Living With Tinnitus For 7 Years — Tips To Manage It
I still remember the day as it was yesterday that the buzzing in my year started. I had returned home from a swim, and it looks like a lot of water has gone in.
The next day, there was a buzzing in my right ear.
At first, I thought, it was just a simple thing that will go away. Then, days went by, and weeks and now years, the buzzing has not stopped. Over the years, I simply assumed that it will go away, and checking up with the doctors would take care of it.
Then, I discovered that there is no way to treat this condition. It’s something that happens with age, and it seems to affect mostly men. I don’t know if it was the swimming water getting lodged in my ear that made this happen. Or, I always had a issue with my ear, and this was inevitable.
I am already living with a condition in my nose since I was 19, and this was just another condition for me to manage and live with.
Living with Tinnitus has been painful. The problem becomes acute when the situation is silent. Like, when you are waiting in a quiet room. Or, when you are about to sleep. Or, when you just want to get away from everything in a quiet spot.
But, with Tinnitus, you are never alone. The buzzing follows you wherever you go. So, that’s the sad part.
So, how do I manage it?
Well, having some kind of background noise, always helps drive away this noise.
For one thing, its almost impossible to find a quiet spot these days. I mean, when was the last time anybody found a truly quiet spot. Even in the quietest room, you would have a fan spinning? Or, the air conditioning buzzing. So, yes, any sort of background noise will ‘over power’ the buzzing noise from Tinnitus.
While working, I usually have a movie or music playing. I have been doing since I was a kid, so, I am doing it now. There are many apps in the mobile App Store, where you have ocean sounds or meditation sounds or similar sounds. I usually get jazz sounds or other sounds from the Apple Music library which is available as part my apple one subscription.
Cheaper than having to pay for the apps which have all kind of purchases anyway.
Also, you could focus on something. For instance, when I am typing this and my mind is completely focused on it. The mind automatically weans away the buzzing and every other sound. Like, when you are having a conversation or boning, obviously, your mind is elsewhere.
So, that takes away the effect of the buzzing.
Final Note
When I found out that there is no solution to this problem, I was crushed.
Then again, a few years ago, a best friend died along with her baby. Life is, cruel and short. Very soon we will all die, and some of us, sooner than others. So, yes, there are worse, far worse than a constant buzzing in the ear, and we just have to move on and thank the gods for what is still good in our lives.
I work as a full time freelance coding tutor. Hire me at UpWork or Fiverr or Stack Overflow. My personal website is here. Find more of my art at Behance and Unsplash. Also, I have a Podcast about everyday life. And, a 2nd Podcast, where I talk about freelancing.
