Susanna Reid has revealed her incurable disease has been triggered as she spoke to fellow tinnitus sufferer Jamie Laing on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday.
Jamie, 35, appeared on the ITV morning show to speak about his ‘debilitating’ battle with the condition, revealing he hasn’t heard silence for eight years.
GMB played a ringtone at the start of the interview to mimic what viewers suffer from tinnitus.
The main symptom of tinnitus is hearing a sound similar to ringing or buzzing, which is not coming from the outside.
It’s not clear what causes tinnitus, but it is often related to hearing loss or other conditions, including depression and anxiety.
Susanna Reid, 53, revealed her incurable disease was triggered as she spoke to fellow tinnitus sufferer Jamie Laing on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday
Jamie, 35, appeared on the ITV morning show to speak about his ‘debilitating’ battle with the condition, revealing he hasn’t heard silence for eight years
According to the NHS, it is usually not a sign of anything serious and may get better, but it is recommended that you see a GP.
And after hearing the ringing sound out loud, 53-year-old Susanna, who was diagnosed with tinnitus in 2004, said the sound had been activated in her ears, despite her ability to usually ‘turn it down’.
She said: ‘I went to the doctor very quickly (after discovering the disease) who said there is no cure but you can talk yourself out of it. Now I know that that doesn’t apply to everyone.
“It’s really interesting, the ringing sound we just called activated it in my ears, so now I can hear it again, because you have to make a conscious effort to turn it off.”
“I remind myself (triggered it), but it’s fine, I’m just not going to worry about it, I’ll turn it off eventually.”
She added: ‘It’s really important to make it clear that while there is no cure, there are numerous therapies, so if you experience something, don’t think there’s no point in seeing a doctor.’
Meanwhile, Jamie said: ‘I woke up one morning and thought, “What is that ringing noise?” and I looked around the flat at the ringing sound before I suddenly realized it was coming from my head and I thought “oh my god”.
“But you have to treat it like an air conditioner in your bedroom, or a fan, or when you go on summer vacation and you hear the crickets and suddenly when they stop at night you say, ‘Ah, there were the crickets’.”
GMB played a ringtone at the start of the interview to mimic what viewers suffer from tinnitus
And after hearing the ringing sound out loud, Susanna, who was diagnosed with tinnitus in 2004, shared that the sound had activated in her ears, despite usually being able to “turn it down.”
She said: ‘It’s really interesting, the ringing sound we just made activated it in my ears so now I can hear it again because you have to make a conscious effort to turn it off. I’m just not going to worry about it, I’ll just tune it out eventually.”
Jamie, who was diagnosed with the disease eight years ago, discussed how he tries to use the disease as a trigger to draw when he has overworked himself.
He said, ‘I use it now as a sign, as an alarm. I say it’s my annoying best friend. So when it’s high and I can hear it all the time I think, well I must be tired, I must be stressed, I must be anxious, I must be worried and so I use that as a cue to get some out to rest and think that I should relax’
He added: ‘You just have to turn away from it and realize that it is not harmful. You have to try to forget about it a little bit. But it is incredibly debilitating and causes anxiety.”
Jamie first discovered his tinnitus when he woke up one morning to an annoying high-pitched buzzing sound (Jamie pictured with wife Sophie Habboo)
‘You just have to get away from it and realize that it is not harmful. You have to try to forget about it a little bit. But it is incredibly debilitating and causes anxiety.
‘Anxiety then makes it worse, so it’s a vicious cycle that makes it very difficult to sleep and people all over the world have to deal with it and no one talks about it.’
The former Made In Chelsea star discussed how he tries to use the illness as a trigger to draw when he has overworked himself.
He added: ‘I now use it as a sign, as an alarm. I say it’s my annoying best friend. So when it’s high and I can hear it all the time I think, well I must be tired, I must be stressed, I must be scared, I must be worried about something and so I use that as a cue to get some rest and I think I should relax.’
On Tuesday, Jamie admitted that he has sometimes screamed and cried in frustration, feeling like he wanted to rip his own ears off because of his tinnitus.
Private Parts podcast host Jamie blames his tinnitus on spending time in loud nightclubs and not protecting his ears, while he also believes his anxiety is a contributing factor.
He is working with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People to raise £12,500 to fund a research project at Newcastle University that aims to understand the brain.