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I was driving home last night from a dance I'd been invited
to play at. Merrily cruising along on the highway, windows open, stereo
on, and I got to thinking - what a different world now then compared to
the way it was about six years ago.
Back then I wouldn't have driven
around with the windows open. Back then I wouldn't have had the stereo on.
Back then I wouldn't have been on the way home from playing banjo. Back
then I had stopped playing banjo. Back then life sucked.
I had stopped
one of my all-time favourite activities, playing music. The sound of the
banjo was so piercing that it hurt my ears. Yup, hyperacusis (over
sensitivity to sound) was an added bonus feature of my tinnitus. Oh, by
the way, not everybody with tinnitus has, or will ever get this. I shelved
the banjo and bought an electric guitar to fill-in the void, no amplifier,
just the electric guitar. The sound volume was gentle to my ears and I
even learned to play a tune or two. An electric guitar is nothing like a
banjo though, there's one string too many, them strings are tuned all
wrong and they don't even look round like real instruments. They just
won't even play real music. OK, ok, so I'm milking it, no flame wars on
this one, pleazzzzzzzzz!
Anyway, after a few months of struggling on
this thing I gave up, uncased the banjo and gave that another try. Still
loud, but doable. Doable nicely at about month nine or ten or so. Quite
enjoyable after eleven months in fact. I put the guitar up for sale and
when it sold I celebrated my own little private victory party. No one ever
knew this was a big deal for me but I tell you, wasn't it ever.
Life
resumed, normal life that is. I'm still not crazy about loud sounds but
that's simply because I don't like them, not because they bother me cause
they just don't. Not anymore that is.
I guess the moral of the story is
that there is a tunnel and that at the end of it there really is a light.
Someday, not too long from now, you'll be there too. Maybe things don't
look that way right now but they will. Was I Superman to overcome all
this? Naw, no way. Are you a whimp for still being back there? Absolutely
not!
Travel the medical path to make sure all medical reasons are ruled
out. If there are any, they might be fixable. If there aren't any keep
focussing on common sense and allow mother nature to set things right for
you, sooner or later she will. If you're in rough shape over it, don't be
shy to talk to your family doc. Maybe they can prescribe something to help
you take the bite off so you can "keep the lid on." No sense toughing it
out on your own or to be a hero about it, plenty of goodies available in
that department.
Sometime down the road I'd love to read your own
blurps about it being and feeling better than you are now. Maybe some of
the old salts on this newsgroup can chime in with their own success
stories cause believe you me, there's plenty of them.
Here's hoping
you'll soon be one of them,
Bart. |
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