Poll: If You Have VERY LOUD Tinnitus, Are You Able to Work Full Time?
- Thread starter alex01
- Start date
MemberDon't despair. I worked for a long time with loud tinnitus and had habituated. A year ago an AD made it quite severe and caused a massive set back. I'm working part time now and mostly doing things as I did before. I haven't rehabilitated YET but this runs at its own pace. It is possible but it takes a bit of time to manage the noise and the emotions.
Eve
@alex01
Eve
@alex01
I have mild tinnitus, sometimes above mild, and it makes my job hard sometimes so I'd think severe tinnitus would preclude a career unless you're a badass stoic type personality.
- Apr 15, 2017
- 1,419
- Tinnitus Since
- 2008
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Noise
CrystalB
Member
I have loud tinnitus I can hear it over everything, I have no hearing loss though which may make a difference. I work full time.
- May 29, 2018
- 1,161
- Tinnitus Since
- 10/2017
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Neck/stress
There's zero way I could work normal hours now. I make sure I have a free schedule before lunch so I can drink myself to sleep and wake up whenever without pressure. I also now work a shitty job with crap pay in the evenings that I wouldn't even have done 20 years ago. If someone had told me this would be my life someday I would never have thought it possible. But that is what severe tinnitus does. Life destroying.
I was given a higher dosage of sertraline that I had been on for a long time. There was an almost immediate increase in T, new noises and now both ears. Coincidence? no!
@Paulmanlike
@Paulmanlike
- May 29, 2018
- 1,161
- Tinnitus Since
- 10/2017
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Neck/stress
- May 29, 2018
- 1,161
- Tinnitus Since
- 10/2017
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Neck/stress
Fucking evil shit! That's horrid Eve. I'm so sorry. I wonder how many doctors carefully explain to people that AD's can cause tinnitus and maybe have a look at this website before taking them and opening up a can of total hell.
I had a complete breakdown, couldn't do anything for 4 months. Strange though as I had been a low dose for a long time. They are very powerful drugs and I can't think of anything that could have had such an immediate effect.
Anyway we digress from the original poster who just wanted some comfort x
@Bam
Anyway we digress from the original poster who just wanted some comfort x
@Bam
CrystalB
Member
I did have to take a month off of work when my tinnitus first started, and then after that month I had to keep working full time.
- Jan 25, 2013
- 3,573
- Tinnitus Since
- 2008
- Cause of Tinnitus
- TMJ disorder, airplane barotrauma, noise exposure.
Hell yas it did! That's why I hate those damn AD's. Tell your Dr. to eat those pills. He probably wouldn't touch them with a 10 foot pole.
All the AD's gave me side effects, so I am a bit bias. Lyrica seems okay for anxiety without all the sides IMO.
Last edited:
- Jul 9, 2017
- 337
- Tinnitus Since
- 04/2017
- Cause of Tinnitus
- ? neck injury/unknown
- Jul 9, 2017
- 337
- Tinnitus Since
- 04/2017
- Cause of Tinnitus
- ? neck injury/unknown
@alex01 since Tinnitus is subjective.... this is a difficult question to answer. I think I have loud T.... 19 months with it. I work full time and love it....keeps my mind off of T. I know I used to be a lot nicer at work....but who cares? Proud I can work with T; no one cares if you r nice at work; just do your job to keep your mind off T. Am I a bad ass stoic? Maybe......
T tests my self confidence, I have learned to kick it in the ass and keep living
T tests my self confidence, I have learned to kick it in the ass and keep living
Alex Matyjasek
Member
I think having loud T is relative... What do we mean by loud T? I can hear it over everything, but my head is not bouncing all over the place like other people I know on this chat. It's not unbearable! It's just annoying....The moment i'm doing something I forget I have it... I work full time and it's a relief, and the more I do, the more I shove it to the back of my mind. Other people have it bad, that can also hear it over everything, but it's so loud they can't work. So what is it? I can hear it over everything, but can I consider it Loud T?
- Oct 14, 2016
- 1,270
- Tinnitus Since
- All my life, but got worse 2016
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Noise induced / Concert
tell them government you have a mental illness and you won't have to work full time, it's probably easier in these european countries.
also tinnitus usually comes with hyperacusis and almost always hearing loss.
also tinnitus usually comes with hyperacusis and almost always hearing loss.
I haven't worked in two months. The management team at work has been pretty understanding. I had 380 hours of sick time saved before this happened. I'm going back full time next week and I'm terrified. I work with a large group of people. The worse part is going to be having to deal with the constant questions of where I've been. I don't really want to talk about it. That's just going to make it seem worse.
- Oct 14, 2016
- 1,270
- Tinnitus Since
- All my life, but got worse 2016
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Noise induced / Concert
I work about a 55 hour week. The work is utterly immersive, demanding and stressful, but fun and creative too. This means that I can go long hours without noticing my tinnitus. When that awareness returns, it can be like a tidal wave of noise crashing in.
However, the tinnitus I have fluctuates. It does get very loud (and therefore just about qualifies me to post here) but most of the time it's just loud. So I have an easier time of it compared to others.
Should also just add that it took about five years to get to a point where I simply didn't get all that emotionally aroused by tinnitus. If some easy means of offing myself had been available back then, I might not be here. During that dark time I still worked the same hours and hardly missed a day but almost certainly shortened my life expectancy through sleep deprivation and the amount of alcohol I drank at weekends and other opportune times like public holidays.
However, the tinnitus I have fluctuates. It does get very loud (and therefore just about qualifies me to post here) but most of the time it's just loud. So I have an easier time of it compared to others.
Should also just add that it took about five years to get to a point where I simply didn't get all that emotionally aroused by tinnitus. If some easy means of offing myself had been available back then, I might not be here. During that dark time I still worked the same hours and hardly missed a day but almost certainly shortened my life expectancy through sleep deprivation and the amount of alcohol I drank at weekends and other opportune times like public holidays.
My ENT was convinced that the stress of my job was causing my tinnitus to be bad. The type of work I was in is stressful but after so many years I didn't think it affected me quite the same way. Nevertheless, my tinnitus continued to be bad and I need to figure out what I could do to make it better. After much consideration, I decided to put his theory to the test and I quit my job and gave up my career (retired actually). Turns out it had no effect whatsoever. My point is don't quit a job thinking of that your tinnitus will necessarily be better without one. It doesn't always happen.
Mike
Mike
Hi @alex01, I work full time, and also look after my daughter with intrusive, loud, multi-sound, tinnitus.
To begin with, the walls of reality came falling in on me and I couldn't comprehend living with it. It wrecked my life. However, the longer I've had it the more I've adjusted and nowadays it's no longer a major concern of mine. In fact, I have other health problems that I rank above my tinnitus in terms of being a concern to me at this moment in time.
The best advice I can offer you is not to read too many horror stories, and to take comfort in the fact that most people feel better over the passage of time. When we're low, it's easy to assimilate everybody else's problems that we read about, which can compound everything and add more weight to our own situation.
Doing activities that reduce stress will help you a lot. You could also try fasting and then cleaning up your diet as an ongoing thing. Exercise is also really good for fighting stress hormones. Ultimately, you have to immerse yourself in something, whether that be a project or a hobby, you have to occupy your mind to stop you from obsessing and ruminating.
Going to work would be better than sitting at home because you can interact with other people and you can focus on doing something (unless you work in a noisy factory or something). Isolating yourself will make you feel worse and it's likely that this will encourage you to sit online reading about tinnitus (like I did), which will not help you. Doing this will only feed the tinnitus and will keep you in a bubble focussing on it.
It takes time to accept it, so try not to think about your future (again like I did). Until your future rolls around, you have no idea how you'll feel and you cannot trust what your thoughts are telling you when you are under such duress. I've learnt this lesson twice in my lifetime.
Good luck, look after yourself, and don't put a timescale on anything.
To begin with, the walls of reality came falling in on me and I couldn't comprehend living with it. It wrecked my life. However, the longer I've had it the more I've adjusted and nowadays it's no longer a major concern of mine. In fact, I have other health problems that I rank above my tinnitus in terms of being a concern to me at this moment in time.
The best advice I can offer you is not to read too many horror stories, and to take comfort in the fact that most people feel better over the passage of time. When we're low, it's easy to assimilate everybody else's problems that we read about, which can compound everything and add more weight to our own situation.
Doing activities that reduce stress will help you a lot. You could also try fasting and then cleaning up your diet as an ongoing thing. Exercise is also really good for fighting stress hormones. Ultimately, you have to immerse yourself in something, whether that be a project or a hobby, you have to occupy your mind to stop you from obsessing and ruminating.
Going to work would be better than sitting at home because you can interact with other people and you can focus on doing something (unless you work in a noisy factory or something). Isolating yourself will make you feel worse and it's likely that this will encourage you to sit online reading about tinnitus (like I did), which will not help you. Doing this will only feed the tinnitus and will keep you in a bubble focussing on it.
It takes time to accept it, so try not to think about your future (again like I did). Until your future rolls around, you have no idea how you'll feel and you cannot trust what your thoughts are telling you when you are under such duress. I've learnt this lesson twice in my lifetime.
Good luck, look after yourself, and don't put a timescale on anything.
- May 29, 2018
- 1,161
- Tinnitus Since
- 10/2017
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Neck/stress
- May 29, 2018
- 1,161
- Tinnitus Since
- 10/2017
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Neck/stress
Agreed. Ed is 100% correct. Sit at home on your own and if you have severe tinnitus it will consume your soul. Trust me I've done it.
You have to get up and be out all day every day pushing your body and mind......Fucking tough but otherwise you're finished.
- Jun 26, 2014
- 2,264
- Tinnitus Since
- 11/2013
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Drugs barotrauma
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