Living with the noise that won’t stop
Pain of living with the noise that won’t stop
JAN DAWSON was only three when she first described hearing annoying noises in her ears. “I remember saying it was like soldiers marching up and down a metal spiral staircase,” she recalls. “So I must have had tinnitus even then.”
Now, more than 25 years later, the noises are still there, plaguing her from morning to night, ranging from the shrill pitched sound a radio might make when it’s being tuned, to the dull, thumping sound of a heartbeat. And it never goes away.
“It’s probably been there to some degree ever since I was a child, but it’s in the last two years that it has become a chronic problem,” adds the 29-year-old exhibition designer. “I have it all the time in both ears and it drives me nuts!”
She’s not alone. Around 4.7 million people in the UK are affected by tinnitus - the term used for any noise that people hear in one ear, both ears or in their head - and this week the Royal National Institute for the Deaf and the British Tinnitus Association are aiming to raise awareness of the condition.
Just why Jan suffers is a mystery - unlike some with tinnitus she has no history of subjecting her hearing to constant loud noises like musicians, club DJs or heavy industry workers, the people usually affected by the condition.
“I suppose I’m a bit unusual to have this when I’m still not 30, but no-one seems to be able to say exactly why,” adds Jan, who lives in Penicuik with her husband Mark, 38. “Both my brother and I had a lot of ear infections when we were young - my brother has some difficulty with his hearing now - so maybe that had something to do with it.”
Jan has taught herself to block out the constant buzzing and thumping, but admits there are times when it becomes too much to bear. “There’s no escape from it - it drives you crazy. It’s always there and it gets worse when I get stressed out, that’s when it really annoys me. I just do my best not to think about it.”
According to the RNID and BTA, many people who suffer feel there is a lack of understanding from others. Karen Brunger of the RNID says: “Tinnitus can have a devastating effect on relationships and work lives. For those experiencing it for the first time, it can be very distressing and isolating. However, the good news is that there are things you can do to help manage the condition.”
Those with tinnitus can be referred by their GP to a hospital ear, nose and throat department. There currently is no cure, but there are many ways to manage tinnitus through sound therapy, habituation therapy (this changes your sound response systems so that you gradually become less aware of the tinnitus), relaxation and hearing aids if a hearing loss is present.
Jan’s tinnitus is a symptom of Meniere’s Disease - other symptoms include vertigo, hearing loss and a sense of aural fullness or pressure - an unexplained condition believed to be caused by excess fluid in the inner ears. While diuretic tablets may help ease some of the symptoms, Jan has found little to ease the misery of her tinnitus.
‘Itried going to a private doctor as well as the NHS, but hardly anything is really known about tinnitus. You end up being palmed off with a leaflet and sent on your way.
“I tried alternative therapies like hypnotherapy and reiki but I could have ended up spending a fortune still having it - hypnotherapy only teaches you not to think about it.
“Then there are those who think it’s something that your mind switches on and that it’s something you are imagining, but I find that quite insulting.”
While she struggles to cope with the noises in her ears, Jan has recently developed a further problem - her hearing is no longer as sharp as it once was. “I struggle a bit to hear low-level sounds,” she adds. “I can’t hear people if they are speaking quietly or in a low tone. I find it quite hard to understand what they are saying.
“I suppose I may eventually end up needing a hearing aid, but I’m trying not to get too worried about that just now.”
Despite it all, Jan refuses to let the condition take over her life. “I still go out to clubs where there is loud music, but I wear a special set of ear plugs to help protect my ears. I love to listen to music on my iPod - if I play it low I get a bit of respite from the noise. However, there’s a bit of a problem when I’m at the cinema because my tinnitus gets worse there.”
Her one hope is that research into the condition may find either a cure or a treatment which will make her life more bearable.
“People might not see it as anything important - it’s not exactly a life-threatening condition, after all. But sometimes I wish people who don’t know what it’s like could hear what is in my head for a few minutes. I know there are worse things you could have but if this gets any worse, I’m not sure how I’ll be able to cope.”
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