Tinnitus, also known as tinnitus, has been getting a lot of attention lately.There is great concern about the laconic attitude of outgoing young people whoare not so careful with the number of decibels their ears can tolerate.
The information page of the Dutch Association for Ear, Nose and ThroatMedicine reports that two million Dutch people have a form of tinnitus, 10percent of whom suffer from it a lot, and it causes psychosocial problems inseveral tens of thousands of people. “Fortunately, we know from experiencethat a very large part of this group eventually learns to deal with tinnitusand can function again (as well as possible) in society and social life.”
Nevertheless, I would strongly urge young people to prevent tinnitus. Thenoise level in entertainment venues has not been allowed to exceed 103decibels since 2018, but the KNO Association advocates 100 decibels (withearplugs in). Even at 100 decibels you still suffer damage without hearingprotection, says Henri Marres, professor of ENT surgery, in de Volkskrant.
I have heard young people say that they are willing to take the risk, becausefor them noise is part of going out in clubs and concert halls. May I, as anexpert by experience, interfere with this for a moment? Finally an expert!
In October 2002 I attended a concert by the Italian pop singer Gianna Nanniniin Paradiso. I wrote in it that week NRC Handelsblad a laudatory columnabout it: “She sang with an astonishing devotion for an accomplished artistand she moved around the stage like a Mick Jagger in his prime.”
Little did I know then that I would regret this visit for the rest of my life.The music had been loud and because of the crowds on the floor I had beenstanding way too close to the speakers all evening. A few weeks later I hearda noise in my left ear and immediately I had a premonition: this will neverstop.
That has come true. One night of thoughtlessness and you’ll never lose yournoise again. With one it is a noise, with the other a hiss, hum, squeak,whistle or a combination of such sounds. It starts out modest, some days it’sbarely there, but it grows steadily over the years, at least that’s myexperience.
Yet I experience less pain than before. That’s because I’ve learned toacquiesce in it. Those first years you do everything to get rid of it. I reada lot about it, talked to experts, tried therapies. I also visited anafternoon with fellow sufferers, something I can wholeheartedly adviseagainst. I met people who had it much worse than me, like that woman whoconstantly heard the sound of a vacuum cleaner blaring. Afterwards I couldonly think: is this my foreland?
Tinnitus is incurable. One doesn’t even know what exactly is the cause – thehearing organ or the brain? — not to mention a cure. What do you do with anunbeatable enemy? You dodge the fight and walk around him. You talk as littleas possible with and about him. You ignore him. You live your life as if itdoesn’t exist. Yes, writing this piece seems to contradict that, but hopefullyit will help people who are still without tinnitus. Maybe they hear me.