Personal injury news

Captain Kirk reveals tinnitus suicide bid

Star Trek star William Shatner has revealed that contemplated suicide after suffering extensively from tinnitus.

The 74-year-old, who played Captain Kirk in the legendary sci-fi series, told reporters that he used to be unable to get rid of the ringing sound in his ears and it drove him to dark thoughts.

The veteran actor admitted, "It's like listening to the hiss of a TV that’s not tuned in to a channel. I thought I'd go deaf or nuts. I thought it would ruin my career. I thought about killing myself."

After years of suffering from the condition, Shatner finally found peace from tinnitus in the form of a breakthrough medical condition.

Explaining how the problem was solved, he said, “They fitted me with a device like a hearing aid, continually piping white noise into both ears.

"Once your brain gets used to the noise, you’re not listening to it anymore. Then you can wean yourself off it."

About ten percent of the UK population suffer from varied degrees of tinnitus , and celebrities such as Jimmy Saville, Pete Townshend, Steve Martin and Ludwig van Beethoven are also known to have been victims.

William Shatner blames his ear problems on a movie set explosion, but has not revealed if he made a compensation claim as a result.