8 Months with Stress-Induced Tinnitus — Getting Worse Over the Last 3 Weeks

8 months into stress-induced tinnitus, with worse periods, and better periods. This is such an emotionally exhausting condition. It's unreal. I had a spate of severe anxiety back in May 2021, causing me to have panic attacks every few hours, and a constant state of severe anxiety. I started to stabilize after 2 weeks even though the general anxiety continued, but at least I wasn't shaking, crying, and having panic attacks everyday.

Unfortunately, just when I started to feel a little bit better, one morning I woke up to a strange beeping sound in my left ear, which I initially thought was a truck reversing outside, but I came to realize the noise was internal. After that moment, my life pretty much changed. So months and months of hell and torture ensue, with my tinnitus fluctuating constantly, and just when I start to habituate to the tones that I have, new tones rear their ugly head and set me back into an anxiety spiral.

These past 3 weeks have been a painful decline into an even deeper pit of hellish anxiety, with the piercing infrequent high pitched tone I've been getting for months, slowly becoming more and more permanent, giving me sleepless nights, and causing me to have overwhelming feelings of hopelessness and anxiety.

So here I am, I've had to give up online University, work, and just feeling human in general. I've recently become so desperate that I've started taking Sertraline to just have some feeling of hope that it will eventually help me deal with this torment a little bit easier, and I may have to resort to benzos while the Sertraline kicks in.

It does offer me some comfort that I'm not the only one to have these feelings and issues, so hanging around here and chatting amongst people who are suffering as I am may help me come to terms with my tinnitus. I wish everyone well, and I hope that if you're suffering that you will find some relief, and peace of mind one day. We all deserve it.

 

Welcome to the forum. Yes you are not alone here, as many of us have been where you are and have true empathy for the tough struggle you are going through. Please hang in there as when tinnitus is new or when it kicks up to a higher level, it is always nerve wrecking and sleepless day in and day out.

I was in similar shoes when my ultra high pitched tinnitus first attacked me without warning which then was followed by severe hyperacusis. I went through hell with both of these 2 demons at the same time, having to depend on benzos, ADs and sleeping pills just to function.

So if you find that you really can't cope by sheer will power, having medications and supervised by your doctor is something quite normal and common. Not all people have bad side effects. It is a highly personal thing. You can always phase these drugs out like I did under the supervision of the doctor. I recommend you to read up as many success stories as you can besides other things, such as doing relaxing activities or exercises. Success stories can calm your nerves and it may calm your tinnitus too if the stress level is down. Give it time and be patient. Many people get better eventually, with 6 to 18 months often quoted. I took longer but I was someone with prior condition of GAD and panic disorder plus PTSD. So I took longer but I did write my success stories which you can read up in the Success Stories forum.

Take good care. Best wishes for your recovery. God bless.

 

@DirectorPhleg, please tell us how you are now. I hope you are at least hanging on in there.

I'm with you.