Do I Suffer from Tinnitus or Is It My OCD? The Sounds I Hear Are Constantly Changing, Never the Same

Hi,

I suffer from OCD which I managed to control with my faith and when I was a child I remember watching the news about a man who committed suicide due to his tinnitus. That was it the trigger moment for me to have this irrational fear of developing tinnitus which I have been battling with since I was 16. I don’t know if I have tinnitus or whether it’s my OCD. During the quarantine my mind convinced myself that I was hearing sounds in my ear/head which I know feel are very real. So I just wanted to help with figuring out what I’m going through. The sounds are not ringing and I don’t know how to describe them. I don’t have hearing loss as far as I’m aware or any head injury. I’ve don’t listen to music through head phones or attend concerts so I don’t know what triggered it.

The sounds I hear almost always change through the day and are never the same. Sometimes I’m convinced that I’m internalise the sounds from outside and repeating them continuously. I’m forever trying to figure out if the sounds are internal and external by blocking my ears with fingers to hear if I hear the same sound. It’s usually not which makes me thing I don’t have tinnitus and then I convince myself I do. Lol I’m actually going mad I think. So I guess the reason why I’m reaching out for help is to get some kind of idea of whether my symptoms are that of tinnitus or whether it’s just my OCD the bane of my life. I probably will speak to my GP but there not doing any face to face appointments yet I don’t even know when.

So please can someone help? Sorry for the typos in advance and bad English.

 

If you've not had any trauma or loud noise or ear infections or eustachian tube infections then I'm taking a guess you are over the top with OCD. Hearing noise that doesn't exist. If you had tinnitus believe me you would know the difference. Think about silence not the noise you think you hear.

 

If you don't know whether you have tinnitus, you don't have tinnitus.

 

I disagree with the guys above. I have CONSTANTLY changing sound and it is definitely tinnitus.