Anxiety Spike or Permanent?

Can anxiety cause a highten sense of sound that will stay forever or will it die down a little? I'm kinda worried at the moment and try to relax but keep thinking it's gonna get worse. I already notice sounds are becoming louder... Thoughts anyone?

 

I dont think you are relaxing if you are being worried Stop worrying. Passing by a construction has not made it louder. Go enjoy spring, have a drink, do smth nice and forget about T Studying or having an intense daily programme has helped me a lot. There is so much to experience in life and anxiety is only going to prevent you from it.
Also, stories about other people's lives might make you see that people can overcome worst obstacles and still live successfully. Watch "Frida" or "A Beautiful Mind". Might help you see that difficulties in life are not going to kill you and may actually help you become stronger.

 

I know I'm trying to relax as much as I can but since I also have developed some sort of hyperacusis I was just wondering if everything is suppose to be this loud. Or if it at least will ease down volumewise. I'm sorry I'm such a stresschicken. I just had a rough couple of days is all. But I get what you're saying. Gotta let it all go..

 

Ive never had H but from what Ive heard its often also psychological. therefore worrying is the worst you can do. The thing is that with some diseases monitoring helps, because then you go to the doctor and they can treat you. Thats not how it works with things that are untreatable. yes its natural to be worried, but then again a lot of things in life dont go as we want. As you said, we have to learn to let go. What choice do we have? Thats why focusing on other things might help Maybe get involved in a project that takes all of your concentration or clean the whole house or smth like that. Or if you have to worry worry about other stuff Just stop thinking about T. Of course mild music might help to play in the background. I also find that masking my T in my head , eg. thinking that its a fridge or a car or smth like helps me see it as non-threatening and habituate.
I guess we are all "stresschickens" on this board But thats what its for Btw your DP made me crave for a cheeseburger ( or a chickenburger )

 

I have Hiperacusis and TTTS from 2010. I recomended you to find a GOOD phsicologist who can help you in the begining. You haven't live with anxiety and you haven't made mistakes in my recuperation. You can.

 

Yes, anxiety can cause your senses to heighten. It can also make existing H, much worse.

 

Meaning it will stay like that? Or can at least ease down a little? I just noticed the spike today and I'm quite mad at myself for being anxious.

 

Well it's just the anxiety was caused by something other than the H but I just noticed I made everything louder

 

Dboy I have been there I thought I was making my t worse everytime I went out heard something loud. Eventually I realized more then the t my anxiety was causing me problems. I'm convinced my t didn't get worse but when something happens and you get anxious and you keep listening to the t it seems louder then it is. You've got to find ways todeal with your t and h. Were here for you man you'll be Ok. You can bring it down many people have. I had some sound sensitivity which is almost gone now.

 

I'm such an idiot though. Like usually most things don't bother but once you make a connection in your brain that anxiety spikes up your t and h everything seems to make you anxious. God I hate this so much. I just don't wanna become a hermit for the rest of life avoiding everyday life and noise.

 

dboy
Six months into my T (and prior to habituation) I went on summer vacation. I made the brilliant decision to drive the family in a rented van for thirteen hours (through the night -- wired on coffee). The van was so loud and I was so strung out I didn't realize my T was absolutely through the roof. I literally turned green it was so loud (and I was so upset and mad at myself for such a stunt).

I took 2 Ibuprofen PM (and then another 2 about three hours later), re-hydrated myself (to get the caffeine out of my system), slept like a rock, and cranked up my white noise generators. It stayed high for about a day and half and then it calmed down. In my panic, I called my audiologist and he assured me that it doesn't stay up permanently -- it just doesn't work that way.

However, it was all about getting the anxiety down; if you have persistent anxiety causing your T (and, yes, my T caused me persistent anxiety for quite some time until I habituated so I know what you are saying) then you won't get control of your T.

Do you feel that you have accepted your T in its totality? I don't mean 'make friends with it' or 'like it', I just mean accepting your situation in its totality? Once you do, your anxiety will start to come down -- you finally realize it has dished out everything it can give you and you are still standing there.

Of course, I don't know your situation (at all) so forgive if I'm speaking out of line; I just know that I didn't see any improvement in my anxiety until I had accepted my situation (which I considered a 'plight' at the time) in its totality.

Mark

 

Thanks Mark, I just had some anxiety about some stupid stuff I posted on facebook and all. I was feeling quite well at the time but then I made it worse by having some dumb anxiety about total senseless stuff. And I have noticed my T has spiked up as well as my H. Yet I was able to sleep a little by also cranking up that white noise.

Also I should mention the main cause for my T is anxiety and stress so I'm very easily agitated over nothing. Especially nowadays. I have made an appointment with the ENT in which he'll hopefully can tell me more about my situation. He'll probably tell me the same thing though.

 

maybe look into therapy or visit a psychiatrist? regular visit with a psychologist might help you change your thinking patterns and become less nervous.

 

dboy
Well, we have that in common (anxiety, stress). Until the onset of my T I had no idea how much of a stress ball I had become. For me, most of the stressors were long-term (life-size) issues I hadn't really dealt with (some self-inflicted others imposed). I still wrestle with them, but now I can 'read the signs' of when I'm getting stressed/anxious and I pause and ask the question 'is this worth getting upset over or will it help if I get anxious and upset?'. Of course, the answer is no. I know that is very idealistic; sometimes you just can't help but get stressed (anxious, mad, upset -- we're human after all). However, I've learned to calm down quicker -- I'm learning to work it from both ends. By no means am I saying I'm as 'calm and peaceful as the pope '; but I do know this is the right path. It's too bad I had to contract T to get me on this path; cuz I believe it's a path that is good for everyone all the time.

Stress and anxiety are killers indeed; we need to kill THEM when we can (or at least put them in quarantine). Easier said then done since the causes of stress and anxiety are so complicated, subjective, and personal -- but a real and viable goal for everyone nonetheless.

If I could go into business selling 'chill pills' that really worked and had zero side effects I'd be a millionaire indeed! So, have a chill-pill; it's on me .

Mark

 

Thank you for your kind words Mark. I'm grateful for this forum to be here for moral support. Of course I talk about it with my folks and nearest too but since you guys suffer from the same condition it feels you're able to understand my pain my a little more. At this moment after a hectic few days I feel finally relaxed some. My H has worsened heavily though but whatever at least I'm calm I guess. I'm hopeful that it will better some over the next few weeks sine I only just noticed it spiked up. Either way life goes on.

 

dboy7921,

Feeling anxiety about tinnitus can be like taking a mental magnifying glass to the condition. The more anxious we feel about tinnitus, the more we monitor it. Many people with tinnitus and hyperacusis feel anxious about sound.

Anxiety about sound can play a huge role in the decisions we make as far as the sounds we feel comfortable being exposed to and the sounds we avoid. Anxiety will not decrease a person’s sound tolerance, but it may lead to decisions to avoid exposure to normal sound or to overprotect one’s ears, and over time those decisions can lead to additional decreased tolerance.

If you are concerned you have developed hyperacusis, it might be worthwhile to make an appointment with a doctor who is experienced in diagnosing the condition so you can be evaluated to see if you have it. If you do, there are steps you can take to restore your tolerance of sound. If you don't have hyperacusis, but still feel anxious around sound, there are other steps you can take to help you to feel less anxious. Reading through your posts in this thread, one of your biggest concerns is whether the anxiety you feel is permanent. I assure you that it isn't.

here2help

 

You won't! It will improve. In the beginning I was a basket case, seriously. Now, I have spikes, I have bad days, I have pain days, however my anxiety towards it stays the same..I have none..in fact, I am getting a little bored with it. One thing is that you just have to let it be. Try distracting yourself, go for walks, only focus on today-not the future. No one knows what will happen tomorrow. There are ups and downs with this stuff, no straight line, but you will improve

 

Hyperacusis isn't psychological from my experience, it's an intolerance to normal everyday sound levels. In my case it actually caused pain and I found the worst sounds weren't necessarily high pitched sounds they included people clapping their hands, my wife's voice, a dogs bark and the usual sirens and so forth. I was anxious about my vertigo and dizzy attacks but my T and H made me frustrated and angry. Whether others think there is a psychological component is a matter for them of course but I think it might just be anxiety. Hyperacusis usually resolves itself over a period of time but it can be treated which hopefully speeds up recovery time. An LDL test should indicate whether somebody has hyperacusis but I didn't need that although did have a heap of other tests: ABR, ENG, MRI, ECOG etc......

 

How does it react with foods though I wonder? Today I was very relaxed and ate like a bag of M&Ms which I read afterwards that apparently chocolate has a negative effect on hyperacusis as well. Hopefully temporary once the chemical reactions wear off I guess. I hate it though haha. When I just had my mild tinnitus I could eat and drink about anything.. And I only suffered a minor spike when I had some alcohol. Now it's like I gotta live healthy but quite honestly I've always been a fan of occasional junkfood. I'm not fat or anything so I don't even worry about that. Do I have to refrain myself from those foods forever now?

 

No, chocolate would make my T worse temporarily, but, so what?! same with alcohol, but personally I just eat and drink what I want...

 

dboy
How's it going? I had to chime in because I've just recently discovered it is nigh on impossible to determine the real effect of external factors (food, exercise, social life, etc.) until 'you' are out of the picture. In other words, when you no longer react to your T and it does not cause you excessive anxiety then you can really start to determine how much these things effect your T -- the 'you' factor is out of the picture and you can be a far more objective observer of your own T.

That being said, I don't mean that you shouldn't try things and experiment (of course you should) and if you notice something helps -- bonus; however, I found that I would get my hopes up about 'finding the key' only to be let down because it appeared not to help. It may have, in fact, helped but it was too small an effect to be noticed because I was still in the picture (my anxiety, focus, et al was still the larger factor). It's because 'the key' is far more internal then external.

That being said, I do think it a good idea to experiment with things, I just wouldn't let them be a distraction from the real work of habituation.

Mark

 

Last night i was laying in bed and a spider crawled up my wall an i freaked and panicked cause i hate them and then all a sudden i had one of those fleeting T for like 3 seconds and it was like a low eeeeeeeeeee and real loud and i freaked more so i was curious whether anxiety can cause the fleeting T more often but could just be a conicidence that it happened after i freaked bout the spider?!

 

That is happening to me also. I went to local bookstore, used books and old textbooks, and bought several math, and number problem books, plus two older SAT exam books so I have problems to work on when I get up early morning and cannot get back to sleep .It is hard to relax but If I can make it to morning I am able to get outside and do work, walk and keep busy. Spring time is for planting .I also listen to music in headphones which helps.

 

I also noticed that eating sweets also made my Tinnitus much worse, so I am working on SAT math problems tonight, listening to flute, Thai music. I am learning , much like you, that we have to just learn how to handle the problem. Music is very important. Sad to give up chocolate and sweets.