Graduate school with tinnitus
Frame of reference: I am a mathematician with disabilities that impair my focus and my ability to do mathematics, but not tinnitus.

Disabilities and chronic illnesses suck. Very often, there is no easy way around them. But that doesn’t mean that you should give up on mathematics, not remotely. Giving up means that you don’t even have a chance of living the life you want to live, whereas not giving up means you have that chance. Go and try. If it doesn’t work out it doesn’t work out. But don’t decide it’s not going to work out ahead of time.

It may be the case that your condition prevents you from pursuing a career in mathematics. If that happens, it happens. In a year or two you’ll be in the same position you are now, and not much will have been lost. But I promise you that if you give up on it without trying you will wonder for the rest of your life what would have happened if you had tried.

Every school in the US has an office dedicated to helping students with disabilities, and I can only assume it’s the same in Europe. I’ve taken exams in silent, distraction-free environments, gotten large extensions on assignments, and extra time on exams. The process of obtaining those accommodations can be frustrating, but they’re totally worth it. Since healthcare in most European countries is so cheap, it shouldn’t be that expensive. In the US, the required tests can run you several thousand dollars. The disabilities office might not advertise themselves particularly well, but any academic advisor and many deans or other figures of authority should be able to point you in the right direction.

Again, I cannot speak specifically to your condition, but I and many people I know have similar conditions it seems. Here are some suggestions for coping techniques:


Buy the best noise cancelling headphones you can afford and wear them all the time, even when not listening to music. These changed one of my classmate’s life and enabled them to do homework again.
Find the quietest places on campus and spend your working time there. Many universities have some libraries or reading rooms dedicated as silent zones.
Seek out locations where you’re unlikely to be interrupted. My concentration comes and goes, and the worst thing for my productivity is interruptions. If you’re working near/with friends, tell them how it’s really important that they try to not interrupt you or distract you. I had a habit of working in the astronomy tower, which was not only out of the way but had a locked room that only about 20 other students had access to.
Seek out others with similar conditions, and see if there are any disability advocacy groups near your university. The moral boost you get from being around other people with the same or similar struggles is incredible, and they might have location-specific coping suggestions.
If you feel comfortable doing so, tell all your professors. In my experience professors tend to be extremely accommodating, and will often go above and beyond what the law or university policy dictates. I understand if you don’t feel comfortable doing this, but it was a huge boon for me to out myself to my professors.
Be kind to yourself. It’s really hard on your psyche to struggle with things that used to come more naturally, and it’s extremely common for people with disabilities to become depressed. It’s okay. It’s not your fault. You’re not worth less (or worthless) because of it. Anecdotally, severe depression as a result of disability tends to cause more people to drop out of school than disabilities do. Keep an eye on your mental health and focus on healthy behaviors.