Tinnitus can leave you feeling defeated and trapped, having to just ‘accept’ it, however, a recent patient of Debbie, our audiologist, shows the importance of seeking help and treatment for tinnitus.
Brian had all but given up on ever having a normal life.
He has been suffering from severe tinnitus for the last 15 years, considering he is only 45, this has made not only his life but his family life a living nightmare. He was informed by the NHS that he only had 20% hearing in his right ear and was prescribed 1 hearing aid to try to help him. However, all it did was “whistle and drive everyone potty”. He had become a shell of himself, only going out to work, coming home and refusing to socialise due to lack of hearing and constant noise in his right ear. As a last resort, his daughter made an appointment for him to come in and see me with both his daughter and his wife. To begin with, Brian was quiet and not joining in with any conversation, he left the chat to his wife and daughter.
I decided to be direct with him and explain that tinnitus is something we have to learn to live with and make a companion of, as opposed to an enemy. However, on testing, I realised that he had better hearing in his right ear than he thought, though, we did find a loss in the left ear.
After sorting out his hearing loss, I then put the tinnitus programme on his right ear, using Broadband Noise Red, Automatic level steering and modulation tranquil. He could not believe the difference and had tears in his eyes, his family were also as equally emotional. His daughter said there was only one decision for her dad and that was to go ahead and they would find the money between them. They pitched in for the deposit and the rest was put on finance. Brian informed me that I had changed his life, he was in the moment both at work and at home. He had never been able to converse with his grandchildren and they had given up trying to communicate with him. They now don’t stop talking to him and want him involved in every chance they get. He also feels able to finally go out for dinner and a pint. This shows the small changes that we can make can have a profound impact on our patients.
Our team are here to help, from earwax removal to offering Tinnitus Retraining Therapy. Call our team on 0333 320 7788 to discuss how we can help you.
