Hi
My introduction about me.
I am 49 years of age. My name is Philip Morton I have been married 26 years and have 4 children aged 27, 23 & 22 our second eldest would have been 25. I run my own Plastering & Rendering business. I am on the tools & arranging works.
My hearing loss started gradually – unlike sight where you can more easily perceive that your eyesight is worsening. You can’t easily sense what you can’t hear, so to speak. As time went by, subtitles & increases in the TV volume became the norm. I thought the TVs were not as loud as they used to be or the people in the films were mumbling.
Two years ago, a noise started in my left ear – a buzz and a whistle sometimes in my right but constantly in my left. Unbeknown to myself I had started the hearing loss & tinnitus journey. A journey of appointments & referrals, culminating in NHS aids fitted after a hearing test in both ears, due to hearing loss with two Masking sounds – a wave and white noise. At each appointment, I saw a different person with differing advice – leaving a chasm of confusion. The tinnitus had not gone away – it had been replaced by the new masking sounds. My hearing wasn’t improved either as the masking noises I would use to keep the noise of the tinnitus at bay also lessened what I could hear.
Researching online I could see many groups, pages & sites with differing approaches & quite a lot of negativity about tinnitus gave me a feeling of despair.
The pandemic started, mask-wearing had me confused try to follow people’s speech – and the anxiety of entering a shop sent the Tinnitus levels even higher. I had now resorted to leaving my left aid in even during sleep with a wave masking noise on.
My daily thoughts were all consumed by tinnitus and getting through the day, dreading nighttime as this was the most difficult time. My wife supporting & helping me was a great comfort but it’s extremely difficult to explain the feeling & situation of despair I was experiencing. My mind was a fog of mishearing conversations, tinnitus & masking noises. Isolation was creeping in. I felt deafened by the noises and frustrated.
I had read some reviews about Rob at Trust Hearing. I booked an initial slot for advice on tinnitus this month. Meeting him has changed my life – my outlook on tinnitus and my hearing. His approach is passionate and supportive.
He assessed me & could see the methods I needed to change. He was not waiting with a range of aids set up ready to sell me a product. He felt strongly that I needed a specific set of aids with his expertise in setting them up. He left & retrieved a pair from his car. He fitted them: it felt like the world had been turned up, but not to a degree where it was overwhelming me. My tinnitus was lessened as I could hear my surroundings far more clearly.
I have no masking noises now & a speaker pillow Rob advised me to buy. With these set up, he has given me the ability to hear my customers clearly on the phone, my family again & my surroundings. I wear the aids all day & charge at night. If my Tinnitus is there, I put the speaker pillow on.
My tinnitus is still there but far less and each day it is getting better.bI feel my number-one thoughts are my family again. Tinnitus is not in my every thought. I sat outside last night listening to the movements of the trees which felt terrific & I saw Rob today. Such a genuine person there to help & advise in a way that you feel so confident in his ability. You know you have found someone who actually gets you & clicks with all your concerns.
If you have tinnitus don’t give up. There may not be a cure but with the right advice, help and in my case aids – tinnitus will not control you, you will control it. Hope is there I am so grateful that I have after 2 years found a far brighter future. I feel like my old self again.
Thank you Rob – you have impacted not only my life but all my families.
#Tinnitus #hope #positivity #controlit
