Suicide of IT worker tormented by tinnitus
AN IT programmer killed himself when he developed tinnitus after using a new pair of headphones, an inquest heard.
Daniel Derricutt, 28, said that after a month of listening to music on the Bose headphones he started getting ringing in his ears, the hearing was told.
Crewe Coroner’s Court heard the Open University computer science student started to suffer sleepless nights as the “ringing” was like a “nagging toothache”.
Last November a friend found him hanged in the home he shared with his brother Alex in Crewe, Cheshire.
Distressed
Recording a suicide verdict, coroner Adam Fullwood told the hearing: “This is a devastating and tragic case.”
The inquest was told the tinnitus problems began after Mr Derricutt bought the headphones last spring.
His best friend, Joshua Johnson, said: “He did have issues with his tinnitus. He said he had this ringing in his ears and it was annoying. He described it like a toothache, sort of a nagging pain.
“It didn’t start until he got some Bose headphones. He said that’s what had caused his ears to ring and he sold them a month after he got them. I didn’t know he was having sleep problems, he just looked tired sometimes.
“He was well liked by all of his friends. The last time I saw him we watched TV together and ordered a pizza. He showed no intention to end his life and appeared to be fine.”
Daniel’s father Frederick Derricutt said: “Daniel had tinnitus and that distressed him.
“It was keeping him awake at night, he was down in the dumps about it. He wasn’t one to cause a fuss so kept it to himself.
“He was very driven. He would go to work then come home and do university work, then go and see his friends.
“He worked in marketing and IT and he was doing a computer science course with Open University. He loved his work and wanted to get the qualifications to improve.
“Daniel also had an eye condition, his eyeballs were pyramid shaped and would often change shape, making it difficult and uncomfortable. But we were told they would stabilise by the time he reached 30.
“He didn’t have any mental health issues, he never took drugs or smoked and he never expressed any thoughts of self harm or suicide. It was a complete shock.”
The hearing was told Mr Derricutt left no suicide note and tests showed there were no drugs or alcohol in his system.