Press Release Summary = Four months ago, Sandra Channer of Hinstock, in Shropshire, went to the doctor for a routine procedure to have the wax build-up in her left ear cleaned. But she ended up with a persistent buzzing in her ear.
Press Release Body = Four months ago, Sandra Channer of Hinstock, in Shropshire, went to the doctor for a routine procedure to have the wax build-up in her left ear cleaned. But she ended up with a persistent buzzing in her ear. The doctor advised cleaning her other ear. When the sound refused to leave, the 53-year-old felt terrified. As she comes to terms with the debilitating symptom, the special needs teacher is upset with the lack of awareness and limited funds for research into the causes and cures for tinnitus.
"When I realised that the sound was in my head, the terror kicked in. It was very, very frightening. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, I just stopped functioning. I cried most days. It was awful. I was tired and scared, which made me exhausted. I couldn't cope. Tinnitus is torture, but nobody understands that. You don't know what it's like unless you've got it," says Sandra.
The teacher of 28 years found it extremely difficult to do her job for the first time in her career. "I just couldn't hear anything. The loud noises made the tinnitus worse. My colleagues were very understanding, juggling my timetable so I didn't have too many children to deal with at the same time. But there's more to being a teacher than just sitting in a classroom, like playground duty. After about six weeks of suffering with tinnitus, I woke up one morning and for the first time in my life I said to my husband 'I'm exhausted and I just can't go to work today. I can't face it'," she recalls.
When she went back to the doctor, she was given some maskers, which create sounds in the ear to drown the tinnitus, and referred to an ENT specialist. She was later prescribed tranquilizers to help deal with the stress, while a sound generator helped her get through the working day. "I started listening to relaxation CDs and environmental sounds. I put the sound generator in my classroom, which produced soft bird singing or ocean sounds in the background. It helped me. The children got used to it," Sandra explains.
She has some hearing loss in her left ear, and was even told by the doctor she might have a tumour. That proved to be a false scare, but she feels let down by the medical profession. "At the tinnitus clinic at my local hospital the nurse didn't tell me anything I didn't already know about tinnitus. I was given a portable sound generator, an earpiece, which helped when it was on but once I took it out the tinnitus was much louder. I had no support. I was left to my own devices, to figure out what to do and how to use it. At least I had the means to get private medical help, but I feel sorry for those who have to stay in the system. It must be hell," the mother of one says.
Sandra still isn't sure what caused the tinnitus, but she feels it was brought on by a combination of factors - the trauma of suffering two bereavements in the past 12 months, the stress of looking after her invalid father and her ear wax troubles. She is learning to live with the symptom, and spending time at home during the summer holidays is helping. But she can't go to places with loud noise - she had to leave a friend's birthday party and a restaurant meal with her husband turned into a nightmare. And the thought of having to give up teaching is devastating for her. "I thought I had another 12 years. But now I can't face having to go back to school. The noise is too much."
The UK-based charity Action for Tinnitus Research focuses on funding medical and scientific research in pursuit of a cure and raising awareness is a key part of its work. Operations director Nick Doughty said: "It is estimated that over five million people in the UK are affected by tinnitus and it can have a devastating effect on their quality of life. Not enough information is available about the very complex symptom and we are one of the few organisations determined to do something about it. We are committed to funding leading edge research and providing practical information to health professionals for the benefit of sufferers," he added.
For more information on Action for Tinnitus Research, logon to the website at www.tinnitus-research.org, e-mail help@tinnitus-research.org or telephone 0115 925 4065. Regular e-comms Keep up to date with tinnitus news by subscribing to our regular newsletter, via our website: http://www.tinnitus-research.org/informed/ ENDS
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2022
