How Do You Cope with Health Anxiety and Getting Back to Normal Living After Getting Tinnitus?

I'm 1 month in. Don't know the cause of my tinnitus, probably headphones. The low hum is barely audible right now, but the later appearing, ever changing high frequency pitch is in a spike after the MRI on Thursday.

I must admit, even with the spiking, I would say it's at a moderate level. I still can't cope. I'm still in flight or fight mode. Still feeling pressed all the time.

I have severe health anxiety about tinnitus. I don't work right now, so for about 3 weeks I only left the house to get to appointments, and when it was absolutely necessary.

I'm so scared of everything. Whatever I do, I obsess about whether it will make the tinnitus worse. I check Tinnitus Talk for opinion on everything I eat, everything I do, every little strange "symptom" I get. The last one: I get a cracking sound in my ear when I blink hard or when having hiccups or a little burp.
I'm scared to go out of the house in fear of getting a cold, the flu and developing an ear infection afterwards. I'm even freaking out about putting earplugs in my ears, because what if they cause wax build up, then ear infection. (I do plug up anyway when necessary. )

I only can focus on the tinnitus, lost interest in everything which was once important to me. My family is supportive, but they will get tired of me not being able to think about anything else than tinnitus, being a dementor all the time. They have their own health problems (chronic pain and IBS) and don't make such a big deal out of them. I should help them around the house, the garden. I love my dog, but I'm scared of her barking in my ear as well.

I have a history of bad health anxiety, generalized anxiety, depression. But I can't let tinnitus take over my life. My family needs me, I'm in my last year of a very demanding university program, if I don't pass a class this semester, I'm gonna flunk out of school. And it's only going to be harder next semester. I still don't sleep more than 3-4 hours a night, not with herbal stuff, not with Frontin either. So I stopped it, because the last I need right now is an addiction. I am like a tinnitus-alerted zombie all the time.

In my life, everybody I know who has tinnitus (4 people) is dealing with it, living their life, can push it to the background. They go to concerts, social gatherings, and don't obsess about protecting and masking. I feel like such a failure because I just can't cope.

 

This is natural and normal. The first 3 months are the worst.

Why did you have an MRI done?

Stay away from loud sounds and consider staying away from moderately loud sounds for about a year or two. Make sure to not take ototoxic medication.
http://hlaa-sbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ototoxic_Brochure.pdf
Don't do microsuction (instead, insist that they clean your ears using manual tools) and ultrasonic teeth cleaning (they can do that using old fashioned tools). Only do MRI if there is a high chance that something will be found.

I think the above is all you need to care about. Everything else is likely to give you only a temporary spike.

 

Everyone’s tinnitus is different and is perceived differently. I try to remember back 5 weeks ago, and I can’t even remember hearing my tinnitus at all. Now, after 4 weeks from the MRI... it is there 24/7... car rides, movie theaters... I hear it everywhere.

Try to realize that the noise is there... it’s a noise. Some have it mild, some have it severe... but it’s a noise. I went 15+ years without an incident, and I didn’t worry... I just prepared and had earplugs (until... I didn’t). Be vigilant... and things you know are loud... approaching a bus, walking by a loudspeaker, or some nuts yelling...move away, plugs your ears etc. You can only do so much, and hopefully a little luck is there too.

Get busy, do stuff to force yourself from thinking about the d@mn tinnitus. You are young, and the brain’s plasticity will adjust... youth is on your side.

 

My tinnitus is unilateral (but now the high pitch sound kind of migrates between my ears and brain) and I have a history of very bad migraines with aura.

How can you stay away from moderate sounds? Everything is so damn loud. And I can't put my life on hold for 2 years. I need to start working very soon. I'm a law student, so I can't work from home. I probably won't have a very successful career regardless of the tinnitus, but I need to have a job.

Thank you very much everyone for the kind words. Today is particularly horrible, but I'm so grateful for your support here. Hope that you have a better day.

 

Full on earplugs block out too much noise for me. If I cut the earplugs in half... it has always taken the “edge” off many everyday sounds. (Don’t get them stuck... lol)

 

Get custom earplugs! I regret so much not getting them in the beginning.

 

@Bill Bauer
Thank you for the ototoxic drugs list. I've got a new suspect. It is probably shadowboxing now, and water under the bridge, but I'm so mad. I used Pimafucort on my hands due to exzema, and surprise! it contains neomycin. Which I knew, I read the leaflet, because my grandma had antibiotic resistant HAI, so I researched the big offender antibiotics. What I didn't know that it's highly ototoxic. I read the side effect lists and it's only talking about problems when applied to a perforated ear drum. Not a word on tinnitus or hearing loss. Not saying, that's definitely the cause because I used it previously without any problems and I did listen to loud music through earphones, and even had ear problems in August and microsuction, but I used it days prior to the onset of the high pitch sound.

Internet says that hearing loss is permanent, but can the tinnitus still fade if that is indeed the cause?

 

To me, moderately loud noises are things like the sound of a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner, food processor, etc. I don't think it is difficult to stay away from that. If you need to walk along a road where trucks or motorcycles might be accelerating, you might want to wear good earplugs. Try to stay away from the subway.

 

Oh, I see. I thought that quieter sounds are considered moderate. I will invest in a quality headmuff as well. I unfortunately can't avoid some things, because my parents are getting older, my dad has a broken spine, so I have to help with lawn mowing and so on in a very big garden (thanks God, winter is coming) , but I hope it's going to be okay with protection. Thank you very much.

 

If I were you, I would hire someone to mow the lawn. Eventually you might be able to handle it (with ear protection (muffs over earplugs)).

 

My advice: deal with this first. My T resulted in a multitude of sounds, most constant, but a few varying every hour. To handle this, I forced myself to sit in a quiet room and listen to all the different sounds while breathing in and out. Just sitting there, listening and breathing... at first it was scary, but after multiple of these sessions, I got used to the sounds and my fear response diminished.

Not saying I enjoyed the sounds afterwards, but at least I could function again during the day. It took me roughly a week to get to that point. I also refused to call in sick: I informed my manager about my situation of course, but the daily tasks at work were a good way to train my focus. It was hard the first days, but I soon noticed improvement.

Check out the product "Dermel" (dutch url, sry). I have eczema as well, and this was the only reliable ointment without side effects: it actually had the greatest effects as well, it fixed my skin for like 95%.

Personally, I would stay away from drugs as much as possible, but of course there are situations where this is not an option.