Dittos loyr, sums up my feeling exactly. It's a shame really, I mean it's not like we want sympathy but a little empathy would go a long way....especially when I have to be so concerned about the flu you (friends/family) caught....which will be gone in a week;)
Sue

Super tinnitus is an ok term.. Personally I prefer to tell people I have
**INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH** tinnitus... bob

"industrial strength", I like it. When people tell me " oh I have that too" I usually ask them when was the last time they about suicide because of it. That usually shuts them up.

"thought",..sorry unable to edit on this antiquated system.

My brother has it, but can't hear it all during the day, only slightly at night, when sleeping.

My dad had it from WW 2, he got use to it, it did not bother him at all in the later years. He even had hearing loss.

My mom has it, but she deals with it quite well. She said it can get pretty loud at times. But she can sleep through it, without taking anything. She got hers from the dentist

I do find it irritating when I mention I have tinnitus and someone says 'oh I have that', like it's nothing.

When my first bout of t started 12 years ago at first it was so bad I couldn't mask it to save my life but after a month I could with a fan or radio. (back then the worst part was sensitive hearing like hearing crt tvs, which i still have, I can hear lots of things others cant hear, and its all very annoying)... Now my T is cant be masked most of the time no matter what I do and its been like this for 5 months. To "me" your LUCKY if u can mask it cause Id give anything to be able to mask it easily.

Mcartyj: LOVE your suicide comment! Lol! So true!

I actually have done a form of that and told people, "It took me six months to stop praying for death every night before I went to bed and another six months to stop crying every few days and telling my hubby, 'I can't live like this!'"

Maxaman: Low-level laser device? Please explain! 0_o

Everyone definitely have tinnitus. GOd created us with a "Hum" when we are born. it is a matter of how much focus you put on/think about it.. It is simply worthless to commit suicide because of these self inflicted Tinnitus. Life is more worth than these.. After sometime.. you dont even know you have tinnitus...

Here's another link to cheer you guys up.. THere are some positive posts there. cheers

http://tinnitussupport92262.yuku.com/topic/3744#.UbNPbOCzI20

A hum is one thing, a fire alarm siren 24/7 that cannot be masked by anything is a different story. If I had a "hum" I wouldn't even be here looking for "cures". So thank your lucky stars that's all your tinnitus is.

Here is a nice post from the link you posted Godcreatedear:

Re: Everyone [has tinnitus] ?

04/29/07 4:45 PM

When I was a kid, I had no awareness of T until I went into a very quiet room in the basement. Then I'd detect a generalized white noise type of sound. It was very soft, but noticeable only in complete silence. After changing activities, it was no longer detectible. There are all kinds of electrical and vascular activities in the head. It would seem strange that all of that activity wouldn't cause a bit of noise in a completely quiet room. Some people would notice it and others might not, since it's soft and disappears once you get into some ambient noise.

My husband wasn't aware of anything until I started talking nonstop about my T. Now he says he's aware of sound in his head, and he's never had T before...he just is aware of head noise now that was probably there all along? Could be. Does he now have tinnitus? I wouldn't think so since he has to focus his attention to hear that little bit of noise in his head.

I believe that the standard definition of tinnitus is too broad and vague.

The classic definition of Tinnitus: "perception of noise or sounds in the head or ears in the absence of an actual stimulus" doesn't seem to fit a full blown case of tinnitus.

Plus nothing in the physical world is caused without a stimulus of some sort. It's just that no one has discovered what that stimulus is yet in the case of tinnitus.

Tinnitus might be better defined as perception of a persistant sound of unknown origin, that is loud enough to cause physical or psychological distress.

That seems to better differentiate between any sound that might "normally" occur as opposed to one that is loud enough to actually cause distress or a change in one's lifestyle.

Susan

Unless you have loud invasive tinnitus no one can understand that maskers dont work, it's hard to just "ignore it" or not pay attention to it. I get it. I still struggle sometimes when it's loud and invasive. When I have the quiet days it still apparent but I feel better on those days.

"Tinnitus might be better defined as perception of a persistant sound of unknown origin that is loud enough to cause physical or psychological distress."

Yes, good definition, Danny.

I was sitting at a table with three friends recently -- all of whom I've known for several years. Out of the blue, we found ourselves talking about our severe tinnitus. All four of us have very loud tinnitus. None of us knew the others have it. All of us live somewhat normal, productive lives. All of us have improved a talent because we focus on the talent rather than the tinnitus. All of us agree that the only way we survive is to get our minds of the tinnitus.

Last night I found out there was a fly in the house. I could hear him flying around but couldn't see him. The noise that one little fly was making was driving me insane. It was bothering me because I was 100% focused on it.

If I focused on my tinnitus for any length of time, I'm sure I would be a basket case in no time.

I don't think anybody wants to focus on it. Don't think pink.