Mild Tinnitus and Hello! Could TMD, Physical Stress or Xanax/Concerta/Prozac Be a Factor?

Hello all,

I hope you are doing well. I’m JH.
Two weeks ago I started hearing things in my room, and mainly my room only.

It’s very quiet where I am; I live high up, and I have the air-conditioning on when I sleep. A decibel measuring app puts it at 30 dB. Yet I feel like there was a high pitched whine coming from a very particular corner in the room.

I’m easily anxious, so I began to obsess over that sound. Over the next two weeks I:

1) Went out of my room and into other rooms in the house. I closed the doors and windows, and listened for the sound. Again the sound seems to come from the same place. It’s as if there’s a point in the wall making this high-pitched noise.

2) Put on my noise-cancelling headphones. Again the high-pitched sound only seems to come from the right earcup... but when I swivel my chair around towards the direction of the sound it then sounds like it’s coming from the left. Shouldn’t tinnitus be consistent regardless of the direction I’m facing?!

3) Enter and exit my room obsessively. I noticed that when I leave my room and come back after a bit the sound is incredibly low in volume, but increases the longer I’m in the room back to about a 6/10 in intensity.

I recognise and see my own compulsive behaviour. Placing my ear on my pillow makes the sound louder in that ear, yet why does it seem like the sound also comes from that corner in my room? I never hear the sound outside, where there is ambient noise. When I enter a soundproofed room (to make music), I hear the same directional sound coming from a corner of the room, that seems to not move in position no matter how I turn my body.

As a result I’ve become confused. On one hand I think its tinnitus, on the other hand it’s usually directionally consistent - my mind must be playing tricks on me.

I went to see an ENT who ordered a hearing test, which showed results normal for someone my age. He also did some kind of pressure test on the eardrum, which turned out normal.

So what is wrong? The loudest thing I do daily is play the piano. When I use earphones to listen to lectures and video-recordings I make sure I’m comfortable with the sound level. When I play music its usually softly through speakers.

I became extremely anxious over the past few weeks and spent a few days mostly in bed breaking down. Mostly obsessing over how my problem was incurable, and that I would have to live with this for the rest of my life. Then I came across this forum.

The success stories posted here about habituation and tinnitus disappearing were very encouraging to me. It gave me a bit of motivation to do some work and get about. I would like to thank the passionate and helpful members of the community who are so often reassuring in their replies. They are surely a source of comfort for more than just the original poster.

I hope this tinnitus (?) will go away, but for now I’d like to be a part of this community. It makes me feel at ease knowing there’s people who’ve been through the same and are willing to help. I hope you’ll welcome me, and share with me your experiences.

I have a few questions I would like to ask also...

1) I‘m not sure if TMD may cause tinnitus. I’ve had a popping jaw for a few years now but it never caused any problems, and a half-grown-out wisdom tooth. Should I get that looked at?

2) I’m not a very active person. I spend most of my time sitting down and studying. My neck aches sometimes and I can feel a pulsating pain on the back of my neck just under the base of my head. Could physical stress also be a factor?

3) I’ve had anxiety and ADD since I was young (about 10 years now). I was on a lot of medication (Fluoxetine, some folks may know it as Prozac, Xanax, Concerta) for much of my childhood. I was quite proud of the progress I’d made when I was 18 (21 now), cutting down on all the medications completely. Yet 2020 gave me this chronic burp (around March) that I’m still working with a gastrologist about. I’ve thus become anxious and gone back on them again, and it’s upset me quite a bit since then. Could these medications be an issue?

I came into this year full of positivity but it’s November and I’ve fallen way short of where I wanted to be. I’m not sure if I’m denying the existence of my stress or just don’t feel it in the typical way (maybe I don’t understand myself well enough), but all this and this newfound ringing has left me very down. Does anyone know how to keep your chin up and push through? I think about gritting my teeth and pushing through all the pain but I can’t seem to motivate myself... please give me some advice on how I can fight through this new crippling anxiety tinnitus gives me. Right now I’m struggling and rely on rain sounds through my speakers to sleep. I’m scared of entering my room. I can’t work in peace.

Thanks to all for reading and allowing me to vent a little, and for a great community.

 

You're literally 'living high up'. Slow down. I hope you are under a doctor's care. I hope you have seen several doctors. Try living life slower. Try to enjoy the moment, don't worry about the future. Make sure headphones, iPods, earbuds, speakers are set to lower volume than low. Better yet don't cover your ears. By all means slow down. G-d bless.