Help! I Feel Terrified and Immobilised

I feel terrified and immobilised today. It's like waking up in shock and then I have to go to work. I can't sleep and I am just exhausted.

 

Hi Jason, I can relate. Are you able to get prescription medication to help with sleep? Melatonin has helped me some nights.

 

Hi Ludvik
I will try some melatonin, its just an awful nightmare to be in. Yesterday i haf a valium which took the edge of the panic. But it is only a temporary solution.

 

Yeah it is a nightmare, some days I just cannot fathom that I'm going through this.
I notice your T started 23 Nov like mine, some of the advice I've been receiving is that it's still very early days for us and I find comfort and hope in that.

Our mind and body is still getting used to this new sensation, and of course we react to it as if it's dangerous and it causes our system to just go crazy with panic. I feel as the days pass our body and brain will slowly get used to the sound and not perceive it as a threat - so the anxiety should die down. I notice I've had days where the ringing is SO loud, but emotionally I feel fine with it - if I can have one moment like that why can't all moments be that way?

The sleep thing is definitely the biggest issue right now, if possible talk to your GP to find ways to increase sleep and reduce anxiety, getting enough rest will only help the recovery process.

 

That is amazing that you can detach emotionally from loud T ringing. Consider it positively. The brain will learn to ignore T as time goes by and sooner or later you will reach that emotional plateau where T just can't bother you as the brain gets bored with reacting to it.

 

Thanks Billie, that fills me with hope. I have had brief instances where I'm just far too exhausted to be anxious and depressed anymore, and you're right my brain kind of just goes "whatever". If my T happens to stick around I hope I can continue to cultivate that state of being.

 

Welcome to the forum. Both you and @Ludvik have very new T so it is expected that you folks will have some initial struggle. It is best to be mentally prepared for this and accept that as being part of the journey with T. Try to read up as many success stories as you can. You will learn that most people suffered very bad initially. This is because the new T sensation is so alien to the brain that it doesn't know what to do with an unpredictable T that it simply can't shake it off at will. As such, the brain will react in shock and trauma for a while, and the limbic nerves will take over and you function in fight or flight mode which tends to make things worse than they are.

This phase will pass however, and sooner or later, the parasympathetic nerves will return and things will be easier to deal with. Internally, the T signal will be processed and handled by the pre-frontal cortex instead of the Amygdala which is the fight or flight center. Once this stage is reached, you will find that your reaction to the T stimulus will not be as sharp and negative as before. That is when you will have more and more good days. I speak from experience as a few years back I was in a mess with ultra high pitch dog whistle T and also severe H. I never thought I could recover, but today I live a normal and absolutely enjoyable life. If you wish to know how the detail of how I turned around my initial suffering, here is the link to my success story:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

In the mean time, you can use masking and drugs or natural alternatives to help yourself to stay calm. if you don't want to use drugs, perhaps try try natural alternatives such as Lemon Balm, Valerian, Hops, Catnips, Passion Flower, Chamomile, Lavender, Kava, Melatonin etc. You can google search each of them to know their use and see if you can take them as a supplement. Check out this site on using natural herbs for helping to sleep or to calm the nerves.

http://www.christopherhobbs.com/lib...ealth/herbs-and-natural-remedies-for-insomnia/

For masking here are some suggestion:
1) Mask at bed time so you can sleep better. Find whatever sounds/music that are soothing to you. You can use a sound machine or sound pillow for this, or a computer with speakers.

2) If you need masking on the go, try load an ipod with nature sounds or music using itune. If you have a smart phone, you can download free APPs for soothing or T-masking sounds.

3) If you have computer and speakers, you can try these excellent masking sounds too:

TT's audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: http://mynoise.net/

or download free sound generator ‘aire freshener’: http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.

 

@billie48 Thank you Billie, this is great information. I'm putting more focus into reading success stories, it's really easy in these early days to look at the horror stories/worst case scenarios and be petrified by them.

 

Yes I think being more positive will help much more than being negative. There are enough positive, successful cases on TT in the Success Stories Forum for new members to keep busy. Positivity will make life easier and will reduce the anxiety and stress which are bad for T. So it is only beneficial and helpful by choosing this path with nothing to lose. If life has to be lived at all, positive or negative, why not choose the former. It may take time to recondition the brain to do this, but time is on our side.

 

Hi Everyone
Please persevere with me because i am so frightened that i just want to reach out to everyone. Nearly 4 weeks ago i woke up with a fullness in my left ear and ringing.

I felt a little spaced out and think i slept in a funny position because i had a bit of a numb left arm. I was leaving for Bali in two days time so i could not do any tests until my return. I seemed ok in Bali but on my return the blockage and T intensified.

I had a CT scan which came up clear and blood tests that were also clear. I was put on Prednisolone and Doxycycline but i have actually got worse. I am in such a panic because the T is quite loud even during the day now. I am upset because i dont know if the prescribed meds made me worse. I also during the year reduced Lexapro from 10mg to 5mg and i am panicking that this may have caused T .

Which has caused even more anxiety because i feel i will never get off this stuff. I wish initially i had gone straight onto something natural like 5htp. My mind is spinning and i am not coping with even the basics.

A few weeks ago i was a happy strong guy and now i am a total wreck...please help with any advise. Sorry to ramble but i am in a blind panic. I see an ENT tomorrow. Thanks for listening
Jason.

 

Try reducing your sodium to 1500mg per day and see if it helps. Get something to help you sleep too.

 

You may have somatic tinnitus, from the bad position of your neck/jaw during your sleep. It sounds like your T returned to the previous level when you returned to the same bed and probably took during your sleep the same position without even realising. If your got TMJ from the bad sleeping position that may explain the ear fullness, cause TMJ causes ear fullness. You had not acoustic trauma, which is very good for you.
I think it's from the muscles that are pressing part of auditory system.
Get a good pillow (ergonomic) and try sleeping on your back.
Try muscle relaxers.

You are not the first to report worsening of T after Prednisolone. (Including me)
That Doxycycline had no justification in prescribing it, unfortunately.
Things will get better.
Do a search on this forum for "somatic tinnitus" and "TMJ".
PS T from neck problems problem TMJ is loud, just as you describe it.
See if turning your neck to the maximum or opening your jaw modulates (chamges) the frequency. Contract your SCM muscle and see if this changed the pitch. Even if it doesn'T, do not rule out TMJ or muscle problems just yet. This modulation of the T with contraction of some muscles may not appear immediately.
I know it's easier said than done, but try to relax: stress contracts the muscles, and you want to relax them.

 

Welcome to the forum. Here members understand your struggle because most of us had been where you are now. Your struggle, though tough, is quite typical of most folks who contracted intrusive tinnitus. It is so alien a sensation the body is still trying to figure out if T is a threat. For the time being, the brain treats T as a threat. As such your limbic system takes over and you function in fight or flight mode. Your Amygdala takes over processing the T stimulus, causing lots of fearful and stressed reaction. As bad as it is, the body is just trying to protect you from danger.

Over time, after the brain gets more used to the T sensation and especially if you keep living your life, T will become less threatening and your brain will get less frightened by the T ringing. Soon the pre-frontal cortex will take over from the Amygdala in handling this T stimulus. The parasympathetic nervous system will return in control. With that, you will have much calmer days in dealing with T. So hang in there. Time plus some helpful strategies will help.

I speak from experience. A few years back my ultra high pitch dog whistle T plus severe hyperacusis turned me into a mess. I had a hard time with relentless panic attacks. I thought my future would be doomed. But it is a lie. Today I live a happy and absolutely enjoyable life. What doomed future? If you are interested in some helpful strategies I used, here is my story. Take good care. God bless.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

 

Thankyou so much guys. I have never met such a bunch of brave people. God bless you all.

 

Hi Jason.
At the moment you need help and support from your doctor with dealing with how you are feeling and counselling can help you.
Emotions play a big part in coping with tinnitus and most of us go through it and not nice and there is help for it so don't suffer alone and see your doctor....
Try keep sound on around you to help distract yourself from your tinnitus and take everything at your own pace and no pressure on yourself and try off load stress and make time to relax in the evening .
We are here for you anytime and all understand what your going through and let your doctor and family know what your going through.
You will get through this tough patch and come out stronger and life will get better....lots of love glynis

 

Hi
I dont know what to do. I am waking up in terror. I cant seem to break the fight or flight cycle when i wake up. I feel the T is becoming more intrusive by the day. I can hear it more during the day now. This is killing me.

 

Hi Jason,
Try deep breathing.
Breath in slow to the count of 3 and out slow to the count of 4 to slow down your breathing till calm.
See your doctor who might prescribe something to relax you.
Try stay calm and relax and know it's normal to feel that way at first as you adapt to Tinnitus.
When you wake your brain checks your vital signs and tunes in to your tinnitus sound so do the breathing exercises and try not to fear your tinnitus as it's just a sound but can be stressful and torture for some but it will get better to cope with and your emotional response will settle down too....stay positive and see your doctor tomorrow ....lots of love glynis

 

At the beginning of my T life I was flying into a panic attack every time I woke up and was "greeted" by my tinnitus. I used to get up and call a suicide prevention hotline. That was my morning "routine".
Newbies have it the worst. In time your condition will improve and you will learn to beat this beast. In the meantime you have take something to sleep deeper and longer, cause being tired/exhausted worsens the tinnitus.
The best thing is to take something natural, sedatives from plants. I am personally satisfied with Sedivitax.

 

My T was so bad in the morning, when I woke up, that I thought that I had "exploding head syndrome". (that's a real condition).
You will get better.
Be strong and use the forum every time you need.

 

Thanks so much Glynis

 

Thanks so much Dana

 

Just woke up terrified again. Full fight or flight. Burning sensation over my body, profuse sweating. OMG i cant seem to break this cycle, i am trying deep breathing and positive self talk but my brain is just taking over. Could Lexapro be interfering with the process? I believe tapering slowly of lexapro was what gave me the tinnitus in the first place. Just so drained and down. I feel the ringing is getting louder everyday. God help me.

 

Can you go to a doctor and have him prescribe a benzo?

Why do you struggle like this? Why not rely on medication that is available?

 

Just chill out man. Laugh about it. Yeah it sucks, your ear is ringing like mad. At least you don't have cancer. It could be way worse, right?

Do what you gotta do to keep it together. Don't let this bullshit take over your life. No matter how horribly annoying it is, you have to keep living your life exactly as normal. Hell I used to swig bourbon at the office just to get through an average day when I first got tinnitus, just so I would not freak out and have a panic attack. If you can't make it into work, or slack on your hobbies, you will just get 10 times more depressed and it will make habituation way longer and more drawn out.

If you are serious about getting better then this is what works:

1. Assume your tinnitus is permanent and accept it.
2. Do not allow yourself to even contemplate if your tinnitus is louder or softer than the day before.
3. Immediately disrupt your brain if it has thoughts of guilt, vengeance, despair, or "what if" associated with your tinnitus.
4. Do EXACTLY the same things you did before you got tinnitus. (With proper guard to your ears of course if needed)

I wish I had followed those rules when I first got tinnitus. Instead I whined non-stop about it to everyone who would listen to me, and refused to believe that this was my fate. As a result, I made absolutely no improvement for about 6 months until I wised up a bit to how these things can be controlled mentally.

 

@Jason Goodwin ,
that will be the anxiety taking over.
If it's that bad you need to see your doctor before the Christmas break.
This will help with your emotional reaction to tinnitus through the first few months and something like larozapam 1mg could help on a short course or somthing like that off your doctor along with deep breathing and talking therapy to help you cope better in a positive way when you feel out of sorts it will help you have more control of your feelings and would benifit from counselling and can use it for most of life's situations and feel stronger for it...lots of love glynis

 

Hi Amber
I took a benzo this morning. It is my work breakup today and i want to enjoy it without the awful anxiety. Four weeks ago i was normal and happy. Just having trouble adapting to this new intruder.

 

Thankyou Amber, Tyler and Glynis.
I am so grateful for the advise and definitely take it on board. I am so glad you are there for me. No one else understands.

 

Tinnitus seems to be getting louder and higher pitched in my left ear. Does anybody have an idea why that could be happening?

 

When your T is new, it is always unstable and ringing can become louder, can jump ears, change tones, have multiple tones (and scare the heck out of you), and can develop ear fullness, ear pain etc. So it is best to accept these condition as a package of new T. We all have been where you are, panicky about T's every ringing or spike. I used to wake up hearing my loud T, and I would instantly went into panic attack on auto mode. Then instantly I reached for my life saver, the benzo Ativan, to help stabilize my panicky nerves. Now I can hear the T when waking up and either go right back to sleep or just get out of bed to continue my day as if nothing had happened. I am not alone in this and you can sense that other posters above have said the same thing. You need to give it time and have some patience about T, especially when it is so new. Like others say, just accept this ringing whatever and however it is, at least for the time being. Then you will have much less stress and anxiety which are what making your T so loud.

 

I would suggest going to get a free hearing check and try a pair of hearing aids that have built in maskers. This way you can turn the maskers on if the ringing bothers you. If you have hearing loss, the hearing aids might "get rid" of the ringing when you wear them. Many hearing aids today are really cool and can hook up to smart phones. Xanax is a highly rated drug by many with tinnitus but should not be used long term. It has a much shorter half life than Valium and from what I understand can be even more difficult to get off of than Valium. If something like Xanax does work to lower your tinnitus, perhaps you can ask a psychiatrist about other medications that might help instead and hopefully be a safer drug. Keep in mind though many drugs require weening off from if taken for a certain period of time. Most importantly, talk to your doctor about this tinnitus and find out if it has anything to do with lexapro. I'm not a scientist or doctor so be sure to check with them about these things. Hang in there and I hope you feel better asap.