Can Anxiety Cause Tinnitus?

You are quite correct---in my case, I was forced to go 'cold turkey' from a prescribed barbituate (after 15 years) and the result has truly been a living hell---the tinnitus is only one symptom of many equally horrific ones----some possibility of hope by going back on the medication, then taper off----I don't know. No one wants to help and life is getting to be unbearable.

 

I suggest getting tested for Atrial Fibrillation. I have no great medical mind though.

 

Anxiety didnt cause my tinnitus, since I have always had it, but never really noticed. Anxiety did make me more aware of it to the point where now it won't go away. I really only noticed my tinnitus when I put headphones on that completely covered my ear. Never thought anything of it since I didnt do it very often. With my last bout with anxiety, the tinnitus got really loud. Of course everyone says its the same volume you just notice it more. Either way it went from something I never noticed or thought about to something that was louder than a jet engine. I have a theory that the more you think about it and the more you let it bother you the worst it gets. The longer you think about it the harder it is to make it go away. Having high anxiety for 6 months along with loud tinnitus has now made it more difficult for me to not notice it like I did before.
First you have to get rid of the anxiety completely. Then you have to start your life back up again and stop thinking about it. The more you do this, the more it goes away or lessens the volume. I know its not easy, but thats what you have to do. Distract yourself. Go to the mall. Really you have to just stop thinking about it. Once you get to that point you will notice it less and less and the volume will go down and you will notice it less, volume down, etc etc etc.

 

I am very new to tinnitus, but definitely think there is a link between that and anxiety. Last year I started picking up that I clench my jaw a LOT and started having pain around ear and cheek on left side. My tinnitus is on my left side, started as a low murmur. Then spiked last week after pain symptoms in my jaw/cheek area picked up too. The past week the jaw pain has been enormous and my jaw has been noticeably tight some days. Tinnitus is worse too. Granted, I'm also anxious about the tinnitus now.

The ENT said I "shouldn't connect the dots" (between jaw pain and tinnitus) but I can't help, as it all is on the left side. Right side has been bad the past week too though, most likely due to tinnitus stress.

Sending you massive hugs. xox

 

I lost my mom to cancer back in 2011. I had terrible anxiety and panic attacks from the grief. Then about 1 year after mom passed away I developed tinnitus. I walked around my house searching for something electrical that could be making that noise. Then one day I closed my ears and realized the noise was in my ears or head. I freaked out. I could not turn it off. I felt trapped and out of control about the situation. The more upset I got about it the louder the T got.
I ended up in a doctor's office. The doctor told me that grief, stress, and anxiety was causing the noise. He said my brain was stressed. He said the brain is a powerful organ and it can cause all kinds of things when stressed for too long. He told me to get therapy. He is the best of the best doctors so I took his advice. This doc actually teaches other doctors and medical students. Well he was RIGHT! I went to grief therapy and over time as my body, brain and nervous system calmed down so did the noise in my ears. Its been 5 years now and I still will have ringing from time to time but it is always connected to stress and anxiety. If I am stressed and having anxiety my ears will sound off. I even have days I hate being in a quiet room. But I look at it as an alarm system for me to chill out and work on me.
T can also be caused by ear infections, fluid, ear wax, hearing lose, ect.
BUT if you do not have those medical conditions, then T is being caused by a stress response in the brain. The flight fight response does cause T.
I think its about not being afraid of the T and working daily on lowering your stress. Maybe you need to work through things in your life that you keep buried? Try therapy and over time your T should go down or go away. Be patient with T getting better. With therapy it might get louder before it gets quieter because your working through painful things. But once you get it out you will be so glad you did. There is always a root of what is causing T.
First see if you have something medically going on. Then if its not medical then you know your brain is stressed out. Find the root of your T and work on it. Hang in there my T friends. I understand what your going through and your not alone in this. Your going to be OKAY. Keep praying......