Tinnitus…

Oh.My.God this is annoying! The constant buzzing and swishing sound in my right ear. The unbalanced feeling. The pressure. Learning to live with this continual background noise is becoming challenging...

Tinnitus: tin-night’-is or tin’-it-is (either pronunciation is correct)\ n. [L., tinnire to ring]: the perception of ringing, hissing, or other sound in the ears or head when no external sound is present. For some people, tinnitus is just a nuisance. For others, it is a life-altering condition. In the United States, an estimated 12 million people have tinnitus to a distressing degree.

Tinnitus comes in many forms:

* Some of the most common include a sound of crickets or roaring, bzzing, hissing, whistling, and high-pitched ringing.

* Other types of tinnitus include a clicking or pulsatile tinnitus (the noise that accompanies your heartbeat).

* The most common type of tinnitus is known as subjective tinnitus, meaning that you hear a sound but it cannot be heard by others.

It is especially bad in quiet environments - like trying to read or sleep. I am finding myself asking family to repeat themselves since I am just not hearing them. I need to be looking at the speaker now. I can't hear from across the room or down the hall anymore. Even if I do hear the sound from the other room, it is often mistaken for some similar word. The other day, Purina (as in cat food) sounded like urine. Also, medication became vacation. I am tired of saying "what did you say?"

I feel like I am listening to earphones with the right one malfunctioning. It is distorting the sounds I do hear. At least my exposure to deaf/hoh people has improved my natural communication patterns. I am already in the habit of looking at someone when I speak to them. I try very hard to maintain eye contact (which is hard for a hearie). I have stopped looking away when I am speaking or putting my hands on my mouth/chin. I rarely talk with gum anymore.

I already talk with my hands in loud environments where I can't hear easily (restaurant, amusement park, concert). It is just instinctual. Now I am doing it more and more. I also find myself naturally turning my head to the right, thus trying to listen with my left ear more.

I am not one to run to the doctor very often. Unless I am pretty sick, I avoid anyone who can stick me with a needle. This is getting to the point where I am going to have to break down and make that doc appointment. The pressure is giving me headaches, which I am already prone to.

I used to find a lot of comfort in locking myself in a quiet room to think or read or just nap. It was my rejuvenation. Now that is even interrupted by my noisy right ear...