Hey everyone, I've been on the board observing since July 2014, which is when my constant tinnitus started. Finally decided to post for the first time.
First of all, thank you so much for the creators, moderators, and users of this forum. You've been of tremendous help, I can't thank you all enough. I've developed T after recklessly blasting music for years through my headphones, in my car, through loud guitar amplifiers, and concerts. I didn't think I would get a constant ringing in my ears / head, but.. you know what happened. It's been almost 4 months since T started, and it has easily been the most difficult thing I've had to face in my life so far. I realize physically it can't hurt me, and it only has power if I give it power, but mentally its exhausting. I've never dealt with depression and anxiety in my life until T started. It's funny, before T, I was always grateful for my positive attitude and lack of depression / anxiety, which some of my friends have problems with. Now I know exactly how it feels.
I feel as if my exuberant energy has been zapped from me. I try to focus on the moment and be grateful for what I still have, but it's hard. I know it'll get better with time, but nonetheless it's difficult. To top it off, I had / have to deal with replacing my stolen car and finding a new place / roommate since I've had to move in with my dad in the old house I grew up in as kid as he's renovating it to rent it out again. I'm grateful to have a place to stay, even though its an hour out of Los Angeles, where I go to school. The drive along the coast is absolutely beautiful though. It could be worse. The problem is I've been losing all motivation to do anything really. I turn in class assignments barely on time and of average quality.. but I've been going through a lot so it's kind of understandable. I'm not very happy with it though.
Anyway, anyone with tinnitus knows what I'm going through. I've been scouring the internet for ways to potential help me heal T / habituate to it easier. I'm a strong believer that the power of the mind is greatly unknown. What I mean to say is that although tinnitus was caused my acoustic trauma to my ears, I think the problem is a signal of something deeper that's wrong with me. I try to find something positive to give to my T, so it's some way I can improve myself. It's just so hard. I fully believe that advancing medical technology will cure tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss within the next 5-15~ years. That's a long time still, but I know with all the research and testing being done, along with how many people deal with T, it will come.
Anyway, enough about T for now. A little bit about myself. My name is Rory, I'm a "guy from Hawai'i" living in Southern California, studying photography. I'm 21 years old, pisces (yeah, I'm emotional). I dream and aim to be a professional photographer, taking pictures of music events, artists, traveling, and meeting many interesting, beautiful people. I also play guitar, which I've been playing for about 7 years. Music and photography mean the world to me, I have to artistically express myself.
Nice to meet you all, expect me to post once and a while, and scour the forums every so often. Once again, I'm incredibly grateful for the place to talk about the battle we all face. Silence is golden. We'll have it again, it is just a matter of time. Like the Beatles said, we need to Cooome Togeeetttheeer to get through this. I try to hang out with friends as much as possible, as they're the ones that help me cheer up.
Much love.
First of all, thank you so much for the creators, moderators, and users of this forum. You've been of tremendous help, I can't thank you all enough. I've developed T after recklessly blasting music for years through my headphones, in my car, through loud guitar amplifiers, and concerts. I didn't think I would get a constant ringing in my ears / head, but.. you know what happened. It's been almost 4 months since T started, and it has easily been the most difficult thing I've had to face in my life so far. I realize physically it can't hurt me, and it only has power if I give it power, but mentally its exhausting. I've never dealt with depression and anxiety in my life until T started. It's funny, before T, I was always grateful for my positive attitude and lack of depression / anxiety, which some of my friends have problems with. Now I know exactly how it feels.
I feel as if my exuberant energy has been zapped from me. I try to focus on the moment and be grateful for what I still have, but it's hard. I know it'll get better with time, but nonetheless it's difficult. To top it off, I had / have to deal with replacing my stolen car and finding a new place / roommate since I've had to move in with my dad in the old house I grew up in as kid as he's renovating it to rent it out again. I'm grateful to have a place to stay, even though its an hour out of Los Angeles, where I go to school. The drive along the coast is absolutely beautiful though. It could be worse. The problem is I've been losing all motivation to do anything really. I turn in class assignments barely on time and of average quality.. but I've been going through a lot so it's kind of understandable. I'm not very happy with it though.
Anyway, anyone with tinnitus knows what I'm going through. I've been scouring the internet for ways to potential help me heal T / habituate to it easier. I'm a strong believer that the power of the mind is greatly unknown. What I mean to say is that although tinnitus was caused my acoustic trauma to my ears, I think the problem is a signal of something deeper that's wrong with me. I try to find something positive to give to my T, so it's some way I can improve myself. It's just so hard. I fully believe that advancing medical technology will cure tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss within the next 5-15~ years. That's a long time still, but I know with all the research and testing being done, along with how many people deal with T, it will come.
Anyway, enough about T for now. A little bit about myself. My name is Rory, I'm a "guy from Hawai'i" living in Southern California, studying photography. I'm 21 years old, pisces (yeah, I'm emotional). I dream and aim to be a professional photographer, taking pictures of music events, artists, traveling, and meeting many interesting, beautiful people. I also play guitar, which I've been playing for about 7 years. Music and photography mean the world to me, I have to artistically express myself.
Nice to meet you all, expect me to post once and a while, and scour the forums every so often. Once again, I'm incredibly grateful for the place to talk about the battle we all face. Silence is golden. We'll have it again, it is just a matter of time. Like the Beatles said, we need to Cooome Togeeetttheeer to get through this. I try to hang out with friends as much as possible, as they're the ones that help me cheer up.
Much love.