Case Study - Anne Smith

NORTH YORKS TEACHER WARNS OF TINNITUS RISK FACTORS

Secondary school teacher Anne Smith of Castleton, North Yorkshire, developed tinnitus after supervising pupils at a noisy school disco. She left the hall with ringing in her ears which unfortunately persisted and was initially thought to be caused by an ear infection.� Her GP prescribed antibiotics but the high-pitched whistling remained and Anne was eventually diagnosed with tinnitus.

"I don't hear quite as well as I used to which can be a problem as classrooms are not the quietest of places and it's sometimes difficult to focus on what someone is saying unless everyone else is silent. I can deal with it most of the time but I wish I didn't have it," she said. "I had no idea what it was at first and although people know that tinnitus exists, I don't think there is much awareness about it."

Anne's doctor has been understanding and keen to suggest possible treatments but nothing has been particularly effective so far. "I've tried just about everything and had very high hopes of acupuncture last year but it didn't really help," she said.

Five years on, Anne, 59, has gradually learned to live with the situation but is keen to urge other people to avoid possible triggers including excessive exposure to noise.� "Everything seems to be so loud nowadays but people don'' realise what sort of problems might develop in the future and it's not something you'd want anyone else to experience."

Anne manages each day by consciously trying to relegate the symptom to the back of her mind which is easier in some situations than others. "Luckily I don't have problems sleeping and it only affects me during the day. I can ignore it by concentrating on other things but it's generally more noticeable in quiet environments and I also have sinus problems which make it worse.

"I tend to have the radio on most of the time at home and the sounds almost disappeared during a recent holiday to Spain which was quite strange but that's the only time it's happened. I know I'm going to have tinnitus for the rest of my life and think we probably need to be more open about is so people can understand the problems and try to avoid some of the things that can cause it in the first place," she added.

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 [email protected] or telephone 0115 925 4065

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