Daily Dunklin Democrat

Observations - coping with tinnitus

Posted Tuesday, January 29, 2008, at 1:11 PM
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Life holds many paradoxes.

There are those who cannot hear who would love to be able to go to the doctor, receive a treatment, and hear. Then, there are those who, in the words of Scripps Howard New Service writer Julie McKinnon, are "Desperately seeking silence."

She writes about those who suffer with, or endure, tinnitus. Reportedly, there are about 12 million Americans who have tinnitus. I am among them.

What does that mean? For me, it means I almost always hear this loud ringing noise, sometimes louder than others, sometimes becoming very irritating. For some, it means pain more severe than a ringing noise. For all, we do sometimes seek silence from the ringing and/or pain.

The sound of a fan blowing, or of music, or of the television masks the ringing. So does conversation.

I'm wondering, How many of you experience tinnitus? What do you do to cope?

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WOW! It's funny you mentioned this. For the past few months I've had this loud ringing in my ears and I thought it was my sinus problem. And as you know, I'm a DJ & Singer, So I was really hoping for my nose to be the problem and when it clears up, I'd be done with the ringing. Well,,,,I Was Wrong!

I then found out by my eyes getting red and hurting that not only do I have glaucoma but schloritis in the eyes. So again I thought okay it will clear up once I take the drops and clear up the schloritis.. Wrong Again!!!

So yesterday I looked up ringing of the ears to see what caused it. And from everything I gather tinnitus is the answer. I have not been to a doctor for it yet. And I dont think it will help from what I've read. So I just clean my ears alot, and sometimes I have to close my ear holes with my fingers and make them sound like they are popping.

That dont make it go away, but it does ease it a bit.

-- Posted by BadBones on Tue, Jan 29, 2008, at 3:38 PM