As tinnitus is thought to be a symptom of long Covid a Bradford student talks about the challenge of living with the condition

The 23-year-old set himself the challenge to raise awareness of the condition which is estimated to affect one in 10 people in the UK – a figure that is set to rise as it is now being seen as a effect of long Covid.

Paul’s tinnitus began just over a year ago when he started hearing unexplained high pitched sounds in his left ear. The noises soon spread to his other ear and at times became so loud that he could not concentrate.

“When I developed tinnitus, it was a very stressful time in my life. My tinnitus became so loud that I could not focus on anything else. It was at times so unbearable that it affected my whole life,” says Paul.

Just over a year on and he’s found a number of techniques – including massage and cognitive behavioural therapy – to help him cope with his tinnitus but he says it’s something he notices every day and that the condition is not given enough attention.

“Part of the problem is that when you talk to family, friends, even GPs and health professionals about tinnitus, you feel ignored, because they do not know how to treat it and so they say that ‘you will have to learn to live with it’.

“A lot of people don’t really know what it is (unless they have it) and as a consequence, it’s not taken seriously. The reality is tinnitus can stop you sleeping, studying, working and even socialising. That’s partly why I took on this challenge, to try and raise awareness of what tinnitus is and to make people aware of how debilitating it can be.

“I was really struggling with my daily life that involved studying, working and socialising. The high-pitch sound in my head was often so loud that I could not focus on anything unless I had a device playing some white noise next to me. I also suffered from insomnia for a couple of months, which made me down every day as I lacked enough sleep.

“I started losing any hope that my life would ever get better. It was truly the darkest time I have been ever through so far. Nevertheless, I found light at the end of this deep and black tunnel.”

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According to the BTA, tinnitus affects an estimated six million Britons, including 54,000 adults in Bradford and around 245,000 across West Yorkshire. It is characterised by unexplained persistent sounds in the ear – these can range from low rumbling noises through to noises like birdsong and ‘crickets’. The causes are said to be varied, in some cases relating to injury and hearing loss and in other cases stress. No cure has yet been identified.