2025-08-06 – News – www.theguardian.com
When the noise started, I entered a state of perpetual panic and despair. It was unstoppable. Then, in the snows of Transylvania, I suddenly came to terms with the sound …
I developed tinnitus the same night I was offered my first book deal at the end of 2014. I’d received the news late-afternoon, then went out for cocktails with two friends to celebrate. I remember the evening well: we’d gone somewhere loud but not too loud; I ordered a fluorescent orange drink that I didn’t enjoy. Before I went to bed, I spoke to my boyfriend on the phone. “This could really change your life,” he said.
Sometime in the early hours of the following morning, I woke up with a ringing in my ears that has not gone away since.
