Sometime back in March 2024, a family of visitors arrived. This family has at least three separate members, all of whom are not welcome. None of whom I’ve been able to dismiss.

Their names are Mona, Mimi (as in Screaming Mimi) and Windy, and for whatever reason, they visit me at various times, sometimes solo and sometimes, like bickering sisters, they fight for my attention. But since March, they haven’t left me alone for a minute.

They are unwelcome. Sometimes I can ignore them. Sometimes they irritate me. Sometimes they drive me a little crazy.

Their family name is Tinnitus. Some people call it ti-ni-tus, with a short “i” on the “ni” syllable. Some people call it ti-NI-tus, with a long “I” on the “NI” syllable. I prefer the second pronunciation. It sounds angrier.

Let me tell you a little more about each of these visitors:

Screaming Mimi – She is a shrill noise-maker who demands to be heard 24/7. She screams in a variety of high-pitched whines, usually at more than one tone at a time. Sometimes, she screams so loud my head feels like it’s vibrating. She is the most unwelcome of all. Fortunately, she visits me least often. When she is with me, I often ask myself what I’ve done to bring her on–like yesterday and today. So far, I’ve yet to figure it out.

Mona – Maybe a better spelling of her name would be Moan-a. She sings in a lower pitched moan, almost like an organ playing out-of-tune. She wraps herself in a filter that warps any other sounds that dares to visit my right ear. She is the second most unwelcome visitor.

Windy – Though still a phantom sound, she is almost welcome in relation to Mimi and Mona. Windy talks to me the way seashells used to talk to me when I’d hold them to my ear. She is the sound of wind or the ocean, almost calming, except for the fact I have no say in the matter. Still, I’ll visit with Windy any day over Mimi or Mona.

I’ve seen various doctors, hoping they could do something to shoo these visitors away. I’ve been told it’s an ear infection, age-related hearing loss and hearing loss due to nerve damage. As a result, I’ve been given steroids and antibiotics more than once.

I’ve had hearing tests which have confirmed I have hearing loss. The last doctor I saw, who was very comprehensive and therefore, more trusted than the doctor who didn’t even look in my ear, told me he believes it’s nerve-related hearing loss, (probably due to an injury or virus–maybe long Covid?) for which my overly-helpful brain is trying to compensate. In other words, my brain is offering me “phantom” sounds. Thanks, but no thanks, Brain. I’m fine with lessened hearing in my right ear.

The next step is to get an MRI to make sure there’s nothing physically causing the sounds, scheduled for next week. Doc said it’s rare these MRIs turn up anything, but he wants to rule it out. After that, we’ll try a hearing aid to see if that tells my brain it doesn’t have to compensate for where my ear has fallen down on the job. “Hey, Brain. Take a break! The hearing aid can take over!”

For now, I am grateful for my Windy days. I’m grateful that on most days, these unwelcome visitors don’t bring along dizziness or vertigo. I’m grateful other recent medical tests (a whole other story!) have shown me to be otherwise healthy.

Recently, I read an article that said we do our greatest aging at the ages of 44 and 60. All I can say is, medically speaking, after the year I’ve had, I must be a late-bloomer. 🙂