Same for me, I think I probably had it since a young age (lots of middle ear infections) but it seemed normal to me so I didn’t realize it was unusual until much later in life. I freaked out about it for a few years but realized it was and will always be there and didn’t bother me before, so I pretty much went back to it not bothering me anymore.
I had a mental health crisis when I first realized I had it (triggered by a really bad audio mix at a concert and some rando chastising "you're gonna fuck up your hearing" when I didn't have earplugs). A few months followed of "oh shit, is my life experience permanently broken now?" and all the bad feelings that connotes. I was in a really bad place.
I've always been someone who can hear electronics - when CRTs are popular, I'd know if one was in the upcoming room while I was still in the hallway. At some point, I realized that I heard all sorts of minor sounds just by existing in my apartment, and that tinnitus isn't much different than that. Helped me chill out about the whole scenario.
My mom taught me "lean into the good, and you'll feel more of the good; lean into the bad, and you'll feel more of the bad." That's certainly been my experience with tinnitus. Letting yourself panic and gloom about it is the worst part of having it. If you don't assign valence to it (don't let it be good or bad, just a thing you experience), it loses its power to drive you mad.
What I was told: salt, caffeine, alcohol, and stress.
(I check sodium on the Nutrition Facts of packaged food (it's usually high), don't touch even decaf, don't touch alcohol, and try to minimize the bad kind of stress that has no constructive solutions.)
Does everyone not have ringing in their ears when they really pay attention? Or like when they are trying to go to sleep? I always thought everyone had it because I had it since childhood. Still have to this day, same intensity. During the day it does not bother me, nor do I notice it. But if I pay attention, it feels pretty loud.
I've always wondered that too. In very quiet rooms I hear quite intense ringing. I have distinct memories as a young child of wanting a fan turned on in my bedroom at night because of the sound of silence was ringing. It seems like what people describe as tinnitus, but... I don't seem to have any of the hearing loss that is always described as causing tinnitus. I can quite clearly high pitched noises such as CRT monitors and ultrasonic mosquito repellent. I don't have a history of working with loud equipment or going to concerts, and in any case that doesn't explain why I would hear it in childhood. It all doesn't quite correspond with with a lot of the causes and symptoms I hear described.
Apparently 60-80 percent of people can hear a sound like a faint buzzing or hissing when inside a perfectly anechoic chamber but Tinnitus is more noticeable in regularly quiet environments.
I’ve always wondered this. This sound which when reading about these low sound rooms, turns out to be blood flowing through the ears. Your brain is not getting any stimulation so amplifies your hearing - is this what tinnitus is but just significantly louder and all the time?
> I always thought everyone had it because I had it since childhood.
I can remember being about five or six years old and hearing the Simon and Garfunkel song, "The Sound of Silence" and I thought my tinnitus was what they were talking about, and that everybody had it. I cannot remember a time when I didn't have it. Since it has always been with me, it doesn't really bother me. I feel bad for people who get it later in life and for whom it is a very large annoyance.
Yep, I've become excellent at ignoring it, only about 2% of the time does it get bad enough to be bothersome or noticeable. I always comment on these "this will make your tinnitus go away" posts with be careful, you may find it makes the times you can't use the device or product even worse because now you have a taste of real silence!
There's absolutely nothing you can do about tinnitus except adjust to it. You really do just have to relax and accept it, and it essentially fades into the background. That's literally the best treatment available.
It's really one of the most true things about tinnitus. It takes a while to put your mind in order to accept it, but once you're done, the problem goes away (but tinnitus never does).
Yeah, similar here. The brain seems to do a pretty good job of 'tuning it out' most of the time after a while. But as soon as you start thinking about it, it's there and louder than ever.
