In pains me to say this, but a good way to feel like less of a victim is to read stories from vets. I would rather vets be taken care of, but it's amazing that they are still serving (as sources of motivation) even after they come back.
I have my disease flare up for the first time in 2015. I also went through a very, very rough time. Lots of pain, suicidal thoughts, etc. My brain ended up blocking a lot of it out. That was a different circumstance though, as this problem I have now is far more rare.
Easily, the most traumatic part of all of this is knowing how non-resilient the inner ear is. When I had debilitating chronic pain, I never wondered if I was undergoing major permanent damage.