Success Story from Man That Fixed My Car

[Holly1987]

Yesterday my car broke down and I had to call road side assist. Once the man was finished fixing my car I told him I would step away while he shut the bonnet because I have tinnitus and sensitive ears. He was like "oh no way, I have that really bad too"

He told me his story, when he was in his early 20s he got really into heavy metal bands and went every weekend for years. One night he had a really bad ear infection but didn't think twice about going to a concert, when he woke up the next morning he had a super loud high pitched ringing in both ears, it never went away nor did it improve for him.

He recalled feeling very distressed for about 2 years and completely gave up all concerts. 12 years has passed and he said he honestly hasn't thought or cared about it for the last 10 years, I asked if he did anything to help and he said "nah I just got used to it and now I don't even notice it" he said he remembers sleeping was very difficult for a long time but he has no problems now.

We had a bit of a laugh because he did say "you know now that you have mentioned it I can hear it again" I was like "noooo I'm sorry!" But he didn't seem to care.

Anyway it was quite comforting to hear his story, he really did seem completely fine with it.

Oh I also asked how loud it was and he said he can still hear it whilst driving down the freeway with all the windows down so I think it was pretty loud.

 

[kmohoruk]

That is a real great story @Holly1987. Thank you for posting that!

It's interesting how we all have different reactions to our tinnitus. Good on that guy!

 

[Jazzer]

Yesterday my car broke down and I had to call road side assist. Once the man was finished fixing my car I told him I would step away while he shut the bonnet because I have tinnitus and sensitive ears. He was like "oh no way, I have that really bad too"

He told me his story, when he was in his early 20s he got really into heavy metal bands and went every weekend for years. One night he had a really bad ear infection but didn't think twice about going to a concert, when he woke up the next morning he had a super loud high pitched ringing in both ears, it never went away nor did it improve for him.

He recalled feeling very distressed for about 2 years and completely gave up all concerts. 12 years has passed and he said he honestly hasn't thought or cared about it for the last 10 years, I asked if he did anything to help and he said "nah I just got used to it and now I don't even notice it" he said he remembers sleeping was very difficult for a long time but he has no problems now.

We had a bit of a laugh because he did say "you know now that you have mentioned it I can hear it again" I was like "noooo I'm sorry!" But he didn't seem to care.

Anyway it was quite comforting to hear his story, he really did seem completely fine with it.

Oh I also asked how loud it was and he said he can still hear it whilst driving down the freeway with all the windows down so I think it was pretty loud.

Very interesting Holly - thanks for taking the trouble to post.
Of course, we can never know how loud somebody else's 'loud' is?

 

[JohnAdams]

it never went away nor did it improve for him.

This isn't a success story.

 

[Holly1987]

This isn't a success story.

Should I move it to another section? I wasn't sure where to post.

 

[JohnAdams]

Should I move it to another section? I wasn't sure where to post.

It is up to you my friend. I guess habituation could be a form of success. We shouldn't be settling for that though. Not now.

 

[Hazel]

Should I move it to another section? I wasn't sure where to post.

Nope, leave it here. Success means whatever the person experiencing it defines it to mean. It's not up to any of us to define what success means for someone else. Thanks for sharing this, Holly!

 

[OnceUponaTime]

Thanx for sharing hope Holly!

He apparently does not suffer from hyperacusis (based on his job.)
It may be easier to come to terms with tinnitus when there's no hyperacusis. My humble opinion.

Once

 

[emmalee]

Nope, leave it here. Success means whatever the person experiencing it defines it to mean. It's not up to any of us to define what success means for someone else. Thanks for sharing this, Holly!

Agreed.

 

[TLion]

If he didn't think about it for the last 10 years and lived a completely normal life it IS a success story. The thing about habituation is: it's not just a little better, ignoring bla.., it's like not having Tinnitus at all because you don't notice it. When I was habituated I sometimes thought about if I would take a cure and I came to the conclusion I wouldn't.

 

[Contrast]

If he didn't think about it for the last 10 years and lived a completely normal life it IS a success story. The thing about habituation is: it's not just a little better, ignoring bla.., it's like not having Tinnitus at all because you don't notice it. When I was habituated I sometimes thought about if I would take a cure and I came to the conclusion I wouldn't.

Do you have noise induced pain, hearing loss, what caused your tinnitus?

 

[Lane]

If he didn't think about it for the last 10 years and lived a completely normal life it IS a success story.

Absolutely agree 100%!

When I was habituated I sometimes thought about if I would take a cure and I came to the conclusion I wouldn't.

I'd be really curious as to why not. -- Thanks...

@Holly1987 -- Thanks for sharing!

 

[TLion]

Absolutely agree 100%!

I'd be really curious as to why not. -- Thanks...

Just because I didn't feel the need. It wouldn't have improved anything for me by that time.

 

[magiccat]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Julien87]

Poor mechanic. If only he had taken the time to sign up and listen to some advice here he could have lived a life of fear with muffs on all day long, obsessing about how his tinnitus fluctuates.

Joking aside. Just another great example of why the fear squad's advice don't apply to every case.

Thank you for sharing this success story.

 

[New Guy]

It's nice to hear a story like that. We all want t to disappear but it's good to know that if it doesn't life goes on for many.

 

[Tom Cnyc]

Poor mechanic. If only he had taken the time to sign up and listen to some advice here he could have lived a life of fear with muffs on all day long, obsessing about how his tinnitus fluctuates.

Joking aside. Just another great example of why the fear squad's advice don't apply to every case.

Thank you for sharing this success story.

Any comment I had on this, you've already covered with this post. Humorously at that. Kudos!

 

[Rohit Saluja]

I don't understand how people with no knowledge gets habituated so easily and makes no more mistakes.

 

[Holly1987]

I don't understand how people with no knowledge gets habituated so easily and makes no more mistakes.

I know, it's crazy to me too. I don't think he was lying, he really did seem very unfazed.

I imagine his job would also be pretty noisy at times, it surprises me it didn't get worse for him?

 

[TheDanishGirl]

I know, it's crazy to me too. I don't think he was lying, he really did seem very unfazed.

I imagine his job would also be pretty noisy at times, it surprises me it didn't get worse for him?

My best friends husband has tinnitus, for many years now. He describes it as mild/moderate. It has never gotten worse for him and this is a guy who goes to concerts very often, plays music himself ect. WITHOUT EAR PLUGS.

One could wonder how it has never gotten worse for him.......And I have.......But then I came to think what kind of person he: this is a guy who is mellowness personified......nothing seems to shake him......he is the polar opposite of an anxiety prone person like myself. His parents are the same way.......I have met them on several occasions and they are equally mellow and calm.

Suffice to say I envy him very much. I truly believe that this calmness has kept his tinnitus from getting worse.

Or the guy is just lucky But I doubt his case is only pure luck.

 

[spedgas]

I don't understand how people with no knowledge gets habituated so easily and makes no more mistakes.

I think this helped him become habituated. By not dwelling on it or constantly seeking help on internet forums helped him move on. I keep trying to take a break from this site, but I am finding that difficult.

 

[JuneStar]

yep. my husband doesnt let him faze him, tunes it out and forgets about it. he does wear earplugs at bars or loud places though. focusing on it, dwelling on it, or obsessing about it only makes it worse. it's like when you are doing stuff and not focusing on it, you dont notice it. But when you do, you hear it.

 

[Bam]

yep. my husband doesnt let him faze him, tunes it out and forgets about it. he does wear earplugs at bars or loud places though. focusing on it, dwelling on it, or obsessing about it only makes it worse. it's like when you are doing stuff and not focusing on it, you dont notice it. But when you do, you hear it.

Still doesn't solve the problem of sleeping does it? ......I get that you can keep busy and around enough distracting noise during the day to live vaguely normally but how are some of us supposed to ignore 90db of high frequency screeching noise while not 'doing stuff' and just trying to fall asleep so we can get through another day of this without being totally exhausted and depressed as shit.

 

[Agrajag364]

Still doesn't solve the problem of sleeping does it? ......I get that you can keep busy and around enough distracting noise during the day to live vaguely normally but how are some of us supposed to ignore 90db of high frequency screeching noise while not 'doing stuff' and just trying to fall asleep so we can get through another day of this without being totally exhausted and depressed as shit.

Can you hear yours over motorway traffic Bam? Is there anything that masks it?

 

[JuneStar]

he's never masked. he just forgets it's there and doesnt hear it anymore. he doesnt obsess over it. but wears earplugs with equipment, bars, concerts etc.

 

[Jazzer]

he had a super loud high pitched ringing in both ears

His 'loud' could easily be our 'quiet?'
We can never know by a description.

 

[Hazel]

His 'loud' could easily be our 'quiet?'
We can never know by a description.

Exactly. This is why I get so tired over arguments like "my tinnitus is louder than yours." Or claiming that someone else could only be habituated if there tinnitus isn't loud. How can you possibly make such a claim, when there are no objective measures?

In the end what matters is how much it bothers you, and I personally believe there are many factors beyond loudness that determine this, like: tinnitus variability, whether you have one or more tones, presence of hyperacusis and other co-morbidities like chronic pain and depression, the amount of social support you get, and any other life issues you may be dealing with that just erode your resilience. Plus, some people are just wired to not care about even very loud tinnitus; we can only envy them I suppose.

 

[Jazzer]

We know that Tinnitus occurs when stereo cilia are damaged and there is nerve death.
The volume depends on the extent of the damage.
We know that in humans, stereo cilia can not regenerate.
We know that the damage can not be reversed.

I am personally not that interested in whether somebody else's Tinnitus is louder than mine.
There is no way to compare, anyway.

But what I am interested in is claims that "Super loud high pitched ringing in both ears that never went away, nor did it improve" can then become undetectable unless one specifically listens for it."

Given that stereo cilia do not regenerate, how exactly might that happen I wonder?

My own inclination is to doubt the 'super loud' bit.

 

[Holly1987]

We know that Tinnitus occurs when stereo cilia are damaged and there is nerve death.
The volume depends on the extent of the damage.
We know that in humans, stereo cilia can not regenerate.
We know that the damage can not be reversed.

I am personally not that interested in whether somebody else's Tinnitus is louder than mine.
There is no way to compare, anyway.

But what I am interested in is claims that "Super loud high pitched ringing in both ears that never went away, nor did it improve" can then become undetectable unless one specifically listens for it."

Given that stereo cilia do not regenerate, how exactly might that happen I wonder?

My own inclination is to doubt the 'super loud' bit.

@Jazzer I'm certainly not trying to argue with you and I completely get what you are saying but I genuinely do believe it was super loud for him. He seemed like a pretty practical guy and was very matter of fact when talking about it. When he recalled how hard sleeping was he was grimacing.

I don't know you may be right... I guess no one can really know how loud anyone's tinnitus is but their own.

 

[Jazzer]

@Jazzer I'm certainly not trying to argue with you and I completely get what you are saying but I genuinely do believe it was super loud for him. He seemed like a pretty practical guy and was very matter of fact when talking about it. When he recalled how hard sleeping was he was grimacing.

I don't know you may be right... I guess no one can really know how loud anyone's tinnitus is but their own.

Holly - I understand what you are saying, and like you, I am no longer interested in interminable arguments.
I simply cannot conceive that 'super loud' can go down to 'undetectable.'
This is nothing to do with the irrelevant - "who's is the loudest" - issue, raised above - but just that I cannot understand how this could happen.

Perhaps I am a sceptic.....xx