A bit about Marie Knight

The following article was recently published in the Wimmera Mail Times about Mrs Marie Knight, a Tinnitus sufferer. 

Wimmera resident Marie Knight volunteers as a counsellor for Wimmera Hearing Society Inc.

Having lived with tinnitus herself since the mid 1980’s she has an ability to speak personally with those who suffer from the same problem.

Mrs Knight said she initially joined the society to help understand her own tinnitus. “I want to make it clear to others that tinnitus is a symptom and not a disease” she said. “It is not life threatening. But when it is sudden it can be very hard to handle and quite traumatic.That is where counselling can help.”

Mrs Knight said there were things people could do to help live with their tinnitus.

“I suggest to people that you must find a passion,” she said. "when you become involved in that passion you concentrate on that more than the tinnitus. My passion is reading-it’s like a sleeping pill."

Mrs Knight said it was important to ‘retrain the brain’. She said people with tinnitus should also avoid the ‘triggers’ such as red wine, caffeine, nicotine, marijuana and stress or fatigue. But she also said some things such as caffeine could be taken in moderation. “everything should be done in moderation,” she said.

Stress is a major concern for those with tinnitus– people who are stressed have to try to get out of that vicious cycle.

“I actually find weather changes have an impact too. I can always tell when a high pressure system is coming down.”

Mrs Knight said she also recommended people keep fit. She said hearing loss could accompany tinnitus so people who suspected they had tinnitus should immediately obtain a referral to an ear and throat specialist. Mrs Knight said tinnitus was often caused by a loud environment. She said Wimmera Hearing Society originally focused on farmers in their 50’s and 60’s who had developed problems after a lifetime on noisy tractors.

“It wasn’t a problem before because a generation before they relied on horses,” she said. “But now we’ve found that those aged in the 50’s and 60’s  weren’t really aware of the damage tractors could cause.

“Now farmers have become much more streetwise about things such as ear protection.”