Dreams?

I'm not sure if anyone else with H has experienced this before but this morning I had a dream that I was sitting in my backyard with my dog and he started barking because he heard the gate open (this is a common thing in real life) - but in my dream he barked 100x louder than I think he can even do in real life and right into my left ear. In the dream my H acted up and my ear was in pain and started fluttering.

I woke up and my left ear is actually in pain and stuffy. How is this even possible??

 

it's a psychological thing. the fear still controls you very much demi, I can see that in a lot of your posts, you're worrying about your Tinnitus basically all the time. You really need to work on that issue because a lot of your symptoms seem to come from the anxiety you are having more than actual events that could possibly be too loud or so. You have to find a way not to check back on your Tinnitus and Hyperacusis after each event like a long drive or even a dream because if you always focus on it it will be worse in your perception and you will constantly find more things that are supposedly wrong with you. I bet if you manage to relax a little, many of your symptoms will get better. A good start was the trip with your boyfriend you told us about recently in the positivity thread, you seemed much better afterwards. A dog barking into your ear in a dream can not worsen Tinnitus or Hyperacusis but anxiety certainly can.

 

I have not had problems with H (I think I may have had it a bit, but it has definitely died down and only now and again flared, usually when I think about it) but I have had problems with T when sleeping.

When I am half-asleep someone's I can't help but think about ambulances etc, and even when I think about it I think "no, this will make my T worse" and I notice my T too. I think sometimes dreams can connect with T and perhaps H too. Unfortunately not much we can go about it.

Try not to worry Demi. I know you are struggling with T and H but in a lot of cases people with H recover and T is manageable. I am sorry you are going through this, BUT THINGS WILL GRY BETTER!

 

Hi Demi.

I just wanted to let you know that I had pretty bad H in the beginning, and started overprotecting my ears as I kinda had this feeling that some sounds were "dangerous" to my ears as they would literally hurt.

After a while I just didnt want to care about it.. I started listening to music on medium volume, using everyday tools, like hammering nails into wood and stuff like that without protecting my ears. Now the H is pretty much history.

It only kicks in when my nervous system is overactive (like when I start to think that a specific sound is bad for me) OR if I suddenly hear an unexpected sound that is simular to the one I got this trauma from (a bomb blast).

I guess it is a lot anxiety related, at least for me. It's like if someone has a really frightening experience with let's say an air flight, it might need some dedication for this person to take another flight later, maybe even looking at an airplane could trigger an anxiety attack.

 

I had H affect me in my dreams a few times in the beginning when my anxiety was at an all time high.

 

@Mr. Cartman That is super encouraging to hear!

 

When I first developed tinnitus, I shortly after suffered from hyperacusis because of my intense fear of sound. That was short lived, as I don't have to fear sound to live, and I openly let my ears work as I always have. No more loud venues, but if I have to go I have earplugs. Hyperacusis is gone.

 

I know this is an older thread, but I want to add something. I watched the PBS series The Brain recently. They showed with an MRI scan that even when you are thinking about doing something (or watching someone do something, like play tennis), your brain lights up as if you were actually doing this thing (like playing tennis). So, if T is at least partially caused by the brain, then it would be logical that dreaming about loud noises may actually make your ears hurt (or cause the T to increase). Your brain thinks you're hearing a loud sound, even though it's just a dream, and those regions (associated with hearing) are being activated.

 

I have noticed that when I suddenly awaken from dreaming in REM state, my T is usually screaming! It takes 30 minutes or so to calm down. It doesn't matter what the dream is about either. I assume, the subconscious brain is in overdrive during REM sleep and every neuro-transmitter is firing at full capacity.

 

I dream about loud sounds a few times a week. Sometimes its stuff like being at a club or concert and enjoying myself and then I remember that I have messed up ears and start to panic and need to run away. Something always stops me from getting away, the whole thing turns into kind of a silly nightmare where I'm running from sound, just stupid, I can't believe I'm dreaming about this shit now, it's bad enough to deal with it all day.