When the ringing in your ears never goes away: three students on tinnitus
More and more young people are suffering from tinnitus. Three students talk about its effects on their lives. “After my twenties, I noticed that the ringing became louder and louder. That caused stress, making it harder for me to focus on my studies.”
Student Thomas Misset (25, communication studies) has tinnitus, which he contracted when he was seventeen. He went to a lot of concerts and already heard the occasional ringing, but after a visit to Lowlands, the ringing didn't go away.
Over the years, the ringing in his ears got louder, especially when he was in a quiet room. He noticed he had a harder time concentrating with this new sound. “After I turned 20, I noticed that the noise got louder and louder. This caused stress, making it harder for me to focus on complicated texts. I was also used to studying in a quiet room, but that was no longer possible because then the ringing got even louder.”
His tinnitus also affected his sleeping habits. When he was tired, the ringing in his ear would bother him more. As a result, he slept less, and the ringing became even louder.
Misunderstood
In recent years, Thomas has been better able to cope with his situation. “In a way, the problem is as big as you make it. I also heard this from doctors when I was younger. At the time I felt totally misunderstood because it was really a problem for me.”
He still goes to concerts or club nights, but only with earplugs. “If I stand in line for a long time for a party I really want to go to but then discover that I don't have my custom-made earplugs with me, I go home. That used to be different.”
Legal maximum decibels
Thomas is not the only one with this problem. In early September, experts expressed concern about the sharp increase in tinnitus. More than 2.5 million Dutch, including many young people, suffer from it. An important cause of tinnitus is ambient noise that is too loud, such as when going out at night or at festivals. Thus, there are calls in the Lower House to investigate whether a legal maximum of around 100 decibels would be possible in nightlife venues.
Not everyone has contracted tinnitus from nightlife. For example, theater studies student Duncan Plas (26) first suffered from tinnitus after a major ear infection at age 20. After that, he developed a ringing in his ears that never went away.
Duncan visited his family doctor several times. After his ear infection, he was told that the tinnitus was due to the infection. As time went on, he was told there was no chance of it going away. “You're scarred for life,” he told on the phone.
“The realization that I'll never hear silence again was especially hard at first. But because I've had tinnitus for years now, I've learned to deal with it. It does get worse when I'm stressed or haven't slept much. Then the ringing can be very frustrating, but generally, I can quickly take my mind off it,” Duncan says.
One ear
Duncan is conscious about his tinnitus these days, but he doesn't wear earplugs when he goes out, as he feels it is silly. But he makes sure not to stand too close to the sound system. “I have tinnitus in one ear now; I don't want to get it in both my ears.”
He doesn't feel the tinnitus affects his studies. “But when I'm in an exam period and my tinnitus acts up, it's annoying because I can't concentrate as well.”
The occasional ringing
Sebastian Alvino (22, psychology) also has ringing in his ears, especially when he is tired or stressed. Officially, however, he does not have tinnitus. He first got ringing in his ears when he was 10. He went to the doctor in his native Peru for it. “But the doctor said it was not a big problem.”
For Sebastian, the ringing is not a constant presence, either, so he wouldn't say it affects his life very much. “But sometimes it does bother me, like during lectures. If the ringing starts then, I can't understand the lecture anymore. The nice thing about online education is that I could then put the lecture on pause and continue watching when the ringing stopped. During in-person lectures, of course, you can't do that.”
Sebastian also finds phone calls difficult because of his hearing impairment, and even during physical conversations he does not understand his interlocutor perfectly. “That affects my social life. When the ringing starts, sometimes I can't understand my conversation partner. Then I just say okay, even though I didn’t understand.”
