#Does everyone have tinnitus in silence full#

I have learnt to live with tinnitus, although it’s rather ironic that despite having a very limited hearing range in my left ear, the sounds I think I am hearing are high frequency, something I haven’t actually heard for more than 27 years.

The second I stop, however, it will try its best to press the play button. I find that when I am busy, my brain is distracted so is unable to work up an internal playlist. I suffer from what is known as pulsatile tinnitus although some people suffer from a purer form of musical tinnitus, or musical hallucinations, which is the experience of hearing a few bars or fragments of music despite none being played (with apologies to any Aqua fans, there can’t be anything worse than having Barbie Girl on constant repeat).

Sadly, I’ve long-stopped making cardboard box shapes on the dance floor and there’s no ‘off’ switch. There was a time when what I hear all day – every day - might have made the top 40 rave or alternative music charts. Occasionally, my internal DJ decides to throw in a sudden mid-range tone which fades in and out for a few minutes. My constant audio irritant is a high-pitched pulsing ringing, sometimes accompanied by waves of fast clicking. That said, I doubt I am alone in occasionally yearning for just a few minutes of absolute silence – I’ve heard it can be golden!Įveryone’s tinnitus is different. Regardless of my physical or mental wellbeing, my worst scenario is being in a silent space with nothing to mask or drown out my tinnitus, although the alternative of the constant chatter of background noise does little to help my limited hearing. If I wear my hearing aid for long periods, that too can bring my tinnitus to the forefront.

#Does everyone have tinnitus in silence full#

When things are going well, it is for the most part just slightly annoying and hardly noticeable, but it has the ability to ‘pump up the volume’ and be in full Dolby Stereo when I am dehydrated, highly-caffeinated or over-tired. It is always with me, and is the first thing I hear when I wake up and the last thing I hear before falling asleep. It appeared around the time I lost part of my hearing in my left ear following acoustic trauma (exposure to a sudden, extremely loud sound). I have had tinnitus for just over half my life. Author Alan Dillon enjoying early morning dawn chorus in Muscat (and imaginary burglar alarms) It is actually brought on by a ‘change’ which alters the flow of information to the brain. It’s not known what exactly causes tinnitus, although medical professionals agree that it’s neither an illness nor a disease. But the words above are, in fact, from the NHS’s health guide on the auditory disorder which the British Tinnitus Association says affects approximately one third of the UK population at some point in their lives.ħ-13 February marks Tinnitus Awareness Week, an annual event which aims to increase understanding of the perception of sound in the absence of any being made externally.įor some sufferers, it is a temporary disorder brought on by an underlying problem, but for 8% of the British population, it is permanent. ‘ Buzzing, whooshing, humming, ringing, throbbing, hissing, music, singing.’ĭr Seuss could have hardly described it better had he rewritten his famous book Horton Hears a Who ! for a version in which the elephant had tinnitus rather than extraordinary hearing. Alan Dillon, Head of Chancery from the British Embassy Muscat, on his experience of living with the hearing condition, tinnitus.