[it_does_follow]

I've had tinnitus for about 20 years now and I don't notice it most of the time and when I do don't really mind it too much. The only thing I really miss is perfect silence.

One of the things I've noticed people struggle with regarding any chronic illness is constantly feeling like they are "supposed" to be feeling fine and have more distress worrying about some perceived gap between their actual life and how they imagine life should be then the ailment itself(this obviously carrier over to things other than chronic illness).

Letting go of this imagined alternative life is the biggest first step towards accepting and dealing with tinnitus. I have tinnitus the same way I have all my other features, positive and negative. That's just the life I have and there is no alternate life out there.

I do still get a kick out of the look of horror on people's faces when I tell them I've had constant, changing frequency, ringing in my ear for two decades.