Hi all! Here's my tinnitus story.
In October 2016, I went to a concert with a friend. The summer prior I had spent going to shows, and this one in particular, I wasn't even familiar with the band. I just wanted to go, have fun with a friend and enjoy my life. Every time we went to a show, our goal was to get front row (general admission ofc). This concert, we succeeded, and there was nothing separating us from the stage but the gate, and a hefty security guard. I had a great time, but on the BART ride home, I noticed something wasn't right with my ears. So, ignorantly, I googled remedies for ringing ears and read something about tinnitus. I didn't think too much about it, still on my concert high, and I figured it would go away in the morning.
It didn't.
Long story short, I embarked on the worst week of my life. I ended up going to doctor, and he ensured me it would go away, as it already was starting to. It did, and for months I was fine.
Until my dumb a** decided to listen to headphones, just a little too loudly....
In March 2017, my tinnitus came back, and it never went away. I went to another doctor, who assured me it would go away, but it did not. I searched the internet high and low, and mostly what I found were.. horror stories... People saying that were miserable for YEARS, depressed, suicidal, all because a ringing of their ears. This sent me through the roof, I thought I was always going to be miserable. I thought this ringing would ruin my life. I thought at nineteen years old, my life was over. It wasn't even the ringing that was bad, it was the anxiety that surrounded it.
I don't know how long it took exactly, perhaps a couple months, but eventually, the tinnitus became background noise. Today, I go days, maybe even weeks, without noticing it. When I do notice it, it's usually because I'm stressed, or tired. But... it doesn't bother me...
My life isn't over. In June, I even attended a concert for the first time since my onset (with ear plugs of course!).
My advice for anyone newly struggling with this condition is, it will get better. It may not go away, but you'll get use it. The sooner you can accept that, the easier life will be. Things that helped me was listening to brown noise and tinnitus sound therapy on Youtube. Another advice I would give someone is that, try and stay off these forums as much as possible. I understand that a lot of you are looking for hope, but majority of people post to these forums when they are at their worst, they're venting their fears and anxieties, rarely returning when things get better. Why? Because they move on.
New suffers, you will too. Life goes on.
I'm sending prayers and good thoughts to those who need it. You are strong and you will get past this.