Various contributors

Timothy C. Hain, MD Page last modified: July 21, 2008

By Gerald B. Frank

The bells are ringing in my ears
As they’ve been ringing all these years,
And as I listen to their peel,
I wonder if they’re really real?
The bells are ringing in my ears -
Unreally real for all these years!

By Gerald B. Frank

This morning I can hear the roar
Of whistles deep inside my craw,
The hiss of steam is most insistent,
I hope today I’ll prove resistant
To its constant noisome noise
Lest it dampen this day’s joys.
If I live a wholesome day,
Will the ringing go away?
Ha! As I rise to write this poem,
The hissing stops - leaves me alone!
I’ll live this day as best I can,
Until the hissing starts again.

By Gerald B. Frank

The hissing in my ear goes on
Like an operatic song,
One by Verdi, not Bellini,
Led by Solti, not, Guilini,
Sung and played in monotone
On my ear-drum gramophone!

By Gerald B. Frank

As I lie here on the floor
To exercise my back once more,
I just relax - sometimes I dose
(As he who’s done it surely knows!) -
The quiet and the silence reign
Except I hear that hiss again,
The constant hiss of Tinnitus;
Now, tell me why he makes a fuss -
He comes with me where e’er I go,
Summer, winter, sun or snow;
I keep him warm inside my head,
He reads with me each book I’ve read,
He shares my meals, my kids, my walks,
My jokes, my triumphs and my talks!
So why, I wonder, does he mess
With my quiet happiness?

By Gerald B. Frank

The constant hiss of Tinnitus
is growing more and more,
Its getting louder worries me -
I wonder what’s in store?
I wake and hear my Tinnitus,
the hissing in my ears,
I walk and hear that Tinnitus
exacerbating fears!
Please, tell me what is Tinnitus,
and tell me, please, why me?
And tell me what I have to do
to be of Tinnitus free?

By Gerald B. Frank

Hissing, hissing in my ears
Makes me feel so very queer,
Makes me wonder will I be
Losing soon my sanity,
Makes me wonder what comes next -
Who implanted this mean hex?
Yet, when I think of other things
My Tinnitus in silence sings!

Tinnitus ZF

By Gerald B. Frank

Tinnitus, Tinnitus in my ear -

I hope you'll soon, yes, disappear,

You've got my brain so nicely curled

I've got to get you from my world!

GF:22 Nov 98