Anxiety and Tinnitus Taking Over My Life

I have had loud tinnitus for about 3 years now.

Just when I think I'm coping with it okay I either get a spike or I read something online that makes me a nervous wreck and subsequently makes my tinnitus worse.

That's what happened tonight. I usually only come on here to look at treatment updates but I stupidly ventured into other forums and now I feel like I'm on the verge of an anxiety attack and my tinnitus is bothering me so much. I'm just scared.

The more anxious I get the more scared of sounds I become and I know that isn't good.

It's at the point where I'm afraid of leaving my house.

I'm just so exhausted. I feel like 10 years of my life have been shaved off from all this stress. I've been thinking about taking anti-anxiety meds but I have heard horror stories of tinnitus becoming worse that way.

But I'm starting to realize that might be my only option as the paranoia and fear of making tinnitus worse is taking over my life.

 

There could be a possibility that Lenire may reduce your tinnitus in the meantime before Regain or Frequency Therapeutics release their hearing regeneration drugs in a few years time. Where are you based?

 

Best not to read in here much. Everyone agrees it can make it worse and the bottom line is nobody has the exact same causes and symptoms I've found. Don't let it get to you, you ARE going to improve.

 

The United States. I am hoping they get Lenire here quickly. Didn't the CEO say he was aiming to get it FDA approved before 2019 ends? But does that mean the device will be available immediately after that or will we have to wait a while more while they get devices sent over and audiologists trained to deliver the treatment? If so, hopefully it won't take long.

 

How does anxiety make it worse exactly? No one can explain.

If it does, many are screwed. If your tinnitus is loud and high pitched or very intrusive, it is inevitable to cause stress and anxiety.

I don't think this cycle can be avoided. If the tinnitus is mild, cbt might help but when tinnitus is severe, it is almost impossible to cope.

Loud high pitched tinnitus is not a normal condition for people.

 

I totally relate to this. Im 18 and ive had tinnitus for 3 months, with it getting slightly, but not much better. I get scared and anxious every day about having this since im going to college soon, where the noise level is so much higher than my life right now.
But, my dad also has tinnitus, and one thing that he said to do is to try to not worry about it or think about it. If you focus all your energy on something else, I have found that it tends to go down for the time being.

 

I still would like to know how many people who have super high pitched and loud tinnitus have (ever) had theirs improve or reduce.

It's almost like a ringing power line for lack of a better description.

How do you reduce anxiety when you have that? I believe I have anxiety even when I am asleep - thus, out of my control?

 

I visited this forum as a guest 2~3 times back in 2016 when I first got tinnitus, read a lot and realized that it had better to stay away from tinnitus forums and discussion boards which I believe was the best decision I ever made in my life. Since then, I never read or search anything about tinnitus for two good years. After thirty long months, just very recently, I joined this forum to write my story hoping that it would help people here at least to some extent. I live a very normal life today with barely noticeable tinnitus at times, mostly only when I am in bed getting ready to sleep. Judging by where I am at this point, I strongly believe that I will be able to get rid of this condition in 2~3 months time from now.

 

Mine reduced from a 10/10 to a 2.5/10 over 9 months.

 

One thing that helps me overcome feeling a particular way is when I read the stories I keep an objective point of view: these are other people's experiences, they are not mine, I do not know what the future has in store for me. There are many factors that come into play so don't discredit yourself and your own journey.

The stories are scary, but they are cautionary tales at best. They do not foreshadow your fate, they merely remind you to be wiser/smarter about your own choices.

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. " - Marie Curie

 

These things usually turn out to be bollocks. I remember AM-101 or something being the next big thing last year and that turned out to be bollocks too. I'm not saying this to be unkind but there's no point in keep fooling for the next big thing only to be let down once again. It's a mugs game.

 

AM-101 was a drug only in trials, and it may have not succeeded only because of bad testing paramerers and short lasting effects. Lenire has mostly completed the trials and is working on a concept that the science community is proving to be an effective treatment for tinnitus: bimodal neuromodulation. There are two universities creating treatment devices under the same principle, Neuromod even hired one of those universities' lead researcher: Dr. Hubert Lim. They are not at all alike except for their underlying purpose in treating tinnitus, and Lenire's trial results show that it likely will be our first effective treatment.

 

What convinced me that there is a chance this time is the experience of @kelpiemsp who had suffered from loud T for decades, who was part of a U of Michigan trial over a year ago, and who is still enjoying quiet T:

 

One person doesn't mean anything.

 

I think it is the other way around. No matter how many people are not getting better after a treatment, one will never be able to say that the treatment won't work. One person getting better proves that the treatment can work.

 

It can also mean it is a fluke.

 

If someone has loud T for more than 20 years, then has the treatment, and the volume of T goes down and stays down, and then the treatment is rolled out to the general public (by the people who stand to lose a lot of money if the treatment doesn't work), it is Not a fluke.

 

By itself, it is by definition, a fluke unless there is more context, more data.

Just because it's released to the public means little. The tinnitus treatments now doesn't 'work' for everyone and doesn't change the volume either, but there is a large industry of it even though the effectiveness is limited and perhaps negligible for severe sufferers.

Yet, it's widely available for the public.

 

Btw, I am not trying to be a downer on anyone's hopes. I want to be wrong on this one. I don't see it as a cure but I suspect everyone is desperate for an improvement and reduction. I just hope that severe sufferers are included.

I am honest though. I find it difficult to be optimistic.

 

They are not claiming it to be a cure. They are saying it is a treatment, and since their primary measurement was THI, the data says that vast majority of those who get the treatment see a clinically significant improvement in THI. The data suggests it is regardless of initial THI. The testimonials reveal that even though THI was the primary measure, the loudness and/or severity is what is actually being affected.

You should watch the Tinnitus Talk interview with their CEO Ross O'Neill; it is very informative. So far they appear to have been very transparent, and the results suggest that their treatment is not a "fluke".

 

That is all vague with no specifics, no concrete meaningful data. No subjective claims with empirical evidence etc.

 

When it comes to tinnitus, it is as close as it gets. They also measured minimum making level but they chose THI over it because of how the treatment also affects severity. You can take a look at the leaked data from one of their presentations yourself.

 

Lately I've been struggling more than usual. I was deeply depressed before tinnitus, and now that I have tinnitus, it's like all the fight is slowly draining out of me. I can't see this ever getting better. I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel even though I know the chances of this getting cured in my life time is pretty dang good.

I guess I'm just impatient. I don't really want to wait 5 years for hearing loss drug that *might* help tinnitus. Lenire will be useless for me since I don't have enough hearing. Susan Shore's device is at least 3 years away. I am aware of other potential treatments, but those too are just in the pipeline.

I'm just sick of fighting with this. Constantly having to think about it, to worry if even the slightest noise is going to make it worse. And I'm so alone. I've dropped out of college, I'm unemployed, I don't have anymore friends, I don't talk to any family except for my parents and even then, I don't ever really talk to them. I've tried to tell them about my concerns with tinnitus but they either scoff and roll their eyes, or tell me to quit worrying about it. And they always forget. It's not a concern for them. I tried turning to God and it helped for a while but I'm relapsing hard and I don't have much faith now.

I talk to people online sometimes but it's not the same. I have nobody in my personal life. Trying to battle both mental illness and tinnitus at the same time is a different kind of torture. It all keeps getting worse.

I just don't know what to do anymore. I truly am at my wits end. I feel like I've handled all I can handle. The thought of living like this for another 5 years? Assuming all goes well with treatments? I would truly just rather die. Not saying I'm going to kill myself right now. But it's definitely looking like a future possibility.

Sorry for being a downer. It's one of those nights.

 

I'm sorry you're feeling this way. My tinnitus is still mild, but more reactive and I notice it more because I have to wear ear protection a lot because of my severe pain hyperacusis. I had to drop out of university as well.

Having unsupportive parents must be terrible. Have you considered therapy? If you don't have support in real life, we other tinnitus sufferers are here for you online You're not alone. A lot of us here share the same feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, depression. Life's really hard but there are sometimes moments or days that feel slightly more bearable. If you ever need to talk feel free to PM me

 

Difficult, but not impossible. This kind of negative thinking is horrible for those with sever tinnitus (like myself), and should be avoided.

I've been able to significantly reduce the volume of my tinnitus by breaking this cycle. The mind is very powerful, and anxiety has a HUGE effect on tinnitus. The idea is to bring your mind to a calm state, while listening (not masking) the tinnitus. Extremely difficult, but I'm speaking from first hand experience, and have been able to reduce the volume in half by doing this.

 

Try not to read 'horror stories' in here. Because this can cause further anxiety and cause your tinnitus to spike up (nothing permanent though).

I was in the same boat as you. I thought "I'm suffering from tinnitus now and it's bad enough, what if it gets worse?!" and this eat me from the inside. But stop worrying... we people worry to much about EVERYTHING. I read somewhere that 92% of the things you worry about or afraid of will NOT happen.

Try your best to relax and be a better friend to yourself and you will get out from the dark clouds. Trust me

 

The more I read about tinnitus the more complicated and interesting it gets.

Very high pitch sounds are related to stiffness, which would explain a stiff ear drum due to high middle ear pressure from ETD. ETD is explained by facial muscle imbalances caused by the jaw AND mouth (teeth, bite, tongue habits). This explains why a 15-year old person gets tinnitus with no hearing loss and a 45-year old gets tinnitus with no hearing loss. There has to be a constant and the only constant is the jaw but the malfunction starts much deeper. It can be inflammation, infection spreading from teeth to the mandible, anatomical changes due to postural and jaw moving habits.

I think most tinnitus sufferers can eliminate or reduce their tinnitus for good but they are told they can’t. I can modulate mine by going deep to the upper cervical nerve with a TECAR laser for example. That doesn’t mean the nerve is the cause, I’m just irritating the nerve. The cause must be abnormal pressure in the middle ear and everyone seems to have ETD here. Fluid isn’t necessary for it to exist. Abnormal pressure makes the eardrum stiff, it can create tinnitus. Muscles can drag the whole ear and stress it, the three little bones behind the ear drum can be influenced. I don’t think many have direct damage to the cochlea, the “damage” occurs from the outer parts of the ear.

There are papers suggesting that Ménière’s goes away in 5 years, that noise-induced tinnitus heals as well, same for hyperacus. Well, hyperacusis can come from muscle not working properly yet people say “psychological”. It’s not. If someone has a somatic condition that “tires” the ear, a noise-induced trauma isn’t going to heal fast. Same for those who have jaw problem. If someone sees xrays they will most likely dismiss it saying it isn’t THAT bad. And they’re right, but the surrounding malfunction of muscles and ligaments is what causes tinnitus. Add to it nerves being pinched or an artery squeezed and tinnitus can worsen a day and get better the next. Then you have diets of no sugar or salt that - obviously - give relief but they’re not addressing anything. I tested this, I had salty foods and cheese and fries, tinnitus stayed the same probably because I’m addressing the nerve/vessel/posture issue to an extent. If however I tire my body and specifically my neck, tinnitus will climb up to day-1 loudness almost. If someone has chronic ETD, how on earth will his cochlea heal? How will the ear not worsen, since the pressure causes wrong signals to be sent. Stay like that for ten years and you’re gonna have louder tinnitus and the ear drum will sure worsen. I must have had ETD building for months, at least 2, plus the strain on my neck (and consequently ears) and I never thought of it. This stuff is sneaky.

My point is that if someone gets tinnitus, he gets tinnitus. Great. If the tinnitus worsens then it means something is worsening it and it isn’t the cochlea (if all infections and diseases are ruled out of course). It all points to a somatic issue, so one must try to address it.

How can a treatment be successful if one has an ongoing issue that is worsening the ear?