Tinnitus

I’m experiencing more

and more

ringing in my ears . . .

It’s very distracting . . .

Lifetime of that for me

you get used to it.

Your brain gets retrained

to ignore it.

Funny you should say that cuz

because I think that’s what’s happened

in reverse.

When I was little I had ringing

and we went to a specialist.

But he told me it was only

when I had a cold and things

and I agreed, because

he seemed to know more about it than me!

I’ve noticed it over the years

But I tried to ignore it, scared of what it means;

strangely ashamed.

But recently, when making the documentary for S4C ¹

I talked about it, and thought about it, and now I hear it

more and more—and it’s loud!

Not just ringing—fizzing, popping, then a high pitch sound

changing, higher, then jumps higher still;

like someone is cranking up a lever.

Hard to tell if the sound is really there,

or just in my ears.

One night, so loud, and seemed so near,

I couldn’t sleep!

Yeah, it’s only noticeable when

you are sitting down relaxing

or watching TV.

Once in a while my vision goes funny

like the room spins round in one quick bang

and my balance goes and then there’s a

loud wheeeeee in my ears.

My balance is bad in general.

Yeah it changes doesn’t it.

There’s currently a very light wheee

in my right ear—constantly for the last few minutes.

Oh! Your balance is bad too?

Why have we never discussed this before?!

Sometimes I actually fall over and

walk into sides of doors and things.

Have you got an MP3 player?

Get some soft, soothing music and listen to it.

Apparently it works to offset the tinnitus . . .

but it won’t work in my case heh heh!

Well that makes sense because

I notice it more when there’s silence

I’ll try some soothing music, thanks!

I’ve noticed a strange, different version

Cuz do you ever get tinnitus where

It feels like shock waves?

Like someone has hit a gong or there has been an explosion

and the reverberations, from the blast

are quite quiet themselves but

seem to eclipse or dampen

all other sounds around you?

Yeah loads of times!

Sometimes it’s like a bomb—boom!

Then my eyes swirl round

as if I have spun round the room

but I haven’t and it has happened

in a split second.

Then a long wheeee whistle, winding down.

then to a ringing ring, noise.

I prefer the boom type because

it slows down the tinnitus

rather than the ringing one which

goes on forever.

I had never thought, before you said,

that Deaf people can have tinnitus too

but of course they can because,

the sound is inside their heads, not outside.

Yeah lots of Deaf people

Experience tinnitus.