Anxiety Causes Fleeting Tinnitus and Spikes?

Growing up, I've always had some form of anxiety and it wasn't until a few months back that I decided to see a therapist for it. I got diagnosed with moderate anxiety, but never went back to the therapist or went on medication for it because I believed that I could fix it/keep it under control. However, my anxiety levels are through the roof ever since I figured out I had mild hearing loss at a young age of 22 (30 dB drop in 4 kHz, 40 dB drop in 8 kHz, pretty bad I know it might be worse now I'm not sure). I notice that when I'm extremely anxious, I get fleeting tinnitus, and even when I think I'm not anxious, I get fleeting tinnitus which makes me more anxious. Sometimes the fleeting tinnitus causes me to lose hearing in one ear for a few seconds, and other times it's just a ringing that lasts a few seconds. Also, I don't really notice my tinnitus unless I get anxious or focus on it...

The reason I get anxious is because I think my hearing is getting worse after random incidental exposures from everyday noises such as dishes banging in the sink or a motorcycle revving past. I dwell on it day and night. From the moment I wake up I try to see if I can "hear" certain things, and if I can't hear birds from my room in the morning, I start to panic which leads to me going on a walk to see if I can still hear the birds outside. Also, any physical contact with my eardrum makes me more anxious, such as using a q-tip to itch my ear canal, resting my head/ear on my arm which leads to a small amount of suction in my ear when I move my head after, pushing on my tragus because my ear canal is itchy, putting in earplugs/earmuffs, accidentally touching my earplugs/earmuffs, suction from taking out the earplugs/earmuffs (even if I do it slowly) etc. I think these actions make my hearing worse from the noise/suction. I'll try not to touch my ears anymore to somewhat calm down my anxiety from all the "what if this made it worse, what if that made it worse".

However this anxiety is ruining my life and I feel like it's preventing me from recovering my tinnitus, and also making my hearing loss more serious. I already don't go outside enough, now I feel like I can't go outside at all. I feel like I can't even go into my own kitchen when my mom is in there because of all the noises she makes with the dishes, garbage disposal, etc. I hear decently sometimes, but the more anxious I get, the more muffled and less I hear throughout the day.

Please provide me tips on how to keep this anxiety in check (asides from therapy/meds) or how to prevent further hearing damage/cure my tinnitus! I really don't want to wear earplugs even to the grocery store... It's like a double edged sword, I feel better about protecting my hearing, but also feel worse because I'm only 22 and can't even do normal people things. I'll also get anxious that putting in/pulling out the earplug is damaging to my hearing. I also freak out over the suction of earmuffs. Someone please reassure me these things aren't as damaging to the ear as I perceive them to be. Also, any tips for an itchy ear canal? That would definitely help prevent me from touching my ears with a q-tip/pushing my tragus. Thank you for reading this!

 

edit: physical contact with my ear, not my eardrum. LOL I don't shove the q-tip in that far. just enough to relieve the itch at the ear hole. But I still feel like the noise/force is damaging to the eardrum somehow because maybe it vibrates the eardrum. It won't let me edit for some reason.

 

I completely understand where you're coming from. I have anxiety and im always testing my hearing and getting worried by loud noises. It's really frustrating and diminishes your quality of life. I wish i could provide you with some relief but it's tough. For me I try my hardest to distract myself and not think about it but it's really difficult. I think a key factor is time passing. With more time passing the worries become less strong. Sometimes you just gotta wait it out. I really hope you feel better over time I know how terrible anxiety feels. Just keep your head up, you got this!

 

One way I control any anxiety is to become obsessed with something such as a hobby, a tv show, a sport, a pet, or a music instrument of some sort. Becoming dedicated to these things really took my mind off of tinnitus as I don't really have time to mill over my thoughts. If it wasn't for gaming tournaments, sewing and baking--my first year of tinnitus would've been unbearable. Best of luck to ya, you seem like a very headstrong individual who knows exactly what they want.