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Tinnitus FAQ

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a resource for understanding tinnitus,
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Adjusting to Tinnitus

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Tinnitus is 'All in the Mind'

What can I do when all else fails?

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Adjusting to Tinnitus

Tinnitus is 'All in the Mind'

An article appeared in the Sunday Telegraph in the United Kingdom which generated a stream of protests in the alt.support.tinnitus newsgroup. Jonathan Hazell wrote the Telegraph and Alan Cocks, Berkshire, UK a regular contributor and respondent to the alt.support.tinnius newsgroup (support the Prostatitis Foundation http://www.prostate.org) reprinted the letter with permission.

Antecdotal Report Concerning Tinnitus
The Editor
Sunday Telegraph

Dear Sir

TINNITUS IS 'ALL IN THE MIND'

This headline to the interview of my work that was reported in last Sunday's Daily Telegraph has proved deeply offensive to patients and colleagues alike. It is a gross misrepresentation of tinnitus as something that is "imagined by the patient", their fault, the result of weakness, and something that they have to put up with. For the last twenty years the RNID has been swimming uphill against a tide of opposition often trying to trivialise tinnitus, and always saying that nothing could be done about it.

Tinnitus is indeed a complex mechanism involving inner ear, auditory cortex, connecting pathways, and areas of the brain outside concerned with emotional response, and autonomic control of body functions. For the most part it represents a conditioned reflex in the subconscious, beyond the individuals control, but accessible to behaviourial retraining techniques which the RNID has developed in conjunction with Professor Jastreboff, the eminent neuro scientist in the USA.

What your headline writer failed to realise was that false information, particularly negative counselling actually makes tinnitus worse. Telephone calls from distraught patients throughout the week would confirm that he or she has succeeded.

Yours faithfully

Jonathan Hazell FRCS
Head of the Medical Research Unit
Royal National Institute for Deaf People
London W1P 5FD
0171 380 9308

www.ucl.ac.uk/~rmjg101/tinnitus1.html

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Adjusting to Tinnitus

 What can I do when all else fails?

Here is one sufferer's advice:

Antecdotal Report Concerning Living with Tinnitus
What caused my tinnitus?

Everyone asks that question.

For some of us, there was an illness, injury, or incident that seems directly related to the onset of tinnitus. I'm not sure how valuable being able to answer this question is, but at least it seems to be answered.

For others, the onset is sudden, but for no obvious reason. For these people, it may be frustrating not knowing "why" but I'm not sure of the value of dwelling on this question.

For others like myself, the onset was gradual, over the years. Then, about a year ago, the pace of the onset increased to where I am now aware 100% of the time that it's there. If I'm active, I don't notice it. But if there's a lull in my mental or physical activity or if I think about it, it's there.

The point I want to make with this post is: Just as "Sh-t Happens", I'm afraid "Tinnitus Happens", too. And we're the victims, albeit to widely varying degrees.

Unless it can provide a path towards treatment (and only your doctor can determine this), I don't think it is useful to dwell heavily on the "why".

In my case, I fired shotguns with no ear protection when I was a kid & I listened to some too-loud music a few times. But that's all irrelevant now.

I've got tinnitus. At present, there's no known treatment for me. So, here's what I'm doing about it:

  • I accept that I have tinnitus and I've dispensed with "why".
  • I recognize that it is my problem, not the problem of my friends, family, & business associates. I don't complain about it to anyone.
  • If, because of my tinnitus, I need to ask someone to repeat themselves, I simply ask. No apologies, no explanations.
  • I will monitor my need to ask for repeats. If I have an underlying hearing loss, I may need a hearing aid. As unattractive to me as getting a hearing aid may be, it is my responsibility to have my hearing evaluated & take appropriate measures. It is not the responsibility of the people around me to act as hearing aids.
  • I will attempt the various herbal remedies, giving them enough time to see if they're effective. However, for my own sanity, I will accept my present condition as the "zero base line". If a remedy helps, that's a "plus". If it doesn't, I remain at the baseline. In other words, failure to be helped by a possible treatment is not a negative. I will not allow disappointment or despair at a treatment failure to get me down.
  • Whatever the seriousness of my tinnitus, I will remember that others have it much worse & still others have just been diagnosed. These are the people who need my support and encouragement. I will offer it when I meet them and by posting to this newsgroup. I realize that by helping others, I am also helping me.

Comments always welcome.

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