Tinnitus: Daily Living

A Taoist Proverb:

A man was walking through the woods and he noticed a tiger hiding in the bushes. He picked up his pace and walked faster and then began to run. He heard the tiger running behind him. He reached a cliff edge with a sheer drop down. He stopped and turned around. The tiger swiped at the man with his paw and barely missed him, the man fell backward head over heels over the cliff edge. 

As the man tumbled, he was able to barely catch a berry bush halfway down the cliff wall. The berry bush had one ripe berry on it. The man looked up and saw the angry tiger snarling above him. He heard a noise below. He looked down and saw a second tiger below him. The second tiger was huffing, pacing and looking up at him. This tiger began to leap up to try to catch his heel. The man was just out of reach of the tiger and holding tightly to the bush. 

The man reached out with his other hand and plucked the berry and put it in his mouth. He savored the berry as he swirled it around in his mouth. He appreciated the berry. It was the best tasting berry that he had ever eaten in his life. 

The Moral as Applied to Chronic Severe Tinnitus:

The moral to the story is that the first tiger represents the past (what you used to be able to do before tinnitus). The second tiger represents the future (the fact that you will likely never have another quiet moment for the rest of your life and that there is no cure for auditory system damage resulting in tinnitus). The berry represents the present (what you can do today).  

Daily Living:

For people with tinnitus, living moment-to-moment and focused on today is difficult but we really don't have much choice. We can't live in the past or focus on the future or the results can be harmful. 

If you have chronic severe tinnitus it is important for you to adopt the right mindset. Many people in third world countries have adopted the philosophy of living for today. 

If you are a Christian, it is a Biblical principle to not worry about tomorrow. Also, it is good to live out a quiet peaceable life that is well pleasing to God. 

Shakespeare penned the phrase, "What is done cannot be undone." We have to accept tinnitus and live. We don't have to plan activity upon activity, filling up our calendars with stress...especially since we don't know whether we will get enough sleep on any given evening. 

I find that in planning I make sure that I communicate to stakeholders that I may not make it because of the tinnitus. I don't ever drive groggy. If I didn't sleep, then I don't participate. It disappoints people sometimes. It makes me look unreliable at times. But, I cannot concern myself with the consequences of a health condition that cannot be undone.

If I did get enough sleep, the night before the activity, then I go to the activity as I originally intended. I eat the berry.