I wish I could, I have tried and I am trying but the ringing, balance issues and hearing loss are a constant reminder. It's not like getting a scare on your face from a bar fight that you regret, it's a constant audiable reminder of complete insanity that was totally outside of my character.
We all have regrets Jason,as someone once said to me"you can't regret what felt right at the time"
It's true in so many ways,like people who to a concert that they're looking forward to,it feels right,they don't see nor know what's coming and when they develop T after all they do is sit there in a pool of regret and tell themselves how stupid they are.The fact of the matter is,they aren't,it simply wasn't their fault as they didn't know of the outcome.
It's like somebody looking at a bright to screen all day everyday only to develop some form of rare eyesight problem as a result that barely anyone has heard of.The can't blame themselves for that,it's not their fault that they didn't predict every single outcome of watching tv that day.
Then there's me,someone who constantly lives in utter regret and anger every single day!I done this to myself,a lot of it was something I didn't or couldn't possibly predict.
-Developed T in January 2011
The exact cause was unknown but I have my suspicions as to what caused it.
I was told I hadn't damaged my hearing at all and that it was most likely from an infection and sent home.
A year later and my T was 99.9% gone so for intensive purposes I was cured.
-February 2012
I was tired of not getting out with my mates and seeing as it was Saint Patrick's day I went down to the pub for a few pints.Pubs weren't a problem for me and I enjoyed the entire day.Then my mates were leaving and going to a night club and I was extremely resistant to go.I didn't know if it would be ok or not so I rang two of my mates who also had T and also my uncle.They all told me I would be absolutely fine as they had attended Milano clubs and concerts since onset.
This convinced me it would be ok but I still wore earplugs regardless.
Half way through the night my plugs fell out after a friend of mine who hugged me knocked them out without me realising at all!I spent another hour in there before I realised and froze in the middle of the dance floor.I didn't know what to do,I danced a little longer before leaving as I didn't want to push things too far.
The next day I woke up with a loud blaring tone inside my head and I instantly went into blind panic mode,this gamble had not payed off for me,a gamble I would have never taken if not for the encouragement of my uncle and friends.I was the kind of guy that always took what people said as a truth especially those very close to me.
Anyway I rushed to an ear specialist and got all the hearing tests done yet again and she told me that I hadn't damaged my hearing whatsoever,as she was a professional and I was young I believed and trusted everything she told me including her advice.She told me to get out and about and if I ever found myself in noisy places to give myself regular breaks and not to over do it.I was also to wear proper earplugs in loud places but this wasn't a problem as I simply was never setting foot in such a place ever again!
Anyway the T backed off after a few months,back down to just a soft hiss and I could manage just fine.
I was back working,back socialising although I was careful about louder environments,if it was too loud for me I would simply stay and chat before abruptly leaving.I protected my hearing with tools etc and for the best part I was doing great!Then....
-January 2014
I went to my mates 21st birthday party,when I walked inside it was extremely loud and I made the decision that staying here wouldn't be a good idea but as I went to leave I was greeted by a locked door.Surprise surprise they had organised a stripper for him and I was now locked inside for way longer than I was comfortable with.Upon leaving I had a temporary threshold shift and a bit panicked I went home to bed.Luckily the next day everything was fine so I went to dinner with a few friends and it was at dinner I noticed something weird with my ears.I couldn't really tolerate the sound of the place and when I left my ears felt raw.A few days later my T suddenly jumped up and so began the panic yet again.I sat in my room watching YouTube videos when suddenly a high pitched squeel burst out of my TV and that was it,straight into the pits of hell!
Everything got ten times louder and my T went through the roof,higher than I ever thought possible.I was so confused as to what was happening to me,I was just so scared and worried that I completely collapsed in front of my family.I woke up in the back of my fathers jeep on route to the doctors office.After we arrived there I told him I had T and what looked like severe Hyperacusis from what I goggled on my phone on the way over.Of course he had never heard of it and I was sent to a Tinnitus and Hyperacusis specialist near my home.Upon getting to his office yet another full hearing evaluation was conducted and slyet again they came back absolutely perfect.I sat there confused and scared and that's when he fed me the Jastrebroff"nervous system shock"theory.He then showed my countless success stories of people who underwent said treatment and that I would be absolutely fine.I believed every word of it and committed to it with all my heart and to cut an already long story short two years later my T had dropped to a stable low hiss yet again and my H had improved by about 80-85% mainly just having problems with sharp noises and very loud noises.
I met a girl and we started getting out a lot more,never anything too wild but I began pushing myself harder and harder in the last two months of 2015.We went for a trip to England,to a comedy show and a few dinners and such with family.
-January 2016
I had began to experience weird symptoms leading up to Janusry but doctors had confirmed that I had a sprained neck and of course I believed them.It was like a stingy burning pain all over my neck and down my back but in January it became unbearable!I made an appointment with my audiologist and my neurologist.My T suddenly got much louder and yet again the state of panic started all over again.
Surprise surprise yet again no hearing damage found and I was told to do sound therapy by both of them.I was angry and now a huge sceptic of sound therapy but regardless it was all I could do to try and improve or so I thought.I began doing it everyday when one day my volume randomly jumped to full for no reason whatsoever and that was the final straw.Since then I've been in utter hell that seems to be worsening by the day,no matter what I do every noise seems to be way too much for me and only worsens me everytime.As a result I'm now a complete hermit living my days out in pure isolation and fear.Its not easy and I often just think about ending it all but as of yet I don't see that as the best option.
Didn't mean to write an essay but I just thought I'd tell my story for what it's worth.