hi guys, im only 20 but a while back i noticed a permanent ringing in my ears, so i went about getting an ent appointment set up. i have no doubt that my t was caused by listening to my ipod too loud (yep, what an idiot......) but i cant do anything about that now. obviously as i have it at such a young age, im concerned for the future of my hearing. the ent reckoned my hearing is top-notch and didnt think there was much to worry about, but im not so sure! For anyone that’s had t for a number of years – how has your hearing come along?

another thing im slightly worried by is what i think are called "spikes" – a sudden raising in volume of the t. i get one of these in either ear pretty much daily or every other day, lasting 5-10 seconds. anyone else get them this frequently? the ent said he couldnt explain it (thanks!)

also, as a university student, theres simply no way i can avoid clubs and the like. however, ive already purchased some er-20s for use at such places, and they seem pretty good (thankfully my longer hair conceals them a bit!), so hopefully that should keep my ears protected some.

also, i have read countless tales of people sinking into depression because of t, but rather curiously, i have to say that it really doesn’t bother me that much! yes, im very concerned for my hearing, but for me, even though i hear enough of it, the actual tinnitus itself really isn’t a big annoyance! i don’t feel i need to mask it (yet!!)…am i the only one…?

i know its been said before, and i thoroughly agree – in this world of mp3 players etc, for young people t really looks set to become something of an epidemic…

Hi Joe, I've recently joined this forum, so its all still new to me. Ive had T for over 3 months now from recording at home through headphones.

What I can say from what I've picked up from the others is that everyone should protect their hearing regardless of wether they have tinnitus or not. Eventually people damage their hearing from clubbing etc and it will show up soon or later in life so its wise to protect them now.

As for spikes and T in general, nobody really knows whats going to happen. Your T might well go If you're lucky and you don't over-expose youreslf to more noise. I think 'spikes' are a temporary thing and are totally unpredictable as far as I can tell. I've had about a dozen since it started. I was scared at first but I'm trying not to pay too much attention to them now.

If you are not too bothered about you're T at this stage just look after yourself and try not to make it worse because I know some on here have it loud!!

Take care