Managing tinnitus

Personal stories about living with tinnitus

If you would like to share your story about living with a hearing impairment, and so help others understand the problems involved, click on Tell us your story.

 Haven't had a moment's peace
Karen Sawyer, 33, from Poole, has been suffering from tinnitus for more than six months. It has become so bad that it is stopping her from living a normal life.

 Told it's just a part of being deaf
Amanda Glasspell, 24, from Falkirk, has had tinnitus for almost 20 years. It is so bad that it stops her from leading a normal life.

 Like traffic roaring past
Sister Marika Rebicsek, 45, from Westcliff-on-Sea, has had tinnitus since she was a child. She says she has learned to live with it even though it affects her everyday life.

 They didn't take it seriously
Trisha Roberts, 53, from Birmingham, has suffered from tinnitus for more than five years. She says she didn't get any help from her specialist and was left feeling very alone.

 Forced to retire
Andrew Sutton, 54, from Ipswich, has been suffering from tinnitus for five years. He has learnt to live with it, but has had to retire from his demanding job as an accountant.

 Offered no treatment
Don Armstrong, 55, from Cardiff, has had tinnitus for more than four years. It is so severe that Don can't live life normally and is worried about his job as a financial advisor.

 Complete lifestyle change
Doug Markham, 54, from Shillington, Hertfordshire, has been suffering tinnitus for more than five years. He says his tinnitus is uncomfortable and often makes living a normal life difficult. He feels that help from his ENT specialist has been minimal and not particularly useful in alleviating the symptoms.

 One of the few lucky ones
Eve Munsey, from Leicester, has had tinnitus since 1997 and says it had such a profound effect on her life that she was admitted to hospital.

 A continuous whooshing sound
Dave Booth, 60, from Grimsby, has had tinnitus for more than twenty years and says he has just had to learn to live with it.

 Loud gunfire during the war
Eric Maggs, from Chester, has had tinnitus almost 60 years and puts it down to military service, where he was exposed to loud gun fire.

 Like Niagara Falls
Zelda Nicholls, 70, from Lowestoft, has experienced tinnitus for as long as she can remember. She has always suffered from ENT (ear, nose and throat) problems and, despite the worsening of her tinnitus in later life, has learnt to cope with it in the best way that she can.

 Making life a misery
Lorna Fitzgerald, 85, from Doncaster, has had tinnitus for more than forty years but has never received treatment. She has worn hearing aids since 1975 and says she is now almost totally deaf without them.