The Student Room Group

Tinnitus and exams

Hi,
I’ve had tinnitus for several years now, and for the most part I can deal with it and cope. However today during my psychology exam my ears wouldn’t stop loudly ringing, I have supervised rest breaks and small room, so I was waiting for it to get louder as I could deal with how loud it was. When it got bad I asked if I could take a supervised rest break, but then I had to wait 10 minutes for someone else to come in and take me out (there were only a few other people sitting exams in the small room so there was only one person supervising us), by that point it had gotten so bad that I couldn’t think straight and not matter what I did I couldn’t get my tinnitus to quiet down. I ended up missing like 30 marks out because I just couldn’t think. Has anyone got any advice or any techniques to help my tinnitus because I can’t keep on going on like this. Thank you.
Reply 1
Original post by Ring22
Hi,
I’ve had tinnitus for several years now, and for the most part I can deal with it and cope. However today during my psychology exam my ears wouldn’t stop loudly ringing, I have supervised rest breaks and small room, so I was waiting for it to get louder as I could deal with how loud it was. When it got bad I asked if I could take a supervised rest break, but then I had to wait 10 minutes for someone else to come in and take me out (there were only a few other people sitting exams in the small room so there was only one person supervising us), by that point it had gotten so bad that I couldn’t think straight and not matter what I did I couldn’t get my tinnitus to quiet down. I ended up missing like 30 marks out because I just couldn’t think. Has anyone got any advice or any techniques to help my tinnitus because I can’t keep on going on like this. Thank you.

Tinnitus is really difficult to deal with and things that help vary from person to person. I've tried quite a lot over the years and the only thing that ever worked was white noise hearing aid devices but sadly, you can't have them in exams as far as I'm aware. It's taken years but I've gained a weird ability to block everything out and focus on one specific notice and that helps with the tinnitus but in the short term, I don't know if it would help.

There's obviously stuff that they suggest during my hospital appointments such as meditation, taking walks before going into quiet environments, and avoiding caffeine (this did help mine but then I also need caffeine for daily life so that didn't last long). They did suggest not giving up several things at once as you won’t know which one was the trigger.

I got lucky because I got extra time in my exams so if I had an episode, I wasn't missing out on much, I'm surprised they didn't offer you that but then i suppose they thought the breaks would be okay. There isn't really much support on what helps with tinnitus otherwise which always sucked.

Hopefully someone else has better advice than me but I noticed you didn't have any replies yet and thought I'd share my experience to see if it was worth anything :smile: Or if you just wanna rant to me about it, I get it.
One thing which works for me but its a bit weird is to put your hands over your ears backwards (so kind of go to shake someone's hand and then lift your hand up like a robot and swivel it on your elbow so your palm is cupping your ear and your thumb is pointing down. it's a bit difficult to explain haha but do that with both hands so both ears are covered). Then use you fingers to drum rhythmically on the back of your head. Your aiming for a steady 1-2-3-4 that makes the inside of your head reverberate. Do that for a min or so and then stop, and you should hear nothing for a while!
Original post by sailhorsegirl
One thing which works for me but its a bit weird is to put your hands over your ears backwards (so kind of go to shake someone's hand and then lift your hand up like a robot and swivel it on your elbow so your palm is cupping your ear and your thumb is pointing down. it's a bit difficult to explain haha but do that with both hands so both ears are covered). Then use you fingers to drum rhythmically on the back of your head. Your aiming for a steady 1-2-3-4 that makes the inside of your head reverberate. Do that for a min or so and then stop, and you should hear nothing for a while!

I will try it out! Thanks for a tip!
Original post by jennywhite
I will try it out! Thanks for a tip!


I hope it works for you!
Reply 5
Original post by Ring22
Hi,
I’ve had tinnitus for several years now, and for the most part I can deal with it and cope. However today during my psychology exam my ears wouldn’t stop loudly ringing, I have supervised rest breaks and small room, so I was waiting for it to get louder as I could deal with how loud it was. When it got bad I asked if I could take a supervised rest break, but then I had to wait 10 minutes for someone else to come in and take me out (there were only a few other people sitting exams in the small room so there was only one person supervising us), by that point it had gotten so bad that I couldn’t think straight and not matter what I did I couldn’t get my tinnitus to quiet down. I ended up missing like 30 marks out because I just couldn’t think. Has anyone got any advice or any techniques to help my tinnitus because I can’t keep on going on like this. Thank you.

I know what you are going through because I've found myself in similar situations many times too. After battling with tinnitus for a long time, I found relief through visiting ear wax removal doctor and a combination of lifestyle changes, stress management, and sound therapy. The best advice I can give you is definitely to consult a good doctor with experience in treating ear noise. After an examination, the ear wax removal doctor gave me very good advice, so I started following a healthy diet and prioritized my sleep. A well-balanced lifestyle has positively impacted my overall health, potentially influencing the symptoms of ear noise. Take care!
(edited 9 months ago)
Reply 6
Original post by Ring22
Hi,
I’ve had tinnitus for several years now, and for the most part I can deal with it and cope. However today during my psychology exam my ears wouldn’t stop loudly ringing, I have supervised rest breaks and small room, so I was waiting for it to get louder as I could deal with how loud it was. When it got bad I asked if I could take a supervised rest break, but then I had to wait 10 minutes for someone else to come in and take me out (there were only a few other people sitting exams in the small room so there was only one person supervising us), by that point it had gotten so bad that I couldn’t think straight and not matter what I did I couldn’t get my tinnitus to quiet down. I ended up missing like 30 marks out because I just couldn’t think. Has anyone got any advice or any techniques to help my tinnitus because I can’t keep on going on like this. Thank you.

I know you're facing with tinnitus.I've found myself in similar situations many times too. I tried many things to cope with my problem, but visiting ear wax removal doctor twice a year makes my situation a little better in general. After the examination and some sessions, I am very satisfied, because it was really helpful, because ear wax removal doctor said that everything depends on my attitudies to life, so it would be better to normalize my lifestyle and prioritize my sleep.
Highly recommend. Wishing you the best in finding relief and good vibes!
(edited 8 months ago)

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