Mourning the loss of silence: how tinnitus interrupted my life

You sit looking at a lake, watching as a couple of loons pierce the pristine glaze of the water’s surface. Clumps of clouds hang in the sky, painted violet by the setting sun. You hear the hum of a boat’s motor in the distance — it fades into nothing. The air is still, windless. You take a deep breath and take in the silence.