I am so scared, and sick.

My ears have been horrible lately, and I'm not sure if it's my anxiety or not but this new H that I have has been horrible too. My head hurts and my neck feels hot constantly, and hurt. My left ear (which used to be my less annoying ear) has been hissing away. I feel nauseous and have been shaking. I am so scared, no one seems to understand. I think I want to do TRT, but am nervous it won't work. I want to get back to normal living, and I just don't know how. I am thinking about dropping out of school and quitting my job. I just am on the edge anywhere I go now.

 

Althought my tinnitus is probably not as intrusive as yours I know how you feel. I am also going through the same stage right now, eg. panic, anxiety, counting years to the cure, worrisome thought about the future. I definitely advise you to try TRT. It could take a long time to work (1-2 years) but its the most effective treatment nowadays. Since TRT involves learning new coping mechanisms I suppose it is highly unlikely that it wont work. It is basically the same as studying any new material. I receives CBT when I was bullied at school and although the bullying didnt stop it enabled to cope with it - I suppose TRT works the same way. I would advise you to visit a psychiatrist fast (I think there are also emergency rooms). You can discuss then to prescribe an anti-depressant to help you cope. There are many depressants that dont cause tinnitus to get worse and reduce anxiety (for example im currently taking Salymbra, tianeptine). Also, according to your other posts I realize that the last time you had tinnitus in about a year it got more and more quiet so maybe thats the case now as well.
As for getting back to normal living, I suppose that depends on your definition of it. I wouldnt advise you to stop working and leaving Uni. Then you will be sitting at home 24/7 and focusing on your tinnitus. But I suppose if by normal life you mean normal sleeping, hobbies, fun time with friends, work etc. then you can still probably do that. If you look around this board then there are people who have been through spikes here as well and they have managed. However, if by normal life you mean going to clubs, bars, concerts then I suppose that is never gonna happen. Then again I am not sure whether 3-4 hours of fun are equal to months of misery.
i hope that in years to come there will be better treatments for both of us. We are still young and will be that in 10 years as well

 

As hard as it may be to maintain your normal life activities, it's almost essential to keep doing so. If you have to bury yourself in your favorite hobby or just work for that matter then try it. One thing that helped me was getting put on a SSRI. The anxiety compounds everything. If you can help to control some of that anxiety you will help to control the T and H. Good luck to you and remember you are not alone, millions around the world are in the same boat at this exact moment.

 

Demi,
I was just having the same exact thoughts last night. I wanna try all these things but will they all work? Do i have the time? Will i ever get back to normal life? Last night, we lost power and the fan I usually sleep with turned off. WHOA.. waking up with the ringing in my ears full blast was frightening.
However, I thinking im starting to realize that when it all comes down to it, my T isn't life threatening. There has to be something I can do to live with this if i need to. So, that's what im trying to do. Luckily, this forum is filled with great information and incredible people! In the back of my mind, im hoping my T just goes away one day but if it doesn't I have to be strong and just live my life. If i do that, the T will just go to the background where I wont even notice it. At least, that's the plan! Keep your head up.

G

 

At the time when I was suffering greatly my anxiety levels where sky high, as was the depression, my mind was completely fixated with tinnitus,making me aware of it all the time, my ears kept feeling full, stuffy etc.

I know its easier said than done but as soon as you lose the anxiety, the fear, the brain loses interest in the noise, your not as consciously aware of tinnitus. That's what happened in my case, it went from a tormenting, scary, anxiety provoking noise, to now at its worst is an occasionally annoying noise, all because my brain lost the fear of the noise.

 

Hi Demi.

Sorry to hear that you're not doing very well. The sick feeling and shaking? Had that. For me I think it was caused by fear/anxiety, because I haven't had it since the first week of my T. It's an awful feeling; you feel really ill. However, while things are tough now I believe they will get better. You've had a setback which is tough, but there is no reason to believe that you won't recover. The thing about T (I can't speak about H) is it's very debilitating, hearing it all the time. It's hard to get your mind off it - though it is possible.

I would advise not quitting school/job. As advised by others, you will just have more time to focus on your T which is not what you want to do. If you go through the motions, even though your mind is on T, you will feel better. For me the first week was hell on earth, but even then I didn't stop going to work, and I believe it helped.

Why don't you meet up with some friends, or go out? If you're too worried about your T/H, how about watching one of your favourite films, one you haven't seen in a while? Or buy a new book - I can give you some good ones ;-) Try doing something that you enjoy. If you can take your mind off T for half an hour, it will work wonders - and also prove that you can ignore it.

Hope you feel better.

 

Also I think you should do TRT. I mean, what have you got the lose? The worst thing is that it doesn't help. But it could help (and most likely will).

 

Hi Demi, This is sort of funny coming from me because I'm struggling with "new" tinnitus too but you're going to be all right. Please don't quit your job or studies. I think all the advice you've gotten above is good. Just be sure you get some help with the anxiety. It's interesting that a lot of people who struggle hard with tinnitus have a history of anxiety. Please find a professional who can walk with until you get to a better place, and you will get there, I know you will. Deep down, I know that's true for myself even though I'm still having days when I feel completely defeated by the T and allow the fear to consume me. I think there's a process you go through with tinnitus. Once you are sure that you don't have anything life threatening going on, little by little you will adjust. I've had tinnitus for a long time. This is the second time it has thrown me for a loop. It got noticeably worse in early January so I'm going through the whole habituation process again. I think the change was due to illness, stress and medication or maybe just getting older. At first I was sure that it was medication but I'm not so sure anymore. This whole event for me could just be a bad spike. Time will tell. Hang in there. You have a lot of livin to do. I'll be praying for you. I'm a believer in prayer and I do think it makes a difference.

 

You're having an anxiety attack. Neck tension, headaches, nausea, and shaking are all symptoms of anxiety and panic attacks. I had them too.

Try deep breathing or some relaxation exercises.

 

My suggestion to anybody thinking about doing TRT would be to checkout the practitioner first. There appears to be a lot of audiologists etc... who may have done the TRT course but that doesn't mean they are going to achieve good results on each patient. Years ago I looked into Neuromonics but was appalled at the cost of treatment. It's possible that a DIY effort using an mp3 player might achieve similar results, I mean we are talking about a reduction in stress, anxiety and other emotions rather than a decrease in the volume of tinnitus. Whatever you do make a plan and stick to it and hopefully you achieve good results.

 

Hi Glen, you have the right attitude. In some way you are already accepting life with T and are open to learning coping skills from others. It is only a matter of time that you will find improvement on the road of habituation. If we constantly suggestion to our brain that just a sound from misfiring of neurons and that it is not life threatening (be it annoying at times), then sooner or later the brain believes in it and will catch up with us. In due time the brain will be able to fade T out of consciousness when you are focusing on something else.

 

You are obviously being influenced by anxiety about your T. The headache and neck tension/ache are all part of the problem of anxiety. I used to have myriads of anxiety symptoms. Those will pass. So don't worry about them. You will just do fine. You may need some meds to help you cope with anxiety. Like others said, it is probably better to keep your job or school unless they are causing stresses. Otherwise they serve as something to help you distract from tinnitus. If you really quit your job/school, you may want to take up a new hobby which will help you distract from tinnitus. Don't stay home all day worrying what T will do next. Set some goals and pursue them. Anything is better than focusing on tinnitus. Take care and cheer up.

 

Demi,
I think that most of us understand what you have been going through. I have struggled so much at times too, but I have learned as others have said here that you "MUST" not allow yourself to dwell on the "T" symptoms. We can make ourselves crazy (and very anxious) with all of the self pity and worry about this abnormality. Regardless of how or what brought it on, we have it and just need to maintain the attitude that we won't let it control our life. These forums are really good and also can be bad in that regard. We can learn so much and receive much needed support here. However, it also can keep us in the "I have a problem I need to deal with" mode. Personally, I need to get out there and live my life like everyone else. Need to accept that my "T" is just a part of me that is no different than if I had to learn to live with a serious handicap. Actually, my "T" is much less serious than many who do live with handicaps. Most people with handicaps that lead happy fulfilling lives do not dwell on their handicap. They get out there and live like they have no handicap.

As I said, this "T" problem is annoying, but doesn't need to be a handicap. I need to move-on with my life and should "never" allow myself to dwell on my "T". I am conditioning myself to learn to recognize when I start to dwell on it (usually those quiet moments in bed before falling asleep or upon waking). When that occurs I am working on learning to immediately change my thoughts to something pleasant. Anything..............just not on the ringing in my head! It works to alleviate anxiety and negative feelings associated with my "T"!