hello Caroline, I am what you call a catastrophic tinnitus case, with tinnitus very loud and sound as a dental drill, 24/7, 365 that can be heard over
any environmental noise, and cannot be masked by medical prosthetic devices. Think of it like sharp chronic pain that is drug resistant.
It started after a fire alarm exposure. What happens is one loses high frequency hearing too suddenly and the brain fails to compensate and begins to make up its own sounds in the area it lost - that is what I learned over the 3 years since I've had this blight.
I just woke up in the morning and it was there. I began losing my sleep, my sanity and with it all my friends, my job, my kids, everything held dear to me and eventually landed in a mental ward-only to find that nobody can help me. I was not crazy like every other patient on the ward, I just had a loud debilitating noise in my head that robbed me of sleep, relaxation, meaningful concentration, and most joy in life.
This existence for me is basically a day to day survival and hope for cure and fighting the urge to pick up a shotgun to my head.
The American Tinnitus Association (ATA) says-
***50 million people in the United States experience tinnitus to some degree.1 Of these, about 16 million have it severe enough tinnitus to seek medical attention and about two million patients are so seriously debilitated that they cannot function on a "normal," day-to-day basis.
Noise is the leading cause of tinnitus and our world has gotten progressively noisier. Noise is in abundance not only in recreational situations like concerts and sporting events, but many face extreme noise on-the-job. Firefighters are one of the many emergency service personnel at risk for developing tinnitus.
http://www.ata.org/for-patients/faqs
Here is one example of a tinnitus suicide published in the media.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-JOSE-Body-found-floating-off-Richmond-IDd-2621350.php
I'd be happy to help in any way I can.
It is good to see that people are trying to get tinnitus to media. By what time do you need the experience? Im a young person and got mine from loud music, but I am very tired at the moment so I could write smth to you in a couple of days
what do you need more specifically?
(I don't know whether i should laugh or cry). The awareness isn't much improved in 16 y btw, it's quite hard to explain my 7 year younger brother (23) to wear ear protection in Foo Fighters concert. Basically before the band starts the Dave Grohl himself should yell to the mic, that everybody, especial in front, should put their earplugs in. Maybe that would help.
) every day for 2-3 hours on max. volume for around 7-8 years. I never went to concerts, occasionally went to bars and clubs but I think the most important thing must have been the music. I ssuppose I must have good ears, as I never experienced any problems. I alsso always used cheap plugs, which are not able to play music that loud. Anyway, in October 2013 I stopped listening to my Mp3 and threw it away. I didnt know about tinnitus but I knew it could cause hearing loss. Of course my parents had warned me frequently about it but I never cared. I always thought I would wear hearing aids and never really thought what it means. In Nov 2013 sort of randomly, after a long stressful period I started hearing a faint ring and it hasnt left. In the beginning I hoped it would go away, but it hasnt. I went through a period of anxiety and stress,s but Id say I have habituated more or less. I suppose a genetic background of depresssion also plays role in the anxiety, as the ringing doesn't really bother me and I dont notice it unless i Think about it. I dont really go out anymore, because I dont want to it to get louder. I could wear plugs of course, but nobody makes custom made (eg. the ones that are made speficially after your earcanal) but nobody makes them here. I dont see this as a loss really, I just go to the theatre, art exhibitions and restaurants more. I have measured by hearing twice and its good or very good, so no hearing losss. I cant help but think though that if I had turned down the Mp3 50% I would have no tinnitus. I really appreciate you writing an article about it, because this is an issue that needs to be discussed. Doctors ssay already now that in 10-20 years when my generation hits middle age we will have a lot more people with hearing issues due to looud mussic, which has become a rule. You cant go out at night without having to listen to blaring loud music, because people dont think. Therefore i hope that in 20 years there will be music limitationss and fines for the ones who dont follow them
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