I have a ringing in my ears, called tinnitus. I've had it for 20+ years, and it gets ever so slowly worse over time, even though I try to take care of my hearing.

We have a four-year-old who's unpredictable and very loud, which has made it a bit worse as well.

One of the things I struggle with is that there's so much noise around me all the time that I constantly crave some peace and quiet. There's noise at work, when commuting, when going outside. And more than anywhere else, when I'm at home. Constant streams of different noises I can't control.

Sometimes the only real quiet I get is when I lie down in bed, the last person in the family still awake. But when I do, the ringing is there. And it's all I can hear.

What works okay is being outside in nature, with its natural, soothing noises. But I live in a city, so nature is some way away. It also works okay to have my AirPods in, listening to music or an audiobook. At least then I'm in control of the noise I'm hearing.

But this is a tough one. Listening to something to drown out the ringing is still some kind of input. And I feel like I get so much INPUT, for lack of a better word, that I just need absolutely nothing. Let whatever has come in through my senses get sorted and mulled over in my thoughts.

I don't know how to end this. I don't have a solution, if there is one. It's just a daily struggle.

That's it.