Courtesy of Sue McGaughey
Sue McGaughey is a behavioral consultant, writer, and blogger living withtinnitus.
My journey with tinnitus began the way this condition affects many others.
One day, everything was fineand then it suddenly changed.
Courtesy of Sue McGaughey
The next morning, the ringing remained.
When I contacted my doctor, she diagnosed my problem as tinnitus based on mysymptoms.
Acomputed tomography (CT)scan showed no physical reason for the continued ringing.
Since there was no underlying condition to treat, I was advised to learn to adapt to it.
When I realized I couldnt cure my tinnitus, I learned how to live my best life despite it.
The biggest fear for me was the unknown:
In the beginning, I was in panic mode daily.
I lived with panic and fear every day.
Other issueslike a lack of sleepintensified my anxiety.
I came to view tinnitus as any one of lifes unknowns.
My biggest challenge was facing my fear of the unknown and living in the present.
We do not have control over the unknown, but we do have control over our known.
Be proactive and positive in your present.
Having a responsive healthcare team and a supportive therapist helped me focus on staying positive.
Lifestyle Tweaks to Help Manage Tinnitus Discomfort
I realized that tinnitus was just like riding a bicycle.
You fall, you get back up.
You cant let it overtake you or make you depressed.
You have to acknowledge it and just start living, And thats what I did.
I started taking positive steps toward living.
Its little things like that that can make a difference, but you have to advocate for yourself.
Look for strategies that work for you physically and emotionally so tinnitus does not overtake your life.
Of course, I have bad days when I cry or get upset and frustrated with my tinnitus.
One of the things it has taken is my freedom to go to a movie theater.
As a former movie reviewer, its something I really miss.
While I permit myself to feel sad about my condition, I dont stay there.
Sharing my tips and strategies allows me to address tinnitus in different ways, which can even involve laughter.
Doing this has helped tremendously.
Hearing from people who find my posts helpful is also rewarding.
The thing about tinnitus is that everyone is different.
What sets it off for one person might not set it off for the other person.
So, you just have to play around to find what works for you.
I have found that the more things you find to worry about, the worse the ringing gets.
Be aware of surrounding yourself with too much negativity.
I can make life better for me.
You still have to laugh, no matter what youre diagnosed with.
Maybe one day, Ill be able to share how I cured my tinnitus.
I choose positivity, and I hope you do, too.
