Horse race bookmaker quits beloved job after tinnitus ordeal

April 30, 2016

A Langley Park resident was forced to abandon his much loved job after being tormented by tinnitus which was made worse by the announcements systems at the races.

44-year-old, Alan Dobbin, who attends racing events like the Cheltenham festival and Royal Ascot, began noticing a buzzing and hissing sound after a bad cold.

Alan says: “I contacted my GP and I saw the doctor who looked in a text book and said ‘its tinnitus’. This was the first time I had heard of it and I was waiting for the GP to tell me what to do but he said nothing.”

Alan is just one of the nearly 52,000 residents in County Durham living with tinnitus which accounts for 750,000 GP visits per-year in England. Due to the lack of treatment options, 63% of patients who visit their GP are not taken forward for treatment but are told to learn to cope with the condition.

“I started going to bed every other night and I tried buying tinnitus gadgets off the internet because I was so desperate. I spent fortunes buying everything I could find to get help as it was getting really bad.”

I eventually stopped going to work because I couldn’t stand being near the tannoys – every time they would come on I would shudder.”

Alan was eventually treated at The Tinnitus Clinic in Manchester after being diagnosed with severe tinnitus and hyperacusis – a condition causing high sensitivity to everyday sounds.

“For months I had stopped watching TV and reading newspapers because I couldn’t concentrate. I have been back at work for six months now and I’ve never looked back.”

Alan’s treating audiologist, Mike Wells says: “We occasionally see patients who have had to temporarily give up work due to tinnitus. It is very important to seek help sooner than later so patients can get back to work and resume daily activities as quickly as possible.”

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