Tinnitus: Action Planning

This post is for people who have experienced chronic (more than 12 months) severe ringing in the ears. People who have experienced acute (less than 12 months) mild ringing should ignore this article because acute tinnitus cures itself within the year.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms as a result of your tinnitus do not wait to get help. You'll need to take action immediately.

Symptoms:
1. Calling in sick often, to work, in order to catch up on lost sleep due to tinnitus. (One study showed that this is part of the condition.)
2. Rapidly diminished ability to sequence or organize thoughts or ideas
3. A marked increase in forgetfulness or loss of mental clarity or focus
4. Reduced ability to speak clearly (slurring)
5. Hearing loss
6. Poor judgement
7. Losing track of time
8. Continuous exhaustion
9. Thoughts of harming yourself
10. Inability to control the volume (or loudness) of your own voice
11. Increased irritability
12. Increased aggressiveness
13. A continuous downturn in mood
14. Unusually high levels of frustration
15. Increased anxiety or irrational fear

Action Plan:
I. Assemble a Treatment Team (to help guide you):
1. Audiologist
2. Psychologist
3. Psychiatrist
4. General Practitioner
5. Neurologist (if recommended by 1-4 above)

II. If recommended by your treatment team (and when you feel it is appropriate) communicate your condition to the people who most need to know and who most care about you:
1. Spouse
2. Friends
3. Family
4. Co-workers
5. Supervisor

III. Network with other people who actually have the condition:
1. Join a group like the American Tinnitus Association (ATA). I've been a member for nearly two years now and you'd be surprised at the diversity of the membership (actors, basketball players, musicians, military veterans, etc.) who are all on your side.

IV. Keep track of new technologies that may help to relieve some of your symptoms.