Getting Over Panic/Anxiety That Comes with the Ringing

Help.. I don't know how to get over the anxiety and panic that accompanies this new ringing sound. Its been going on for almost 2 weeks now which I know is nothing compared to a lot of you but its new and I'm scared. I'm also 7 months pregnant and so a lot of medications are off limits to me. I'm really suffering with the panic feeling and anxiety disorder. I have had a few days where the ringing barely bothers me at all and other days where it is much more noticeable. I just needed some kind words today as I woke up with the ringing and bad anxiety straight off the bat.

 

At the debut of my T I had such loud T upon waking up that I thought I had "exploding head syndrome". Imagine waking up in silence and rested for decades and then, upon waking, stepping from silence to extremely loud T in a split second. Inevitably each time my heart pulse was raising from normal to very high levels. It took me quite a while to get used to meet my loud T whenever I woke up. I was flying into a huge panic attack every time I woke up and I was calling the ambulance very often. When the ambulance came my telling them that I have T was leaving the unphased, they were measuring my blood pressure, noticing that I have very high pulse and I am out of breath, leaving a prescription for a sedative and leaving.

I think your T will resolve after the delivery.
When you wake up and anxiety hits you because T resumes I advice you to not stay one more second in bed (your T may be caused by circulation problems for which laying down is worse anyway), turn on the radio to mask the T, talk to somebody if there is anybody in the house or over the phone, turn on the TV, get dressed and go for a walk, start doing something right away.
In other words: instead of plunging into a panic attack, plunge as fast as you can into another activity that will make you forget the T and bypass the anxiety that comes with it.
You have to stand up and start something from the above examples or maybe something else better that you can think of to jump over those panic attacks because the panic attacks are felt, unfortunately, by the bundle of joy that's in the oven, for which the best environment must be assured.

So get out of bed and start the day doing one of your usual activities that you were doing in the morning before getting T, that will remind you of the times when you were doing those things and you were not having T. Those routines are etched very deep in your brain and will help you switch in your previous life mode.
Do not lay in bed and contemplate your T!

Being anxious and depressed while pregnant is not good for the baby. Whatever the issues that make you depressed and anxious right now are, T and maybe others, all those issues you can analyze in order to solve them after delivery. Postpone all your problems and do your best to be in a good mood, because your mood is influencing the baby.

 

Meditation and yoga are the things through which I learned to disconnect the sound from the anxiety feedback loop.

 

You're a candidate for the easy-to-do Back To Silence method.
No drugs, drops, or money required. You should have positive results in a short time.
Many people who have adverse feelings about tinnitus are responding in a wrong way that actually compounds the anxiety.
This method requires that you stop responding to your tinnitus the way you have been and start responding to it in a new way. This can be a hard habit to break, but the new way is so simple it sounds like a hoax. It's not positive thinking, and it's not trying to ignore tinnitus. It's a way of hitting it head on and training yourself to not hear it.

When your T is intrusive, you simply tell yourself,
"I hear it, I feel "insert emotion."
Then keep track or estimate the number of responses as days go by. You will see a decrease, which means you're not hearing your T as often. I'm down to one response every few days.

Other people are having success too. It's a real thing. Fearing T, hearing T, and having anxiety about it CAN be dealt with. There is a huge thread about it in the "Success Stories" section.

 

@linearb
Maybe you can give us some clues re how can one meditate while having T?

 

to me meditation is just the practice of noticing when the mind is distracted, and then bringing it back to a focus (breath, chanting, whatever). So, this isn't incompatible with T -- T is just another distracting thing that will compete for your attention, and when you notice that happening, then you redirect it, over, and over, and over, and over.

 

@linearb
Thank you for explaining. This question was bugging me for a long time.

 

surely. don't get me wrong, tinnitus can be a very challenging distraction, but the principle is sound.

I started out with lots of guided meditations, especially "body scan" stuff. If you search guided body scan on youtube you will find a lot. These days I don't tend to use that stuff, I just sit and focus on my breath; I've been using a tibetan singing bowl lately to make some noise as well, after reading some positive things about them in a meditation thread on reddit's tinnitus board.

 

Hi Natalie .. When I read your post I felt you were me 9 months ago !!I totally understand how you feel , that horrible scary anxiety that just won't go away , the shock of your feelings and that you will never go back to being you or ever be happy again !!! I got T in February of this year , for 4 months I was in total meltdown , I have never experienced anything like it !! The best thing you can do ( which is what I did ) is look up positive tinnitus stories , I printed them out , saved them to my phone , got my husband to read them so he would understand what had happened to me !!! I read them constantly and after a while the words started to go in , the stories calmed me ,reading that people return to themselves , go back to exactly how they were before ( but sometimes with a better sense of themselves )was what I needed to hear . It made sense , just give it time , let your brain do its magic and just relax and trust that you will I guarantee be back to normal , but in a way better as it makes you appreciate how lucky we are ! Every now and then I might have a little set back and start thinking about it but it's usually because I am worrying about my kids or something !! On one of the many brilliant posts I read it said .. Recovery doesn't follow a straight line , you 'll have days when you feel you've gone back .. But you haven't !! You'll have a beautiful baby to heal you .. How fantastic !! Remember those negative thoughts about T can't be trusted their just words not facts !!! Good luck

 

Thank you everyone again for your support . I guess I'm confused about the pattern this is following, since its so new to me. I have days where it really bothers me (mainly if I'm not doing anything or just watching tv all day) and other days when I throw myself into activities and I don't really notice it as much. There were 2 days this week where it only bothered me for maybe an hour out of the day and the rest of the time I didn't hear it or at least it wasn't bothering me then yesterday it was a constant all day anxiety causing noise. Its very new, only 2 weeks now that I've been dealing with it so I'm not sure if having it already start to disappear is a good sign? I also have recently started seeing a meditation psychotherapist who is working with me one on one and in a group setting to learn to meditate out of my anxiety cycle, which I am finding very helpful. I guess my questions today are, is the ringing disappearing for a few days at a time then coming back a good sign that it is only temporary? Has anyone experienced this? Also it seems I am more so bothered by it when I have the television on, or the radio in my car. It seems amplified by these noises.. Is that strange?

 

(1) I doubt it's a bad sign that the ringing seems to have subsided at times. Let's hope it goes away for good. If it doesn't, you're still going to be fine.
(2) I, and many others, find/have found meditation to be extremely helpful with stress. Keep it up if it's working for you.
(3) many people on this board have reactive tinnitus, meaning that their T gets louder and 'competes' with existing noise in the room. so, it's not at all weird.

I'm glad to hear that you're already coping pretty well. things will continue to get better.
if you need anything else, let me know.

Take Care,

Eric

 

Eric,
Thanks again. I guess I haven't researched too much on reactive T because I'm afraid to freak myself out even more. But that makes sense, it does defintily seem to get more uncomfortable around sounds of certain frequencies (TV/Radio/Loud situations). I am trying to cope everyday. Yesterday after hearing it ALL day I was borderline panic attack but luckily I was able to work on my meditation and bring myself to just generalized anxiety (still better of the two). I have my first ENT appointment Monday.. Curious what they will do, if anything. I know my situation, being pregnant makes it more difficult because a lot of the medications they would try are not safe for me.. So I just feel "stuck". Anyway, all of you guys on this board have really helped me make it through each day.. thanks so much.

Natalie

 

So, I'm certainly NO expert at mediation since I just started seeing a psychotherapist for anxiety issues. Anyway, she is teaching me to work on mindful mediation during the midst of a panic situation and also during quiet times so it comes second nature. Basically, the technique I've been working on the last week is "Feel out, See out, and Hear out (difficult when you hear ringing..). So, to start practice when its quiet and you can concentrate. Start with "See out" let your eyes wander around the room, to anything that you are drawn to and really become focused on that object. For example, if its a plant in the room focus on each individual leaf, the vase, the soil. Really focus on this object. While you are doing that say aloud (if possible) "See out" and keep repeating it in a calming voice. "See out....... see out.......see out....." etc, you can let your eyes wander to different objects and just really focus on them individually while saying to yourself "See out'. If you cant do it aloud, do it in your head but aloud is best for anxiety. If any thoughts/emotions or feelings come into your head, try not to focus on them and instead go back to the "see out.. see out" and focus on the object. Then you can move to feel out. Feeling out involves focusing on sensations inside your body, such as the sensation of your feet on the floor, your clothing on your body, cold, warmth, any pain inside your body, the feeling of your hands on your legs, whatever. Focus on those feelings and say aloud "feel out..........feel out..." and repeat as above.. I find this one is easiest for me. Again, if any thoughts/feelings or emotions come out really try to ignore them and go back to your FEEL OUT or SEE OUT. Hear out is hardest for me with the ringing, so I don't use it often but you do the same thing. I find feeling out and seeing out are easier with my eyes closed.. For hear out, focus on any sounds you hear. The refrigerator running, the a/c or heater on, the house settling, a bird chirping, your kids laughing whatever. Repeat aloud if possible "hear out......... hear out" etc. You don't want there to be too long of gaps between your labeling of hear/see or feel out because then intrusive thoughts/emotions can pop up. So its really important to repeat aloud or in your head those labels of hear/see or feel out. You can move freely between see/hear and feel as you are naturally drawn. Its best to practice in a quiet setting 10 minutes a day several times a day and then apply anytime you also feel stressed or overwhelmed (anxiety). It is DIFFICULT. But with practice, my psychotherapist assures me it actually changes the way your brain responds to anxiety/stressors and you will benefit from it as long as you continue to practice.. Does this make sense? Let me know if you have any other questions, I can try my best to answer from what I am learning as well.