I don't know who wrote this vitriolic reply to my posting without knowing
1/10th of the details, but mine was a simple question which required but a
simple reply.  As a sound engineer with a professional broadcasting company
for more than 30 years I've contributed plenty to both society and my family
and will certainly continue to do so. What I didn't add to the posting - for
fear of seeming to look for pity, is that my Tinnitus is as a result of a
head injury which fractured the temporal bone on one side leaving me with
vertigo when I speak or if I'm exposed to loud sound, continuous tinnitus at
11khz & 7khz mixed, and a speech impediment caused by the autophony, which
makes speaking an extremely disturbing experience.

In temporal bone fractures which expose a semicircular canal, sensorial
hearing (through the bone) takes over from conductive hearing (through the
ear) in the affected ear. Therefore, ear defenders do little to protect the
inner ear from damage. Have you ever stood in the middle of an orchestra
changing microphones when they are playing FFF or even F? Or sat in a
control room where half a dozen people are all speaking at once whilst
someone else is listening to a brass band on speakers the size of a door? No
I doubt it, hence my desire to retire to somewhere less noisy.

There, now you know 2/10's of the facts - yes I can type, but don't ask me
to speak in anything but a whisper. Oh yes, I have a conductive loss of
between 50 and 70db in both ears also since the accident.