Tinnitus, part 2
Last month, I gave myself a diagnosis of tinnitus. My ears have a strong persistent ring that has started to work its way into my day to day experience. I think it's been there for a long time, but for some reason, it has intensified this year.
I've been reading and listening to a lot of materials to try and understand more. First, I've learned it is a symptom, not a disease. It's a non-existent sound produced by my brain for some reason. I think mine is related to persistent loud noise in my younger years, which is very common. This week, I experienced my first "spike" - a sudden increase because of some external factor - and that led to feeling horrible overall. A headache set in and I just ended up going to bed. It was my first true experience of the tiny screaming fairy.
There is no one cause or one fix for any of these symptoms. My body is sensitive to some things and I need to pay close attention to causes and effects. I'm paying attention to my diet, my moods, my sleep...pretty much anything I do day to day which can affect my perception of the ringing. And that's the difficult part - it's all perception. I'm fighting against the feeling that I should just be able to deal with it because it's all in my head and the reality that this is affecting me in new ways.
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