Extreme Anxiety and Paranoia

[Chris Holland]

Hi Guys,

The last week and today I was suffering from bouts of extreme anxiety and paranoia.

My tinnitus recently changed where I now started hearing a kind of wind sound (like an AC or distant plane) on the left side of my head , I already had a high pitched ring in both ears. I woke up with this wind sound and low rumble (that turned out to be the neighbours tumble dryer) during the middle of the night and it sent me spiralling again.

In my house there is a lot of sound and rumbling noises from my neighbours tumble dryer and also from traffic passing, also my other neighbours have a pump for their pond and it pulsates noise. Each time I hear foreign sounds (especially low rumbling noises) I monitor every little thing and it literally freezes me with anxiety because I fear it being another sound being added to my tinnitus.

Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind! I can't seem to shake the fear.
Only thing that helps is Xanax and I am already using Temazepam for 8 weeks to sleep now.
Every time I try to deal with the anxiety without the Xanax it gets me and I simply can't unwind ...

Any of you guys have a similar experience and how do I deal with this, I feel like I developed some sort of phonophobia and anxiety disorder. Luckily I am visiting a psychiatrist now and am doing CBT excercises which kind of help as long as I'm on the meds ...

Could really use some encouragement here.

Warm regards,

Chris

 

[Nanny chocolate]

Hi Chris
You are not alone. My T noises changed over the last 6 or 7 weeks. It's gone to the other ear and not maskable. Driving today I could hear another noise to add to all, total panic. It's made me so depressed and anxious and I do empathise with in how frightening it is. Good that you have your Psychiatrist to help you with your anxiety. I have booked a hypnosis session later this week to if that can help with the full blown anxiety attacks.
I've tried walking but it doesn't help much, I live very close to a beach. I do wish you well in what we both understand is a really, really challenging way of living.

 

[Chris Holland]

@Nanny chocolate

So sorry to hear that, I know how unbelievably disturbing these panic attacks can feel.

Maybe you can get your GP to prescribe you something to calm down a bit? I never wanted to take something in the past but to be honest it's one of the few things helping me cope as of late.

Let's keep the faith, it will get better, for both of us!

Warm regards,

Chris

 

[Nanny chocolate]

This site is addictive!! I don't want to take anymore meds as I'm trying to withdraw from Zoloft. I think this can make anxiety worse. I've been managing life quite well until this major upheaval and life as I knew has disappeared. It's horrible to be so scared as we, and probably a lot of other people, know. Take care and I hope things improve for you. BTW I've had T for a very long time and thought I had habituated.

 

[Chris Holland]

@Nanny chocolate The withdrawal from the Zoloft could very well have something to do with it, I'm no physician but I can imagine this having effect on your anxiety and (perceived) tinnitus levels as well ... Are you getting help from a doctor or a psychiatrist with this?

I can understand what you say about the meds, neither do I but sometimes they can help, does not make you an addict and you can always taper off responsibly once you get over the first major hurdle. Just a thought.

 

[Nanny chocolate]

My GP is no expert on mental health issues. I'm awaiting an appt at a tinnitus clinic and then hope for a referral to a psychologist. It's a lonely experience though, no matter how much other people want to help. I see you are in lovely Amsterdam.

 

[glynis]

@Chris Holland,
I would write down a few reasuring words you can look at when you feel the panic.

I am safe in my home its just neibours noise.

Im safe in my home,my tinnitus sound is no threat to me .
Im safe in my home and just need keep relaxing music on around me.
Just a few you can try and should help settle you with some slow breathing.
Love glynis

 

[Chris Holland]

Hi @glynis

Thank you for that, those are some wonderful tips, will definitely use that.

Warm regards,

Chris

 

[Chris Holland]

@Nanny chocolate

I had the same issue, my GP is not a mental health specialist either, luckily my psychiatrist said I could come tomorrow instead of thursday, I have the feeling the Xanax and Temazepam might be a contributor to the anxiety because I have been taking them at slightly irregular times and have been on them for some weeks now.

The possible withdrawal like symptoms combined with the already existing anxiety and OCD for my tinnitus probably is causing the panic attacks. Unfortunately it always takes quite some time before you can actually meet with a actual psychiatrist so I have been toughing it out for some weeks now ... Hope to find some relief soon.

It definitely is a very lonely experience, I can relate to that very much, lonely and relentless at times ...
Yes I'm from near Amsterdam, a city called Haarlem actually. It's quite nice, a bit rainy today though.

Warm regards,

Chris

 

[Luman]

I have a sound machine, called 'LectroFan, which makes 10 different kinds of fan sounds, and 10 varieties of white noise. It can mask outside sounds very well, you just have to try different selections until it matches. The sounds are not a loop, it's a very advanced, non-repeating, technology and sounds very much like the real fans that the various selections are modeled on. They make an even more advanced model, with more bells and whistles, but this one is small, portable, can go from whisper quiet to quite loud if desired, very affordable, and is powered either by A/C or USB. I've had several sound machines over the years, and this one is by far the best.

Watch out for Xanax, dependency can sneak up on you with benzos, even if you don't take them every day. They are best used occasionally, and anything more than once or twice a month can be risky. I learned this the hard way.

 

[Chris Holland]

Hi Guys,

Short update, I had a very difficult week and was very shocked by the new sound I heard, new sound seems to be almost gone (or I'm just not paying attention to it as much) and probably was due to my cold. @glynis, I steamed yesterday and it seems that it helped quite a bit with my cold, thank you for the tip, also your tip on reminding myself that I am safe in my house and that the sounds are from my neighbours really helped me! Thank you so much, sometimes you just need a little positive affirmation.

However I learned a very valuable lesson, namely that fear can't kill you. I think I needed to face the fear, somehow it helped me and today how strange as it may sound the tinnitus bothered me a lot less and my anxiety was down.

I also visited my psychiatrist today which was quite reassuring. @Luman I realise the risks of benzos but for now I really need them to have a bit of calm and for sleep, I'm on very low dosages (0,5 mg Xanax daily and 10-20mg of Temazepam per night) and have only been using them since the onset of my tinnitus.

I already notice some sort of dependency (increased anxiety when I don't take them) but I'm willing to accept that for now. My psychiatrist said that once I fully recover from my burn out and have habituated to the tinnitus we will gradually taper off them and this should not hinder progress. I prefer the benzos over SSRI's because they have not caused any negative effect on my T and reading all the risks on serotonine re-uptake inhibitors I will stick with this.

Will look into that machine, I am currently using an app called Rain Rain together with a SoundPillow at night and I also play ambient noise via mynoise.net this site kicks ass as it has so many great background sounds. I bought a very nice JBL bluetooth speaker box which has nice rich sound and which I can take from room to room.

Warm regards,

Chris

 

[glynis]

@Chris Holland ,
Glad I was able to help and lovely to hear you had a better day.
Love glynis