My tinnitus started around 10 years ago, related to a stressful event/time and panic attack. I hear noise 24/7, it's there when I go to sleep, it's there whenever I wake up. To go from silence to this has been mental torture. It makes it harder for me to hear and concentrate, being partially deaf does not help, makes me feel very irritated, or just constantly tired trying to focus. My tinnitus is generally a high pitch tone (think continuous recorder note) or combination of tones in one or both ears going up and down over a period of days and lasting several days before changing level again but, never goes away.  On very bad days it has been like a very loud alarm clock ringing in your head, or my head feels really buzzing.  The tinnitus has got worse and louder over the years. It's worse when stressed but, can get worse any time even when completely relaxed. What helps is keeping busy and finding things to distract yourself and removing that focus on the tinnitus. Knowing that you are not alone. There are millions of sufferers around the UK and the world, and we all hope that sometime in the future something will be discovered that really help us live "quieter" lives. The pandemic has increased the number of people that have tinnitus, and everyone has had to deal with a lot of difficult situations. I am fortunate to live in such an amazing place in Skye which is also so quiet, when not blowing a hoolie :) but, I really wish that I am able to enjoy that peace more and on the rare occasion when my tinnitus is not as loud I almost can.

The British Tinnitus Association is a charity dedicated to providing support for sufferers of tinnitus. Although there is no cure, BTA tries to provide information which might help alleviate tinnitus, provides information on the latest research and many other activities. Hopefully something will be discovered that will if not necessarily cure tinnitus, at least reduce the volume for sufferers. I turned to BTA looking through their website, forums, and magazines as a means of helping me during the worse of the pandemic and dealing with all the fallout as best as we can.

If you donate, many many thanks, it will really help many people and help more research on what can be done about tinnitus.

Many Thanks,

Robbie

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The British Tinnitus Association is the only national charity specialising in tinnitus support. Their vision is a world where no one suffers from tinnitus. They receive no money directly from the government, so are 100% reliant on the generosity and support of members of the public and grant-making organisations to be able to support people with tinnitus across the UK. All of their work is paid for by the generosity of supporters like you.