Is It Tinnitus or OCD?

Hi all,

I am new here. I have suffered from OCD for some time now. Recently my obsessions have been tinnitus. I knew I had hissing and some cricket sounds before but it did not bother me. Recently, however, my brain turned the focus on my ringing in my ear. I am focusing on it 24/7. I am struggling to not focus on it. It's been so hard. I am scared and depressed.

I don't know if I actually have tinnitus or is it my OCD?

Thanks.

Tina

 

Welcome to the forum! It is quite normal for folks to have an OCD towards their tinnitus/noise/ringing. All of us including myself had it. It can take some time to adjust and adapt. One thing that was intstrumental in my journey with tinnitus was gaining tons of support. I talked it out with those that cared for me.

Your tinnitus journey is quite new, it can take some time to get a grip on this matter. Time can be a healer, we do not how long it takes... because all of us are different, but in time things can possibly fall into place.

Possibly make use of sound enrichment at low volumes. It can be helpful if the brain hears something else besides the ringing. This can help possibly not get fixated on listening for the ringing.

My formula for tinnitus is this:

T + S + R/D

Time + Support + Relaxation/Distraction.

Time - it will take time to adjust and find ways to deal with our tinnitus

Support - gain as much as you can

Relaxation/distraction - do something that is safe for your ears and get your focus off your ringing.


You came to a good forum with caring people, you are never alone in your tinnitus journey

 

Hey there! I'm sorry it's been rough for you. I'm new here too and have OCD as well, and while it didn't cause my tinnitus, when my OCD symptoms are bad, it's natural to obsess over things (especially hard to ignore things like tinnitus!) I know you can't just "stop thinking about it," as that's not how OCD works of course, but if there are any methods that do calm your OCD sometimes, I'd take note and see if the noise seems to quieten at those times.

I wish I had more concrete advice for you but if it's not too triggering, I would search for posts about OCD in this forum; there are quite a few people going through the same thing so it's nice just to have the support and advice. AND it's especially helpful to me to read success stories of people who have improved despite their OCD!

 

You should try to carry out activities that take the focus off your tinnitus. Something that distracts your attention, hobbies or sports. It will help.