By: Matthew Randal, BS, TSHA Graduate Student Representative
Emily Landgren is a doctoral student studying mechanical engineering with a concentration in acoustics at UT Austin. She is a strong advocate for students with disabilities and shared her perspective in the following guest essay.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a disease that weakens connective tissue, runs in my family. I was formally diagnosed less than one year ago, but I’ve had symptoms since I was very young. In the second grade, I remember getting a severe ear infection that left me with tinnitus in my right ear. As I got older, my tinnitus worsened, became louder, and spread to both ears. We believe it’s the EDS that caused my initial ear infection, and I’ve had a few more since then. Over time, I’ve become desensitized to my tinnitus, but originally it was so bothersome that I cried myself to sleep. My tinnitus is typically high-pitched, but recently it sometimes changes to a lower frequency that sounds like a hum. I can still hear my original tinnitus, but when the humming starts, my spatial awareness wanes. It feels like a little bit of dizziness combined with a floating sensation. I sometimes feel like my head isn’t mine, like I’m dissociating. It feels like I’ve been removed from my body and I am watching myself on TV. It takes me a moment to gather myself and “return” to the real world. Masking devices help me ignore my tinnitus, but the initial flare-ups would aggravate my joint pain and cause a feedback loop that worsened both conditions. In 2019, I contracted Lyme disease that went undetected until it reached a chronic stage. The two biggest obstacles in my daily life include my fatigue and recent cognitive impairments. Physical therapy, taking all my medications, seeing so many doctors—it all requires a bunch of my time.
My studies in mechanical engineering are largely influenced by my childhood spent in band and music classes. I’ve chosen to pursue a concentration in acoustics because I like the intersection of engineering, humanities, and the artistic world. I recently completed an internship at a design firm. Our clients were building owners and developers who needed us to solve problems concerning vibrations in spaces. You need to control for the HVAC system, wall materials, room sizes, and more. Using my education, I want to create better resources for engineering students needing accommodations. I’m currently surveying students in my department who have received accommodations and disability services. I want to know what helped and what hurt them. I want to know what professors are doing to promote success for these students. For reference, it took six months for me to receive the accommodations I needed after my initial request. My work aims to improve the school’s understanding of how best to accommodate engineering students in their various environments including lecture halls, laboratories, and field scenarios.
When I started college, I wasn’t seeking treatment for my tinnitus. Earlier this semester, I saw my ENT for a turbinate reduction to help with my chronic rhinitis. I mentioned my history with tinnitus to my doctor, and he referred me to a local tinnitus specialist to seek tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT). During this spring semester, I attended an acoustics seminar on tinnitus. It brought my attention more to the intricacies of tinnitus and newer therapies that have been developed. The presenter was a fellow doctoral student who told his own story of a sudden hearing loss and ultimately chronic tinnitus that spurred him to focus his studies in this area. I found his story to be relatable, and the combination of these events encouraged me to make an appointment to see the tinnitus specialist my doctor had recommended. I have since started a treatment plan with this audiologist and am looking forward to the results from my updated masking therapy and regular meetings. I’m hopeful my story will encourage patients and doctors to keep an open mind about those yet-to-be diagnosed conditions. They might find that treating a seemingly unrelated condition actually improves symptoms of other problems like tinnitus.