Tinnitus Awareness in School

[Ilija]

Why is it that in school we get scare tactics about drugs and teeth and sex but nothing about Tinnitus.
In school we had a drug awareness thing where there was a picture of a fireball and they said some dude smoked weed and jumped out of the building cause he thought the fireball was chasing him, they make up stuff like if you smoke weed it's only a matter of time before you turn into a junkie and all sorts of stuff.

For teeth it was pictures of rotten teeth and people having their gums cut and stuff again scare tactics to the maximum, this never made me take care of my teeth it just made me laugh at them, I'm not stupid you don't need to show me pictures of a disfigured abomination so I know not to go skinny dipping in Chernobyl.

As for sex OH MY GOD, STD's this, Aids that, teenage parent's again scare tactics while everyone already knew.
I don't see why they do this but with a problem as wide as Tinnitus nothing.
10-15% of the world population has Tinnitus and you're telling me that's not enough for someone to start a program where they go to school and tell you about Tinnitus especially now with all the loud noises in our life.

What we could have is they go to schools, tell children about Tinnitus (not scare them by showing pictures of people killing themselves over it) just telling how it works what it is and so on.
Then they have a recording of some Tinnitus noises they play to the students for a bit so they understand

This would have saved me along with a lot of people from getting Tinnitus from loud music.
I can still barely forgive myself for getting Tinnitus from only the second gig in my life, for being so unaware, I'm also mad that I have never had Tinnitus before, if I had had it for a week after a loud event before I would know about it and stay safe but no first time I get Tinnitus and it lasts for 2 months, who knows how more, who knows if it'll even go.
Next to that I have the sensitivity thing where if there's a ringing sound being produced by something my brain will pick up on it with time and it'll never let go, which is really really annoying at times.

This is the part where this turns into a rant a bit so no need to read below.

I have always had the worst luck, this one time our professor was mad that the class was making noise, so since we have numbers for example 1. Anthony Hopkins 2. Lewis Clark (lol) you get the point.
So I was number 10 so he goes 7+1= 8 I think great then he goes +1=9 I think ok then the motherf*ucker goes +1=10 I think ok he'll move on...NOPE that's right 2 weeks into the semester and I get an F for a bullshit reason, he even knew I was being quiet but he "had to make an example" when I asked why doesn't he punish the rest he goes "they've learned their lesson" yeah right they were back to screaming apes in 2 minutes.

When it comes to small bullshit things sure I get lucky.
But when it comes to big event's? fuck no.
I have friends who have gone to 50 gigs-sat next to speakers-got Tinnitus for maybe a day-perfect hearing no Tinnitus.
And when I say perfect I mean in the range of 15 000 Hz because let me be honest with you, if I had a choice between being able to hear 18 000 Hz which is useless and having Tinnitus and being able to hear 14 000 Hz and going deaf by 70 I would take the second option in the blink of an eye.

I just find it stupid how I just started going out, before I just sat at home playing video games, I start going out for a month and this bullshit happens.
Now I'm basically a woman on her period, 1 min I'm happy accepting Tinnitus being confident it'll go and being positive, the next I'm depressed and want to kill myself, then I just get angry as I am now.
I also get headaches quite a lot, ears sensitive to cold,not to mention that my Tinnitus is going away super slow because the class I'm in is loud and no one has heard of having a conversation below 80 dB.
Stupid people being loud about idiotic things.
I'm positive that if my Tinnitus is going to go it will be during January because that is going to be the time that I'm on winter break and actually have quiet instead of some apes yelling about how they bet 10$ on a game, WOW 10$ YOU MUST BE A FUCKING HIGH ROLLER.

Rant over, thanks for reading whatever part you did.

 

[RicoS]

Sorry man ...your story brought a smile on my face.... the high roller and making sounds like apes and feeling like a woman on her period was very funny. You should write a book

But seriously as funny as you tell your story....IT IS TERRIBLE.... but believe me a lot of people feel the same way. I too have times I feel realy great about it and stay positive but somebody just have to say the wrong thing to me and my mood turns like flipping a coin... i just don't know what how I feel the next moment. I hope you T will go away.... you just have it and you are young so perhaps it will fade by itself!! Stay strong m8

 

[Ilija]

Sorry man ...your story brought a smile on my face.... the high roller and making sounds like apes and feeling like a woman on here period was very funny. You should write a book

But seriously as funny as you tell your story....IT IS TERRIBLE.... but believe me a lot of people feel the same way. I too have times I feel realy great about it and stay positive but somebody just have to say the wrong thing to me and my mood turns like flipping a coin... i just don't know what how I feel the next moment. I hope you T will go away.... you just have it and you are young so perhaps it will fade by itself!! Stay strong m8

Nah don't be sorry I like making people laugh xD, never been one to take myself seriously.
Anyway I hope it fades, I'm actually pretty positive on the fading part no matter how depressed I get, whatever happens I remind myself.
-Lowered a lot and went from intrusive to non intrusive in only a month or so
-Not really reactive
-No hearing damage
-No history of loud music
-Lot's of people have it go
-Only reason why I believe everyone's Tinnitus is permanent is because I hang around on forums like these (no insult intended)
I think the main reason why it hasn't gone yet and also the main reason why I hear new sounds is because I'm really obsessive when it comes to certain things, especially if it's making me feel bad.
I just obsessed over it so much and all those bad emotions are maybe why it stayed so long in the first place.
When my friends get Tinnitus they just go f*ck it and it goes away.
When I got Tinnitus 1 day in and I wanted to kill myself, not joking, seriously considered killing myself but the thought of hurting the people I love by doing something so selfish just outweighed it, plus I remembered Tyrion's quote from GoT "Death is so final whereas life is full of possibilities" one of them being a cure being found and me not being around to enjoy it.
Anyway even with my current state of mind an my depressed mood I'm quite sure mine will go in time.
When I don't think about it and spend time in silence instead of being in a frigin' zoo it gets so quiet unless I listen for it I can't find it, and that's only after 2 months.
I got 10 more months for this to go away.
In the end as long as I no longer have sensitive hearing as I do now, I'm fine with waiting for treatment's and ultimately a no tinnitus drug, which by the looks of things is quite possible.
Thanks for replying

 

[RicoS]

What your saying is right....I also do not want stay to much on all those forums and in the beginning I also was very obsessive about my T ... I kept putting my fingers in my ears to hear if it changed and became less. (that is the most stupid thing you can do because you focus even more on it).
I like it when people tell their story in a way that you can laugh about it a bit even though you know it is serious.
The feeling of killing myself was the same feeling I had at the beginning. I have T more than a year and it keeps getting less so I hope for the best. Even if it doesn't go away.....f%ck it.....
I can say f$ck it because ..... it's on a level that you can accept it now. If it was louder perhaps I told you something else. So I understand that not everybody has this attitude and everybody his/her T is different.
I do not know why I still come here..... I heart most of the stories and things you can do..... perhaps it's just to see if you can help somebody......T changed me...... not my life....my life is still the same....I do the same job ...have the same girlfriend and my son is the best thing that happend to me. So I still do everything that I used to do....but it changed me as a person.
When I hear songs on the radio from last year....they remind me of how bad my T was in that period and how depressed I felt. So no music from 2013 for me *laugh*
My son is a sleep now and my girlfriend already to bed...so I have a choice now..... feel sorry for my self or go play Shadow of Mordor on my PS4 and watch a movie after that.......I go and play Shadow of Mordor and be a big kid with a toy
Tomorrow 2 students of me have to fight an MMA fight so that keeps me busy all day also.....life will go on..... it will not stop ...the earth will not stop moving....the sun will still shine.....so every moment I feel depressed and hate on my T is a wast of time..... Playing on my PS4 is also a waste of time...but at least I have fun.
When my son wakes up in the morning I see his happy face....and know why I have to keep on ..... I will not let T get to me like last year. And I hope this habitation proces will continu. Like I said....your young and I'm sure in time you won't notice it anymore because you got more important things to do. ;-)

 

[Grace]

Nah don't be sorry I like making people laugh xD, never been one to take myself seriously.
Anyway I hope it fades, I'm actually pretty positive on the fading part no matter how depressed I get, whatever happens I remind myself.
-Lowered a lot and went from intrusive to non intrusive in only a month or so
-Not really reactive
-No hearing damage
-No history of loud music
-Lot's of people have it go
-Only reason why I believe everyone's Tinnitus is permanent is because I hang around on forums like these (no insult intended)
I think the main reason why it hasn't gone yet and also the main reason why I hear new sounds is because I'm really obsessive when it comes to certain things, especially if it's making me feel bad.
I just obsessed over it so much and all those bad emotions are maybe why it stayed so long in the first place.
When my friends get Tinnitus they just go f*ck it and it goes away.
When I got Tinnitus 1 day in and I wanted to kill myself, not joking, seriously considered killing myself but the thought of hurting the people I love by doing something so selfish just outweighed it, plus I remembered Tyrion's quote from GoT "Death is so final whereas life is full of possibilities" one of them being a cure being found and me not being around to enjoy it.
Anyway even with my current state of mind an my depressed mood I'm quite sure mine will go in time.
When I don't think about it and spend time in silence instead of being in a frigin' zoo it gets so quiet unless I listen for it I can't find it, and that's only after 2 months.
I got 10 more months for this to go away.
In the end as long as I no longer have sensitive hearing as I do now, I'm fine with waiting for treatment's and ultimately a no tinnitus drug, which by the looks of things is quite possible.
Thanks for replying

I was overly obsessed just like you when i first came down to it.. As time goes on you will care less and less. I use to freak out over sounds that werent damagable.. Now im pretty much back to myself before.. Il go out to bars and such but just always wear foam plugs. The fear crippled me and made me have no enjoyment in life and almost a year later my T faded and im caring less and less. Ofcorse if it spikes up which it hasnt in the past year even after loud parties or bars (knock on wood) i would be to square one where you are, but i guess thats with everybody. If i have a bad anxiety day, i take a pill. Thats me though. Although alot will dissagree, my safe(er) zone is earplugs. I dont attend concerts or such but if im going out to a louder place which everywheres loud and i wanna get drinks, i pop them in and feel its the best i can do cause i love to go out and socialize. Ofcorse i take all the precautions about taking breaks and all that too. Ive lost people over the past year, know some that arent gonna make it and T just gave me a view on life that nothings perfect but you can still achieve all that you wanna do. And honestly i know classrooms get loud but i wouldnt worry about them damaging your hearing or making it worse. Afterall most people do have jobs that are 75-80 db i know mine is sometimes and idc, the less i worry the better. I use to get fleeting T 3 times a day, and now i get it like 3 times a month. I get excruciating random ear pain that i blame my noise exposure for, but what can you do? I figure i could sit here and obsess and not be happy, or i can try to make the best out of it and do the things i wanna do cause for all i know i could die tommorrow and theres so much i wanna do! As time goes on, please dont be scared to get out and enjoy yourself. Pop some plugs in.. It doesnt have to be a concert or anything but even like a musical or a movie or a bar thats not too loud. And once you go and realise your T isnt getting worse youl. Feel better. I took baby steps this last year and ill take more this year and the next and so on until they come out with something (which looks good). But hey feel free to bitch on here all you want lol i feel sorry for your situation, but you sound like a funny guy and remind me of myself when i get angry about the world and there loud annoying asses! Im sure if you look war far back on here, youl see some of my rants lol but if you need any help with anything, any questions or advice i am here everything will be okay!

 

[Ilija]

Just read that 30% of people get Tinnitus at some point of their life, I already know that for 10% if stays but on the other side for 20% which is about 1,4 billion people it goes.
While this doesn't mean mine will go surely it's good to know that my stupid belief based on endless internet research is stupid, surfing around I only find perma T people mainly you guys and while you're all very helpful and I consider each and every one of you a friend it builds a bad image that it's extremely rare for Tinnitus to go, then I find this and hey it's not rare 1.4 billion that's a lot of people.

 

[Floyd Mayweather]

I agree with you 100%. I have friends who go out to nightclubs almost every second week and they have been doing it for years. I know people who go to rock concerts almost every weekend. None of them ever heard of Tinnitus. I'm a chilled guy and stay at home most of the time keeping to myself, and when I finally go out to a nightclub for once, BOOM! Tinnitus!
I only been to two nightclubs before and after going to my third nightclub, the first time in six years, I get Tinnitus. Bull****! It's like everyone gets to party and have fun, except for me. It sucks. I understand how you feel.
The least it can do is go away and I'd be happy enough with that.

 

[Ilija]

I agree with you 100%. I have friends who go out to nightclubs almost every second week and they have been doing it for years. I know people who go to rock concerts almost every weekend. None of them ever heard of Tinnitus. I'm a chilled guy and stay at home most of the time keeping to myself, and when I finally go out to a nightclub for once, BOOM! Tinnitus!
I only been to two nightclubs before and after going to my third nightclub, the first time in six years, I get Tinnitus. Bull****! It's like everyone gets to party and have fun, except for me. It sucks. I understand how you feel.
The least it can do is go away and I'd be happy enough with that.

I just want the sensitive hearing to go, I can barely hear my Tinnitus in a quiet room, what bothers me is that I hear sounds from TV's and PC's, my own PC produces a beep like sound that the TV testing thing does only a bit deeper.
So even when my Tinnitus is low and fine I still get ringing and it's driving me crazy.
I wouldn't feel so bad if I had gone to concerts and gigs and clubs all my life, I wouldn't feel bad if I had gotten Tinnitus before so altleast I knew the risks.
But no I got Tinnitus for the first time in my life, for going to the 2nd gig of my life, and it may or may not go.
Great just great.
I really hope the sound sensitivity goes, the air sounds can stay I don't mind them at all.

 

[Marcini]

Interesting point on teaching tinnitus in school. It would never be a headline subject but it is something that should really get a mention. At least 1 hour through your education on noise awareness would surely make sense. Of course people who are perfectly healthy would probably take no notice of such warnings but even if it only sinks in with a few percent of kids it is at least a start. It would be nice, one day, for people to take the risks of noise exposure as seriously as things like smoking are now taken. More awareness is needed, and the more people you reach out to, the more the momentum builds and eventually it becomes common knowledge that noise is dangerous and can cause lasting damage.

I'm confused by the 30% figure you provide. Surely this figure should be much higher as anyone attending any noisy event or working in a noisy environment is likely to experience tinnitus, even if only for a few hours. While it is true that many cases of tinnitus that do not disappear overnight will fade over the coming days, weeks or even months, a good many more people will have to learn to cope with it long term. Who is affected long term and who gets better after a period of time seems to be pot luck.

The sensitivity you describe it something that I have had in the past and still experience on occasion. I believe it to be a type of hyperacusis, and while tinnitus might not improve for many, hyperacusis generally does. In my case it has improved though there are days where noises from machines cause my tinnitus to rattle and sometimes when outdoors at nighttime I will hear sonar type zaps.

All the best and please keep us updated of your progress.

 

[Floyd Mayweather]

I just want the sensitive hearing to go, I can barely hear my Tinnitus in a quiet room, what bothers me is that I hear sounds from TV's and PC's, my own PC produces a beep like sound that the TV testing thing does only a bit deeper.
So even when my Tinnitus is low and fine I still get ringing and it's driving me crazy.
I wouldn't feel so bad if I had gone to concerts and gigs and clubs all my life, I wouldn't feel bad if I had gotten Tinnitus before so altleast I knew the risks.
But no I got Tinnitus for the first time in my life, for going to the 2nd gig of my life, and it may or may not go.
Great just great.
I really hope the sound sensitivity goes, the air sounds can stay I don't mind them at all.

Sorry for the late reply. What do you mean by the sound sensitivity? Does some sounds hurt your ears?

 

[SoulStation]

Agreed. I get so So SO Frustrated when I see my fellow musicians and basically everyone I know (with a few exceptions) going out to shows/playing shows 24/7 and not ever having anything but "noise-fatigue"...It also frustrates me that the medical community to my knowledge has no way of saying why some people are prone to it. I think you will be ok you caught it early.

 

[Ilija]

Sorry for the late reply. What do you mean by the sound sensitivity? Does some sounds hurt your ears?

No no no unless it's extremely loud for instance someone screaming in my bloody ear after I've already punched their lights out once for doing it sounds doesn't hurt my ears.
I just don't know how to explain hearing sounds that other people cant.
My mom or friends don't hear my PC ringing but I do, I'm not sure if it's reactive Tinnitus as it never worsens it it just produces the noise, if it means anything the noise changes when I'm not paying attention it's quiet and barely bothers me but when I pay attention and start looking for it it starts being really really loud.
Also if I move around in certain positions I can't hear it and in certain I can although it's not a neck type of thing or anything like that.
Have you had this?
I think it might be selective hyperacusis, the sound doesn't hurt my ears but it bothers the brain somehow and when it locks on it has a hard time of letting go.
I hope it goes away, the air sounds I can live with easy no problem, I already have moments where I can hear them but I can't if that makes any sense xD.
I just treat them like they were always there and most of the time I can't "hear them".
I don't know I feel like mine will go just because even though my luck is really shitty at times it can also be OUTSTANDINGLY GOOD, I mean losing 10$ and then whilst looking for the 10$ I find a 100$-actually happened a few times xD.
While I was unlucky enough to get it like that I think I'll be lucky enough to have it leave eventually.

 

[Ilija]

I'm confused by the 30% figure you provide. Surely this figure should be much higher as anyone attending any noisy event or working in a noisy environment is likely to experience tinnitus, even if only for a few hours. While it is true that many cases of tinnitus that do not disappear overnight will fade over the coming days, weeks or even months, a good many more people will have to learn to cope with it long term. Who is affected long term and who gets better after a period of time seems to be pot luck.

Actually I believe I read somewhere that half the people in the world more or less experience Tinnitus at some point in their life, this is kind of good, means my idea of Tinnitus being impossible to go is pretty much bullshit.

 

[Floyd Mayweather]

No no no unless it's extremely loud for instance someone screaming in my bloody ear after I've already punched their lights out once for doing it sounds doesn't hurt my ears.
I just don't know how to explain hearing sounds that other people cant.
My mom or friends don't hear my PC ringing but I do, I'm not sure if it's reactive Tinnitus as it never worsens it it just produces the noise, if it means anything the noise changes when I'm not paying attention it's quiet and barely bothers me but when I pay attention and start looking for it it starts being really really loud.
Also if I move around in certain positions I can't hear it and in certain I can although it's not a neck type of thing or anything like that.
Have you had this?
I think it might be selective hyperacusis, the sound doesn't hurt my ears but it bothers the brain somehow and when it locks on it has a hard time of letting go.
I hope it goes away, the air sounds I can live with easy no problem, I already have moments where I can hear them but I can't if that makes any sense xD.
I just treat them like they were always there and most of the time I can't "hear them".
I don't know I feel like mine will go just because even though my luck is really shitty at times it can also be OUTSTANDINGLY GOOD, I mean losing 10$ and then whilst looking for the 10$ I find a 100$-actually happened a few times xD.
While I was unlucky enough to get it like that I think I'll be lucky enough to have it leave eventually.

Some noises can hurt my ears. It can be a bit sensitive at times when I hear like sharp noises but it's pretty uncommon so I doubt it's hyperacusis. Yours sounds similar to mine so I think your fine there

And yeah, it's hard to describe what your Tinnitus sounds like. I couldn't really describe mine when I first had it, but now I can. I have ringing in my ears and sometimes in my head, but it's usually not that loud and it doesn't bother me during the day, but I can "feel" the ringing in my ears.
And those "air sounds", I think I have that. I usually describe it as a kind of a blizzard in my head cause it's like there's a swirling going on in my brain, and it's hard to hear it but I do know it's there. I can only hear these air sounds when I'm lying down in certain positions. The good thing is, I don't hear these air sounds as much as I used to. Sometimes, I'll go through a few nights without hearing it at all.

Your Tinnitus sounds identical to mine except I don't hear beep noises from TVs and computers, and I think mine was caused by going to a nightclub(my 3rd visit). Like yours, I think mine will go. But's it going to take a few months. It takes ages to heal. Mine has improved a lot since I first got it and I think yours will be the same All you can do is be patient and wait for it to go and avoid loud noise. I think you will have it for a few more months so hang in there.
And try take some magnesium tablets once a day. I hear they can help your ears heal.