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.

"I was referred by my doctor to the ENT department, where they tested my hearing and gave me hearing aids.

"I felt like they didn't take my tinnitus seriously enough, like they didn't fully understand how much of a problem it is for me. I didn't get any written information or advice, and the hearing aids actually made my tinnitus worse.

"As a financial advisor, I have to talk to people on the phone and visit them at home. Sometimes I will be in someone's house and the tinnitus, which sounds like a giant wasp nest, will start and I can't hear a word they're saying; the hearing aids only make the tinnitus sounds louder.

"I still haven't been offered any treatment, though I have read that counselling and white noise generators do help.

"I don't know what to do, some days my hearing is good but when the tinnitus starts I can't hear anything but the noises."