A Life with Tinnitus

Tinnitus is one of those things you don’t really understand until you live with it.

It’s the sound you hear when there’s no sound. Ringing, buzzing, hissing. For me, it’s been there since 2017. Always present, especially when everything else is quiet.

I’m fairly sure mine came from years of loud habits I never thought twice about. Competitive gaming with the volume way too high. Music blasting through headphones. It didn’t feel dangerous at the time. Now it’s something I carry with me every day.

Why Tinnitus Happens

Tinnitus is often caused by damage to the inner ear, which can result from prolonged exposure to loud noises, ear infections, or even certain medications. When the hair cells in the cochlea are damaged, they can send false signals to the brain, creating the perception of sound when there is none.

Living With Tinnitus

Tinnitus isn’t just a sound. It messes with your head. Some days it’s barely noticeable. Other days it’s all you can focus on. Silence stops being peaceful and starts feeling loud. Sleep can be harder, and concentration too.

In my case, it’s thankfully mild. I mostly notice it when there’s no other sound around. But I clearly remember the first couple of months after it started. Its rough. You notice it constantly. You worry it will get worse. You wonder if you’ll ever stop hearing it. But eventually, you do something you don’t really plan at the end. You adapt.

Acceptance Took Time

At some point, you realise fighting the sound only makes it worse. The more you focus on it, the louder it feels. So you stop fighting and start accepting.

That doesn’t mean liking it. It means learning that your brain can tune it out when you stop treating it like a threat. So once I reached that point, tinnitus stopped controlling my mood.

What I Do Differently Now

Awareness is the first step in prevention. Protecting your ears from prolonged exposure to loud noises is crucial. So here is some hings I’m careful about now:

I wear earplugs in loud environments, such as concerts, clubs, or while operating noisy machinery.
I’m conscious of volume when gaming or listening to music (no more than 60% of the maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes at a time)
I take breaks from constant noise
I respect that ears don’t heal like muscles

What Helped Me Cope

For those already living with tinnitus, finding effective coping mechanisms is key to improving quality of life. Here are some strategies that have helped me:

Sound Therapy: Using white noise machines, apps, or even a fan can help mask the tinnitus sound, making it less noticeable. I’ve actually only used this the first few months, as a quickly learned to accept the noise and ignore it.
Professional Support: Engaging with audiologists, therapists, and support groups can provide valuable tools and resources for managing tinnitus.
Background Streaming: Listening to music or even watching something in the background can greatly help you with “forgetting” that annoying ringing noise. As a person that loves music, I can tell that I basically listen to music whenever i’m alone or simply performing some concentrated work. That might not work for everybody, but if you are a person that loves music, you probably won’t get bothered as much of this condition.

I don’t rely on much of it anymore. Over time, my brain learned to ignore the ringing on its own. But those first months, these helped me sleep and stay calm.

The Mental Side

You don’t beat tinnitus by eliminating the sound. You beat it by teaching your brain that the sound isn’t dangerous. I won’t pretend tinnitus is easy. And I won’t pretend everyone experiences it the same way. But I will say this: it’s manageable. Life doesn’t stop because of it. You adapt, you learn your limits, and you keep going.