Poll: Does Tinnitus Affect Your Libido or Sexual Activity? Do You Suffer from Erectile Dysfunction?

[Peter61]

Dear fellow tinnitus sufferers,

I got tinnitus in 2012, due to loud noise exposure in a clothing store. But I already had a history of loud noise as a result of listening to rock music, going to concerts and, last but not least, playing drums for many years. So that incident at the clothing store was basically the straw that broke the camel's back. Anyway...

What I would like to ask other guys here: Does tinnitus affect your libido or sexual activity? The reason I'm asking is because since I got tinnitus, my libido is not what it used to be anymore and sometimes I also experience what is called erectile dysfunction (ED). Before I got tinnitus, I never experienced anything like that, but the tinnitus seems to have had quite an impact on my sex life, due to all the long term stress that comes with tinnitus.

Since sex and intimacy are such basic needs for most humans I actually wonder why this is so rarely discussed in relation to tinnitus. It's probably because men are ashamed to talk about it. But let's face it, this is an anonymous online forum, if you have something to say about this topic, please do. Don't feel ashamed or embarrassed, and tell it like it is.

If you experience ED as a result of tinnitus, how do you cope with it, what do you do about it? Or, long story short, can there still be sex after tinnitus?

I hope to receive some reactions, because it feels like I'm the only person in the world who suffers from ED as a result of tinnitus.

 

[Johan001]

I got tinnitus as a result of abusive narcissistic relationship. The woman would frequently insult me on my manhood and literally pressed me into taking ED drugs that I didn't even need in the first place and which gave me severe tinnitus. After getting tinnitus, she would abuse me even further, so I basically feel like a sexual abuse victim with a lasting reminder of tinnitus. Technically, my "apparatus" down there works fine physically, which I can easily tell by the morning wood. However, once my thinking kicks in, I get turned off anything sexual. Even a thought of intimacy invokes feelings of grief and anxiety, so I am sure as hell psychologically damaged very badly.

Lots of ED cases are psychological, so it should be treatable. If I got tinnitus in a less nasty way, such as infection or noise trauma, I'd probably be less affected by it sexually.

 

[volsung37]

I find sex is the last thing I want while dealing with tinnitus.

It more or less killed my sexual relationships.

Thankfully no ED problems.

 

[Margrietje]

When I had a "busy" day (lower threshold than the average person without tinnitus of course), I just can't. After a day of regular, non-noisy activities though, I can and I enjoy it. My boyfriend is very understandable, so I'm lucky that it doesn't affect my relationship too much.

 

[GlennS]

For most of my life I kind of looked to sex as a self-medication for tinnitus. It used to be quite effective but with this latest uptick in severity in combination with getting older I am starting to feel clinical anhedonia. It's a fancy way of saying that things I used to enjoy are no longer as enjoyable, a creeping numbness and general apathy. It's all down to the depressive aspects of tinnitus (and also the state of the world which is pretty damn depressing on its own). Even though I've been in a new relationship since the fall I am finding myself hitting this plateau and I don't think it's just a matter of personal chemistry. I feel like she deserves more than what I'm able to give her and I'm just carrying around that guilt while she continues to insist she's satisfied. I'm taking it as a given that she'll eventually leave because I'm just too much of a buzzkill. Just trying to do the least harm along the way.

 

[Johan001]

After my whole abuse and tinnitus experience I am only interested in being with a woman who would be supporting me in my struggles as much as I would in hers. I realise in the modern world with abundance of dating options this may be a bit too fairy-tale-ish, but I wouldn't be willing to put myself under the stress of some racing competition.

@GlennS, positively thinking, if your girlfriend says she's happy with you and you guys are enjoying being with each other, that's great. Our society is so oversexualised that we sometimes give sex more attention than it deserves. Speaking from my own experience