Hello there,
I'm a single mom from the Netherlands, of two lovely kids.
I have had tinnitus for 18 years and lived perfectly fine with it... unfortunately I read an article about a man who wants to have euthanasia because of it, which triggered me enormously and now I'm in a constant state of terror that this will happen to me too, I just can't get my thoughts off of it... I feel terrible, also for my children..
Will it fade, just like it did before?
I'm taking medicine to help me cope with the panic, so I have to wait how that goes... I can't sleep... just a very anxious and depressed feeling...
xx
Fran
I remember a story from 2009 that sent me into a tailspin for a while. Essentially, these stories emerge from time to time in the news. I don't know whether it's a good thing to have the media bring much attention to these stories but I can see 2 sides of the coin.
On the one hand it shows that tinnitus can truly be debilitating and deserves a cure. However, these stories often end up in the tabloids and are written in a sensational way. I think that they do little to bring exposure to tinnitus in the scientific community and will not cause researchers to suddenly be swayed and make tinnitus their life's work. I have the impression from the podcasts most researchers are already very devoted to their plight.
On the other hand, these stories can create awareness among the general public but you know how it goes. There are many rare and horrible illnesses and people can read a story about starving children in the third world and move on with their lives right the next minute.
Thinking the general population would feel compelled to donate because of the media exposure is an illusion. Most of the tinnitus sufferers aren't even actively advocating for a cure, or donating. I think this must have to do with the fact that most people having tinnitus that is bad enough to bother them are doing their best to actively ignore anything that reminds them of their tinnitus. The fact that it's an invisible illness doesn't help. Milder sufferers who have been able to overcome their tinnitus are in the majority and create the image that, yes, tinnitus is something that bothers you for a while. If you don't get used to it then you must have mental problems.
That's not to say that these stories shouldn't be published because these things do exist and happen.
In your case, you have most likely become hypervigilant about your longstanding tinnitus because of the euthanasia story. This goes to show that these stories can do harm to people. Of course, time spent worrying about what could happen, but may well never happen, is not worth it. I think in time, you'll be ok again.
All the best!
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