Yeah, I wear earplugs almost all weekday/days I go to my school. I'm in 8th grade and its very loud. I dont wear them the whole day, but just for my loud classes like weight training, and PE. I'm actually a music producer, so not listening to music is gonna have to be a no, haha, but I rarely use headphones and rarely have the speakers on a high volume.

 

[mcaulder]

I wear ear buds at night with rain playing just so I can sleep. And I wear them during the day with nature sounds playing. Its the only way I can deal with the high pitch ringing in both my ears.

 

[cflkb]

Hi. My father in law has tinnitus (served in Navy) and he's 66 now and he has it bad---BUT he has habituated to it and doesn't let it affect his life. So, not all tinnitus affects everyone the same way. I would suggest, like everyone has, protecting your ears when you can, and just live for each moment and not what's going to happen 2-5 years from now... I'm on my 6 year and I've had my ups and downs, but mostly ups with help of family, friends, and online community. I wish you well!