Tinnitus affects over 10% of the UK population and for anyone who suffers from it, it can be a real struggle. Here, we read about how tinnitus inspired young composer, Kerry Andrew.
Kerry was deaf in her right ear since birth but developed tinnitus on that side too, which she hears mostly at night. She has a unique way of dealing with tinnitus using her own voice to ‘mask’ the sound, her musical background helps her here. She realised that she wasn’t alone with tinnitus and visited us at Pindrop to find out a little more about how she can learn to cope with it and live her life normally.
Rekesh, our senior clinical lead and tinnitus expert, discussed her problems and together, they found some solutions.
“Tinnitus can be a multitude of different sounds but it can be a roaring or a whooshing. Every person who has tinnitus has their own personal sound.
What we find with some people is that tinnitus can be stress related or down to acoustic trauma, for example, very loud noises (socially or through work). We often find there is a strong link between tinnitus and hearing loss.”
Kerry found that fellow musicians also suffered from tinnitus, especially those that play in orchestras or at stadium concerts. Tinnitus is not just linked to music and musicians, anyone can have tinnitus and every person will have a different experience.
“Even if you have tinnitus, don’t stop what you love doing. It’s important to follow your passions, if you change your lifestyle and ‘give up’, you will give the tinnitus control and create a negative emotion around it.”
At Pindrop, we have the most amazing equipment and rehabilitation skills to assist you with your tinnitus and take some of the pressure off the way it can make you feel. You are not alone and there are steps we can take to help you in your hearing journey.
If you want to hear more from when Rekesh met Kerry, you can listen to the full BBC Radio 3 interview below.