Is There Any Organisation That Provides Euthanasia for Tinnitus?

[Fangen]

Not everyone can easily 'find a way.' Not everyone 'wants to' but they find the suffering too much to endure.

It's not as black and white or as simple as you make it out to be.

Don't tell me what I know or don't know.
My sister killed herself by jumping from a 7 story building. She sure found a way to die.

 

[Fangen]

It's called dignified death because you can decide to end it before your body wouldn't allow you to feel or project dignity anymore. There are situations that make us "uncomfortable" (what a euphemism) in social setting: losing your ability to control your bowel movements, or urination, or endless shaking, or screaming at family you don't recognize, etc... Some people would rather not have others (often loved ones) be witness of this so they can keep a "good mental image" of the person in their hearts and minds.

If you know you have a brain degenerative disease that is likely to end up in you screaming mean things at your loved ones, you may want to spare them the pain and trauma of seeing you like that.

That's what the dignity part of it is about, in my opinion, but people do have various opinions about what it means, as evidenced by answers recorded here: https://www.deathwithdignity.org/news/2017/07/death-with-dignity-means/

That's an entirely different thing to want to die if you're already chronically ill to the point that it's not if you will die, but when. Seeking assistance for suicide because you have tinnitus is not the same thing as having a brain degenerative disease.

 

[Autumnly]

That's an entirely different thing to want to die if you're already chronically ill to the point that it's not if you will die, but when. Seeking assistance for suicide because you have tinnitus is not the same thing as having a brain degenerative disease.

True, but severe tinnitus and severe pain-hyperacusis can make life unbearable and if you're not part of the lucky ones that improve, then what? Continue to suffer for years, decades while you watch your life pass you by?

Edit: I don't know if OP is in this group. I truly hope he isn't and I hope it will get better for him or that new medical treatments will be able to reduce his suffering.

 

[Liam_Cairns]

Don't tell me what I know or don't know.
My sister killed herself by jumping from a 7 story building. She sure found a way to die.

I'm so sorry your sister killed herself, this post was never meant to insult anyone. I am just suffering.

 

[GregCA]

That's an entirely different thing to want to die if you're already chronically ill to the point that it's not if you will die, but when. Seeking assistance for suicide because you have tinnitus is not the same thing as having a brain degenerative disease.

The question was around the word "dignified" and what it meant in the context of death, not whether euthanasia was appropriate for this or that circumstance. That's what I was addressing.

 

[ajc]

Seeking assistance for suicide because you have tinnitus is not the same thing as having a brain degenerative disease.

Hi, you should watch this https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/struggling-for-silence-the-story-of-gaby-olthuis.35066/

 

[punkaddict]

I've been seeing a lot of talk about Neuromod which I think will be helpful but very little on Frequency Therapeutics and Decibel Therapeutics's efforts. I for one believe both hold a lot of promise for those with acoustic trauma, which is a lot of us. Is this false hope? Am I being irrational for thinking this?
Sure, it may be a lot further away than Neuromod but if the main cause is cured, then I see no reason why tinnitus should continue after neuromodulation/time.

Idk maybe I'm wrong. Maybe neither will do shit or just very little, in which case I'll be another to advocate for euthanasia, but this hope keeps me going at least.

 

[arctic loon]

Have you heard of a new clinic in Switzerland, called Pegasos Swiss? They supposedly accept everyone (except mental illness as main diagnosis).

This could potentially be the first legal route for those outside Belgium/Netherlands. I wonder what their views are on tinnitus and hyperacusis patients.

https://pegasos-association.com/welcome/

 

[PeteJ]

Have you heard of a new clinic in Switzerland, called Pegasos Swiss? They supposedly accept everyone (except mental illness as main diagnosis).

This could potentially be the first legal route for those outside Belgium/Netherlands. I wonder what their views are on tinnitus and hyperacusis patients.

https://pegasos-association.com/welcome/

That's interesting. But, I think in Swiss law, there is still the requirement: "person must be suffering intolerably from a severe illness with a medical diagnosis from a doctor."

Is tinnitus considered such to qualify?

To answer a question about the exit bag, I think the tanks are now 50/50 so wouldn't work. The concept is still valid, though.

Also, that girl Fangen, who snapped at me and linearb and others who think suicide is simple, I have news for you:

It's not. If you decide to jump off a building, you can end up paralyzed. You need to analyze it via physics and if you do it wrong, you will have more suffering. Many variables are in play. That includes hanging and other methods. So, don't tell me 'if you want to, you just will.' That's bullshit and I suspect deep down, you know it.

 

[Yuuls]

I volunteer at the needle exchange here in SF and I can tell you the city is really really bad right now. There are literal BNB tours of "tent" cities where tourists pay 25 dollars to be given a guide of our downtown homeless population.
I flew over SF the other day and you can literally see swathes of blue tarp over parts of Oakland and SF... it is all over the freeways in the bay area and even along Highway 1. I never thought I would see SF become Seattle but it is so bad.

I've been working at the needle exchange since 2004 and we used to have 20 per day showing up, now we have easily hundreds every day. It is really bad, some young college kids who came to CA to be models/actors. It's so bad sometimes I can catch people in my back yard showering from my faucet (something that has never happened before)... it's crazy. I'm selling my house and moving to the country in Minnesota or something.

Hi @coffee_girl! Are you still living in SF. I also live in the city (3 years now) and am having a hard time adjusting to living here since the onset of my tinnitus. Wondering if you have any sort of advise/coping strategies or recommendations for activities/restaurants and bars here that aren't loud

 

[Harley]

Tinnitus first destroys a person mentally, then physically.
The continuous torture and 24/7 suffering leaves people completely exhausted.

In the absence of cure or a real treatment, suicide seems to be the next logical step.
That seems to be the only way to escape the horrible noise as it stands right now.

The issue of tinnitus euthanasia should be at the very least brought up by the likes of the ATA and BTA I would think.

 

[ThomasF]

I am considering saving up money to take a trip to the Netherlands and apply for Euthanasia/Assisted suicide.

I need more of a promise of a treatment or a cure. As it stands, it's something of a desert of waiting for trials that take a great amount of time for any results to come forward.

I genuinely don't know what else to do. I want my life back and I cannot get it back. I can't sleep. I try to stay positive but even stem cells seem to be only so effective. Tinnitus isn't considered a serious condition, it's like chronic pain but it's played off as being overblown. I want things to get better but I don't know how.

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

I am considering saving up money to take a trip to the Netherlands and apply for Euthanasia/Assisted suicide.

I need more of a promise of a treatment or a cure. As it stands, it's something of a desert of waiting for trials that take a great amount of time for any results to come forward.

I genuinely don't know what else to do. I want my life back and I cannot get it back. I can't sleep. I try to stay positive but even stem cells seem to be only so effective. Tinnitus isn't considered a serious condition, it's like chronic pain but it's played off as being overblown. I want things to get better but I don't know how.

Hey man. I know it's really hard. I don't want to sound like a broken record but it will definitely get better with time. You said that you hear it in a quiet room only? I understand the anxiety that it causes and you feel like your life is over, but trust me, it's not.

I had suicidal constantly worsening tinnitus every day from <30 dB noise (or none at all) and all I thought about every day was death. It kept getting louder and louder every day. My hyperacusis was so bad that dropping a small plastic thing in the floor would cause me insane permanent worsening and new tones of tinnitus and worsen my hyperacusis.

After over a year of torture I gave myself time and eventually improved (at least the hyperacusis and tinnitus reactivity). My tinnitus stabilized a bit, and even though it's at music volume (>65 dB without exaggeration) with multiple tones, and can spike permanently from something like a too long car ride in double protection, I have started to enjoy life again somewhat and am able to do some things that I couldn't even dream of ever doing again. Don't give up hope. It will get better with time. Please give yourself time.

 

[dan]

Hey man. I know it's really hard. I don't want to sound like a broken record but it will definitely get better with time. You said that you hear it in a quiet room only? I understand the anxiety that it causes and you feel like your life is over, but trust me, it's not.

I had suicidal constantly worsening tinnitus every day from <30 dB noise (or none at all) and all I thought about every day was death. It kept getting louder and louder every day. My hyperacusis was so bad that dropping a small plastic thing in the floor would cause me insane permanent worsening and new tones of tinnitus and worsen my hyperacusis.

After over a year of torture I gave myself time and eventually improved (at least the hyperacusis and tinnitus reactivity). My tinnitus stabilized a bit, and even though it's at music volume (>65 dB without exaggeration) with multiple tones, and can spike permanently from something like a too long car ride in double protection, I have started to enjoy life again somewhat and am able to do some things that I couldn't even dream of ever doing again. Don't give up hope. It will get better with time. Please give yourself time.

Very good advice. Listen to this because it's true. Tinnitus (barring 80 dB catastrophic levels) is something you think you will never ever accept or get used to, but eventually you do, and that's a fact.

If you can only hear it in quiet, I am willing to bet my life savings that you will totally get your life back.

Tinnitus habituation is counterintuitive. You can accept it now, or bitch and moan about it for the next 1-2 years, but either way it's going to happen for you.

 

[Wrfortiscue]

Hey man. I know it's really hard. I don't want to sound like a broken record but it will definitely get better with time. You said that you hear it in a quiet room only? I understand the anxiety that it causes and you feel like your life is over, but trust me, it's not.

I had suicidal constantly worsening tinnitus every day from <30 dB noise (or none at all) and all I thought about every day was death. It kept getting louder and louder every day. My hyperacusis was so bad that dropping a small plastic thing in the floor would cause me insane permanent worsening and new tones of tinnitus and worsen my hyperacusis.

After over a year of torture I gave myself time and eventually improved (at least the hyperacusis and tinnitus reactivity). My tinnitus stabilized a bit, and even though it's at music volume (>65 dB without exaggeration) with multiple tones, and can spike permanently from something like a too long car ride in double protection, I have started to enjoy life again somewhat and am able to do some things that I couldn't even dream of ever doing again. Don't give up hope. It will get better with time. Please give yourself time.

Just being in silence got you better?

 

[GuitarMan]

Hey man. I know it's really hard. I don't want to sound like a broken record but it will definitely get better with time. You said that you hear it in a quiet room only? I understand the anxiety that it causes and you feel like your life is over, but trust me, it's not.

I had suicidal constantly worsening tinnitus every day from <30 dB noise (or none at all) and all I thought about every day was death. It kept getting louder and louder every day. My hyperacusis was so bad that dropping a small plastic thing in the floor would cause me insane permanent worsening and new tones of tinnitus and worsen my hyperacusis.

After over a year of torture I gave myself time and eventually improved (at least the hyperacusis and tinnitus reactivity). My tinnitus stabilized a bit, and even though it's at music volume (>65 dB without exaggeration) with multiple tones, and can spike permanently from something like a too long car ride in double protection, I have started to enjoy life again somewhat and am able to do some things that I couldn't even dream of ever doing again. Don't give up hope. It will get better with time. Please give yourself time.

The double protection isn't doing you any favors. IMO, putting earphones over earplugs creates a kind of echo chamber and concentrates the sound inside the cups more. I'm not sure how it works but I've experienced it when at the shooting range.

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

Just being in silence got you better?

This is the only thing I did differently yeah.

 

[AnthonyMcDonald]

The double protection isn't doing you any favors. IMO, putting earphones over earplugs creates a kind of echo chamber and concentrates the sound inside the cups more. I'm not sure how it works but I've experienced it when at the shooting range.

Yeah I usually only wear earmuffs now, without earplugs.

 

[Tom Foster]

@Liam_Cairns, gosh I feel for you and I understand you. I Googled the same and your post came up.

On looking at your picture, you are so young and have your whole life ahead of you. Myself, I'm 66 and have had a great life. I've done everything I wanted to do, but there comes a time when 24/7/365 noise becomes unbearable.

I'm in the process of getting rid of things that will be problem to my family and also getting them used to the fact that when I decide it's time, they honour my wishes.

The Netherlands seems to be the place, but you have to get 2 doctors to certify they cannot help you.

Tom