To mark Tinnitus Week 2025, DPA Interim President Andrea Shoetan shares her experience of tinnitus, a hearing condition that can range from mildly irritating to debilitating

I have suffered from tinnitus since childhood but had no idea, as I thought everyone heard beeps and airplane noises in their ears. Ironically, it was my medical screening upon joining the police that highlighted hearing loss in my right ear (levels still passed entry standards). After seeing a consultant, he asked if I heard noises in my ear – I replied, “Yes, but doesn’t everyone?” He smiled and explained this was tinnitus. It wasn’t there all the time but would come and go. I was advised to protect my left ear from hearing loss, and I wouldn’t be able to be a firearms officer.

Fast forward to 2013 and my diagnosis of Ménière’s Disease. The tinnitus, coupled with moderate to severe hearing loss, was so profound that I can’t hear the tinnitus in my right ear as it’s continuous and louder in my left ear.

I love taking my hearing aids out at night for some peace and quiet, but then I’m reminded I am never in a silent world as the noises from tinnitus inside my head are always there. So, I can’t hear the sounds I want to hear but can hear the noises from tinnitus that I wish I couldn’t.

I was praised once for how I cope with my tinnitus, as it’s very debilitating for some. My response was that everyone’s situation is unique. Some get tinnitus alone with no hearing loss. The primary issue of my Ménière’s disease is a lack of balance and vertigo attacks, which are so horrendous that I’m happy when I’m vertigo attack-free and just dealing with tinnitus. All my conditions are incurable, so it’s a case of figuring out what my worst enemy is.

There is help out there for tinnitus sufferers. You are not alone. I find quiet times the hardest, so distracting my brain with a sound app and having a tinnitus mode in my hearing aids that plays ocean music was really helpful when tackling my paperwork on night shifts in a quiet office. ∎

For information on tinnitus and support, visit Tinnitus UK