Tinnitus Awareness Week

To recap for new readers. Our introduction to Meniere’s Disease was when Sue woke me in the middle of the night to ask why all the church bells were ringing, she had tinnitus. The internal noises have never gone away but have increased and decreased in severity, at present her tinnitus is driving her to distraction. Even though she can’t hear external sounds, her ‘inside’ noises are so loud she is overwhelmed. A few times she’s asked me to put my ear next to hers and see if I can hear the sounds.

I’ve done the various tinnitus experiences but no matter how bad the sounds are I know they’ll go away. Don’t try this at home – I used to shoot and once put hot-loaded .357 Magnum rounds down the range without hearing protection (much to the Range Officer’s objection) to experience the resulting  tinnitus  for longer than a few hours. I even rode my throaty (aka. Very Loud) Harley down to Brighton and back wearing a helmet that didn’t cover my ears, again to find out what it was that Sue lived with.

Neither of those attempts provided a greater understanding because I knew (well, was fairly confident) that my hearing would return to normal and I would forget the torment that is tinnitus. It was also a stupid thing to do, I could have ruined my hearing which wouldn’t have helpedus at all. But, that was a before we’d heard (once again, no pun intended) of Hearing Link.

I’ve seen Sue in tears because of the tinnitus, I’ve seen her struggle to cope with the endless cacophony of sounds, and there’s not a damn thing I can do. I try to be encouraging, to smile when I look at her and always give her hand a squeeze – but that’s all bloody pointless and just makes me feel as if I’m doing something.

There are coping skills, even just bitching with other sufferers can help. Do go to Hearing Link’s site and always protect your hearing.

I can’t be hypocritical, I have to admit that I don’t wear hearing protection when I ride bikes despite the recommendations. I can’t stand earplugs for more than twenty minutes, I feel detached from a bike if I can’t hear the engine and I have to be able to hear other vehicles to feel safe.