Tag: Hearing

Speak up ! It’s not you it’s me….

Posted on by Karac Avalron

I have Tinnitus. I’ve had it now for probably a decade to varying degrees but this spring it has been worse. It’s always bad when pollen counts rise, I don’t know why it just is. What is Tinnitus? Here is a site with all the info you could want on it.

The quick version? It is a constant ringing in the ears due to damage done to the auditory nerve which connects the inner ear to the brain. Obviously you get this from loud noise. In my teens and 20’s, back in the hazy days of the late 80’s early 90’s I went to a lot of concerts, parties my ass off, had a blast and did IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO MY EAR.

I’m begging you to stop now. “Stop what dude?” Stop damaging your ears. Ear buds, car stereos, concerts (once covid clears). I am the future for you and let me tell you something it’s horrible when it’s bad. Now it’s not bad everyday but the days it is? I can’t think clearly, I can’t hear everything, it is depressing. Knowing your damaged sucks, knowing you can’t repair the damage is depressing, knowing you caused the damage is heart breaking, knowing you could have prevented it is soul crushing.

At times, it’s like having needles put in your ears

I know this is a “heavier” post then I usually make but I would not wish this fate on you. Is it survivable? Yes of course I am functioning well, but for the rest of my life I will have ringing in my ears and somedays it will be intense. I don’t want that for you, I don’t want you to damage yourself beyond repair and have to live with that nasty reality.

Turn the volume down, when you’re 50 (and you will be someday) you’ll reflect back on your younger life, hell you’re probably already doing that to a degree. When you do, ideally it won’t be with a ringing in your ears wondering what the hell you did and why. To end the post, I want to be clear this isn’t posted for pity, its posted as a cautionary tale, turn the volume down or you may damage your hearing and get Tinnitus.

I’d love to hear your responses but today isn’t a good day, you’ll have to speak up….

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Get outside !

A couple of quick reminders

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Hey folks, quick post today and in a little bit of a different format. I have a few things I want to remind you of, I hope one of them results in a positive for you.

  1. Help someone. Helping yourself sometimes starts when you help others. When was the last time you helped someone else?
  2. If something makes you smile, it’s worth repeating. In the last few weeks what were 3 things that made you smile? Do them again.
  3. Time is the most valuable commodity on the planet. Your time is limited, so is mine. The time we have and what we do with it is the most important decision we make.
  4. Do something for two other senses. We visualize a lot, go out and smell something really pungent. Find something really unique to listen too, something you haven’t heard before (whale songs?).
  5. Challenge one of your friends to a race. Simple, find a place and race each other. I bet you laugh your butts off and smile.

Just a reminder to do something outside of your normal. It’s too easy to get into a pattern, to maintain the status quo. Do something different, let me know what you did and how it worked out.

Tinnitus sucks – Vol II. – What you can expect going forward

Posted on by Karac Avalron

Do you have Tinnitus? I do and somedays it’s horrible. What is it? It is a constant ringing in your ears that varies day to day in volume but NEVER goes away. As I look around and I see more and more people with ear buds in I realize many of you are going to get very familiar with Tinnitus very soon. There is no treatment for this, you’re just going to have to live with it.

I know, you’re 20 something and you’re thinking to yourself “this is an old person problem” and to a degree you would be correct. The issue doesn’t manifest itself until you are older but the cause of the problem, damage to your ear, is likely happening now. If you use ear buds or ear phones you are at risk of damaging your ears.

Me? I went to over 100 concerts in my life, mostly in the 80’s and 90’s and listened to very loud music. Now as I type this I have a constant ringing in my ear, today it is pretty bad. You? Probably no issues at all right? So here is a preview of what will happen if you are listening to loud music or loud anything in your ear buds…

It’s to loud, no really, it is.
  • Your Late 20’s = you have to turn the volume up to hear everything clearly. It’s not just because the song is great, you can’t hear as well at lower levels.
  • Your mid 30’s = you have to focus more on what people are saying to hear them when they speak softly. Background noise interferes in your ability to hear, you have to lean in more to people to hear what they are saying.
  • Your 40’s = the ringing might have already started. Your ears will “itch” a lot. You will have a lot of wax in your ears. The things that happened in your 20’s & 30’s? Those are more pronounced now. Its real, and other people are noticing.
  • Your late 40’s & 50’s = you go to a doctor who specializes in ear, nose, throat. They tell you tinnitus has no treatment and is due to irreversible damage to your ear. You’re stuck with this condition, for the rest of your life.
  • Your 60’s = you’ll probably need a hearing aid. You won’t be able to listen to the radio in the car and drive because of the distraction of the ringing in your ears. When it’s really bad, you’ll get headaches and won’t be able to concentrate.
  • Your 70’s + = If you don’t have other health conditions that are more serious Tinnitus will begin to erode your cognitive ability in a measurable way. You’ll think less clearly as the ringing won’t go away. You may even be going deaf or there already.

I know its bleak but this is what you have to look forward to. You are choosing right now to not lower the volume. Your ears are not made to accommodate loud sustained noise, it is an unnatural state for them. It’s not too late of course you can turn the volume down and perhaps avoid some of the above. It’s likely though you’ve already done some damage to your ears and it’s not going to be fixed.

You have my empathy truly. I am in the “late 40’s & 50’s” stage of this condition. I’ve seen the doctor, I know what I am facing. Treatment? Therapy? Nope. I’m doing some holistic things, cleaning my ear wax when I can, candling, not listening to the radio when I drive, and getting as much quiet time as I can. In the end I have damage to my ears that can’t be repaired and I have a serious Tinnitus condition.

DON’T BE LIKE ME!

Check out Tinnitus Sucks Vol I here