Living with Tinnitus

February 9, 2026

Living with Tinnitus – Personal Stories

In the UK, 7.6 million people have tinnitus. It can affect anyone, whether they’re deaf, hard of hearing, have sight loss or are hearing. It can be extremely distressing for some people, impacting their daily lives and even their mental health, while others can find ways to distract themselves from the noise, no two experiences are the same.

We recently asked people via social media to share their experiences of living with tinnitus. Below are just some of the stories that were shared with us and we want to sincerely thank everyone who contacted us to offer some insight into their lives.

Daniel

In 2018, as part of a work course, Daniel spent 2 weeks at a firing range. Immediately following this training, he attended a music festival and when he got home, he noticed the ringing in his ears wasn’t fading. He went to the GP and got diagnosed with tinnitus but was sent away with no advice on how to cope, only to protect the hearing he has left.

Daniel has a constant high pitched ringing in both ears and it’s most noticeable at night or when he’s out and about in nature.

“I haven’t heard silence in 8 years. I’m looking out over mountains during hikes and I just never get to hear the peace and quiet. It can make me feel very stressed at night when it’s so loud and I can’t shut off from it. When I’m not in a good head space, sometimes I just cry – it’s like a low level form of torture.“

Advice for people without Tinnitus:

“Never do anything that’s really loud without some form of ear protection. People at one of my old jobs would be working around loud machinery all day without ear defenders and it made me so angry. Also don’t take your hearing for granted – turn down the loud music in the car and wear ear plugs when you go to gigs”.

Susan

Susan had Ménière’s disease a few years ago and it left her with hearing loss and tinnitus. She hears a constant hissing/ringing sound in her left ear and it’s intermittent in her right ear.

“It’s worse at night when everything is quiet. I have the radio on all day to distract from the noise. I try not to home in to it as I find that makes it louder. I went to a tinnitus group a couple of times, which was very good to hear everyone else’s story, what they heard and their coping strategies.

I feel people really don’t understand how bad it can be at times, but why would they? I think if you don’t live with it, it can be difficult for people to understand what it’s like. I really don’t tell many people I have it but if someone brings it up I will talk about it, especially if it’s with someone that is going through it as well.”

Andrew

Andrew has had tinnitus for 20 years, which he puts down to working in the Air Force for 29 years, working with heavy machinery everyday. They were provided with some level of ear protection but this was long before the health and safety policies for hearing protection were updated.

He noticed that it started in one ear but didn’t pay too much attention to it until it started in his other ear and never went away. For him, tinnitus sounds like a constant hiss, similar to white noise. This has an impact on his hearing, reducing what noises he’s able to hear around him, and Andrew often finds himself struggling to focus when speaking with other people and doing other tasks.

“I don’t think people fully understand it – what it is, that it’s 24/7, 365 days of the year for some people. It’s a lifelong condition with no cure.”

“M” (Anonymous)

“I am Deaf and have had tinnitus 24/7 since 2017. Some days it is quieter, and other days it is very loud. It affects my concentration, sleep, and energy, especially in quiet places. As a Deaf BSL user, I cannot block it out with sound.

Over time, I’ve noticed that my tinnitus can affect my mental health, especially during periods of stress or low mood. I can’t say it’s the direct cause, but the two do seem to influence each other. I manage this through coping strategies.“

When we asked M about their coping strategies, they gave the following examples:

Keeping themselves busy
Walking regularly
Slow breathing and relaxing techniques
Avoid caffeine (makes their tinnitus worse)
Accepting that tinnitus goes up and down

“C” (Anonymous)

“I have been suffering with tinnitus for a long time – decades. It is like there is a constant hissing sound in both ears, similar to the noise a pressure cooker makes. Although I do not always notice it or focus on it, it does put me off listening to music because I notice it more. It sometimes makes it hard for me to read, as I end up focusing on this horrible noise.

It seems louder when I am more stressed, and also when I hear something too loud e.g. the TV. So, sometimes it hardly affects me, and other times I feel it is ruining my enjoyment of things I want to do. I do not have any coping strategies, which makes things very difficult.”

Looking for advice or support for tinnitus?

View our Tinnitus Resource