This disease controls my life.
— Dietrich Hectors
As depicted in Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's new documentary "Hemingway," a wartime concussion—one of five he suffered in his time—left the writer with a little-discussed condition: tinnitus.
Even the documentary fails to discuss it. Hemingway's chronic tinnitus gets one mention in six hours of narration.
Who pays attention?
Almost no one.
But tinnitus, "the perception of sound when no actual external noise is present," drives millions of Americans to despair and leads some sufferers to suicide, even though medical researchers deny a causal connection.
Last month, Texas Roadhouse CEO Kent Taylor killed himself after Covid-19 left him with tinnitus.
In recent years, tinnitus has led many other distinguished people to end their own lives, including rock musician Craig Gill, management consultant Robert McIndoe, graphic designer Rick Tharp, and industrial engineer Dietrich Hectors (who left a heart-wrenching "farewell letter" on Facebook).
I wouldn't suggest Hemingway's 1961 suicide stemmed from his chronic tinnitus.
The writer suffered from a mountain of other maladies, including traumatic brain injury, hemochromatosis, and alcoholism. Medically speaking, he was an unmitigated mess.
But tinnitus could only have worsened his torment.
According to the American Tinnitus Association, when you consider lost earnings, lost productivity, and medical outlays, tinnitus costs the nation $26 billion a year. Yet tinnitus goes unrecognized by Medicare and Medicaid, and federal funds for basic research are paltry—stifling innovation and the chance of a cure.
Last year, the feds spent only $400 million on hearing-related research. In contrast, it just spent $500 million on Covid-19 relief in St. Louis—alone.
How so atrocious an affliction can remain ignored is a travesty.
NOTE: If you suffer chronic "ringing in the ears," contact the American Tinnitus Association for help.
