An Observation & A Question (Being Able to Ignore Chronic Pain But Not Tinnitus, Why?)

Hi all! Brief background info: I've had tinnitus for a little over 2.5 years, the high-pitched electrical noise that I can always hear, accompanied by a lower tone in the 2kHz region that I only perceive in a quiet room. It was the result of a brief ear/sinus infection.

Tinnitus is by far not the only medical condition I've been afflicted with. Stomach issues since I was born, anxiety issues since I was a teen. One morning in July of 1999, I woke up with pain in my lower back that radiated down my legs. I hadn't done anything obvious to cause it. My parents took me to the doctor and ruled out all the serious stuff, and I pretty much just learnt to "live with it". It is, like tinnitus, ALWAYS there. I haven't had a moment of respite from it in 18 years. Yet it rarely bothers me, I can push it into my subconscious very easily. So here's the question:

Why is tinnitus different? Thoughts?

 

I thought that chronic pain was worse than tinnitus. Perhaps this is not always true...

 

I'd imagine it depends on intensity.

 

No, not always true. My pain isn't extreme, like passing a kidney stone or anything. The best way I can describe it is like a constant soreness, as if I had just run a marathon the previous day without training for it for weeks/months beforehand. Make sense?

 

My tinnitus and I have been soul mates over 20 years...

 

I absolutely agree. Chronic pain has different intensities just like tinnitus has different intensities.

There are many people with chronic, debilitating physical pain. It's not something they can easily ignore and even pain medication does not always help. It limits what they can do and there's a risk it could get worse. In those aspects, it's really not that unlike tinnitus for many of us.

I think because tinnitus is essentially in our heads, it can be very overwhelming. But I think it's important to be empathetic and remember that there are other conditions causing similar mental anguish and pain for those who suffer.

 

I find that the physical discomfort from tinnitus and hyperacusis bothers me more than the noise does.

 

I often wondered if a plain sound can give me so much discomfort as T does.
If its bad (on the left side) I feel like my whole left brain hemisphere is numb.

Then I try to imagine how I would feel if the sound was gone: maybe not great but probably much better.
Probably normal.

 

Just found this post and wondered how you are doing now. I am the same, I had a constant headache for two years and I could push it into the background in a way that I cannot do with the noise of tinnitus. Why is this, when others are more bothered by pain than tinnitus? It drives me nuts wondering why.