Hypochondriac Who's Not Even Sure He Has Tinnitus?

Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to read my message.
I am a 31-year-0ld man who has been anxious and a hypochondriac basically since I was a kid. I am very 'body-aware' and have been told my hearing is so good I could "hear the grass grow".

I had heard about tinnitus and because of my anxiety I always "wished" that I'd never get it. I have attended a lot of gigs, listened to loud music over the years, like a lot of people. My anxiety is also linked to my fear of not being able to sleep, if I worry about something I then worry it will cause me to not sleep etc. It's all a vicious cycle.
Now for quite a few years, when in a quiet room, I can hear a faint 'hissing' noise. Nothing TOO bothersome and I kinda have to concentrate on it to notice it. I'd always ignore it and seldom notice it. But a few days ago I noticed it again and all of a sudden my anxiety latched on to it - and now I keep focusing on it! It's really irritating.

I don't even know if I'd call it tinnitus (not in the way so unfortunate people have it), but my obsessive personailty is really trying to focus on nothing else. It's making me feel very anxious and I keep 'checking' to see if I can hear it. Which I know is the wrong approach - when I am keep busy I don't hear it. I did listen to some noise therapy on YouTube the other night and that really helped.

Do I have tinnitus or am I an obsessive anxious person who is latching his fears on to something he always hope he'd never have? Any advice is appreciated

 

You seem to have very mild Tinnitus. Most people don't notice it but you do. You latch on to it because of your anxiety so you make a big deal of it when it shouldn't be.

Just keep busy and you'll forget about it and go back to the blissful state you were in before you started worrying about it.

Also, protect your hearing from loud noises from now on.

Good luck!

 

Thanks, Greg. I think I am going to go into help for my actual anxiety. Maybe if I can get that sorted, everything else will fall into place, or at least improve my life.

 

That's for sure! Addressing your anxiety is going to be beneficial on many levels.

 

One other thing I forgot to put in my original post, Greg. This might sound odd, and it's why I wrote that I was unsure I even had actual tinnitus. When I put both fingers in my ears (and apply a decent bit of pressure), that hiss more or less disappears. Why would that be? Surely tinnitus would be louder if I block outside noises?

 

I have a personality like yours. Avoid using headphone and going gigs. O at least at the gigs please use professional protection.

I have suffered for tinnitus too much.

 

I hear you, I guess you also suffer from perfectionism, maybe you tell yourself only if I didn't have T. Do you use these only-if s a lot? You wish you would never come across T?

I know what you say, I am in the same position.

Dunno if it's in the head or it's physical damage! No one knows actually! One thing that MDs say is that it's our anxiety not our auditory system! Are they correct?! Hmmm...

Maybe if we address our anxiety T disappears, don't take your health for granted, seek medical help and do something about your anxiety disorder ASAP.

 

When you put your fingers in your ears you will generate quite a lot of noise in your ears due to the noise of muscles in your hand being transferred to your ears. This sounds like a loud rumbling noise normally. A very quiet room is the best place to check for tinnitus. Probably best not to check all the time though. I have got into a bad habit of 'checking' my tinnitus (to see if it is any better/worse) which I need to get out of.

 

Yep the rumbling noise is correct, and it hides the hissing. As for the checking, you are right in that it shouldn't be done frequently, if at all. This is a way of giving it more power. As I said, it's really not too bad and quite easy to mask, so I would consider myself fortunate and will take steps to protect from here on in.

It's strange that it has taken something like a faint hiss in my ears to make me re-evaluate everything. I have already made plans to hopefully get rid of/at least manage my anxiety. I won't be over-exposed to loud noises and I will start back with my personal training to lose 14 pounds. Thank you, tinnitus (LOL and I bet not a lot of people have said that).

 

Only hearing loss can cause tinnitus, anyone who says anxiety does is a hack. Anxiety can make it present more, but not make it start.

 

Thing is, I don't have hearing loss and my hearing is as good as it has ever been. Strange.

 

It depends on the kind of T that you have. Perhaps yours is objective and due to some actual vibration of your ear drum & ossicular chain that stops when you apply pressure.

 

So for the last five days I've been really stressed about a hissing in my ears and fearing that I have tinnitus. It's had me extremely stressed and I am already an anxious person. And today, in my left ear, all of a sudden I think I hear a ringing type noise but I can hear it when I move etc. It's very very faint and 'coming' from the head rather than the ear.

Like with the TV way up I can hear it, but if I sit in silence I can barely hear it/it isn't any louder in silence if you get me. And it comes and goes. Surely that doesn't make any sense?? My wife thinks I've got myself so wound up that I've started to imagine sounds. Is that possible? Do I need to just chill out? She has tinnitus and says the best solution is to not react to it and just continue with what you do as normal because sooner or later you'll forget about it.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. For example as I type I can't hear it...so weird.

 

Yes.

 

Thanks, Greg. You're right. I do have one question. Because this has had me so stressed, my ears/jaw feel very tight and tense. Would that likely be due to the stress? I have made an appointment with an orthodontist to check for bruxism/tmj - which I'm certain I do have. If I can couple this with the CBT therapy I'll soon be getting for my anxiety, hopefully I can return back to normal!

 

Nothing wrong with checking those things. CBT is likely to help you, not just for this, but for other life challenges, so that's also a good tool to have in your toolbox.

 

Hey all, if I'm completely honest, my tinnitus (if it's even that) is really not so bad. A low hiss that I've had for ages but as I'm an obsessive anxiety-driven person, I latched onto it a week or two ago and it made me panic and think worst case scenario.

Since then, because I've got myself so stressed, I've became so alert and aware of unusual sounds. It's all I can think about. I can now hear a quiet very faint kinda whistle not so much in my right ear but as if it's off in the distance. And I 'think' or believe I hear it anywhere and in whatever background. Honestly guys, what I have isn't bad at all compared to what millions have and I know this.

Have I basically bogged myself down into believing I'm hearing things? ie - got into a rut? Maybe it was always there and I only now bothered it. This has to come from the anxiety as I feel super anxious lately. I'm on alert constantly.

I've been a worrier and overthinker my whole life, so I've made steps to see a therapist to address my anxiety. The problem probably isn't the sound I 'hear' - but my reaction to the sound. Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!