New Sound... Panic Again

Normally my T is just a high pitched static noise like electrical but a few minutes ago I had a lower pitched sound start up in my righ ear that was really loud and honestly it terrified me.. It only lasted about 3-5 minutes and it seems to be gone now (can't tell anymore over the office noise and my screaming dog whistle plus my panic is making it hard to think) but it honestly scared me so bad it brought on a panic attack. I'm sitting here at my desk crying because it freaked me out. I haven't had that happen before.. Is that normal? Why does it happen? I've also been noticing slight pain/tenderness in my right ear a few times a day.. I don't know if that means anything.

 

Hi Natalie,
I know your quite stressed and anxiety kicking in and that could bring a new sound on as well as heavily pregnant.
I get a low drone that comes and goes for no reason and like you a new sound can set the anxiety off.
When you get home you need some quiet me time and lots of rest.
Your a busy mummy and working and Christmas nearly up on us so make sure you do make time for you to unwind.....lots of love and hugs.....glynis

 

Tinnitus is unpredictable and it will do very odd things out of the blue, sometimes for just a few minutes and sometimes lasting days or weeks. Keep in mind that your fluctating hormone levels are affecting lots of systems in your body. You were already stressed to the max by the surrounding noise in your environment, so your neurons went into hyperactive overdrive.

Please take deep breaths before going into a panic, because what you're feeling is being transmitted to and perhaps may be experienced to some degree by your baby. It's okay to cry, though, and in fact I highly recommend crying because it releases stress chemicals and helps to get you back in balance.

http://news.health.com/2014/09/25/3-reasons-why-crying-is-good-for-you/

Hang in there, Natalie, you really are going to be okay.

 

It happens to many people here, including myself Mine started with one sound and now I have about 3 or 4 different ones, that alternate. The sounds can change. Mine started as a very low frequency rumble a few months ago, then a squeal, and sometimes it gets really loud, the other day I had one in right ear and it startled me and I turned around because I thought something fell off the shelf or something. This stuff usually lasts only seconds. My worst case scenario is a longer spike that wakes me up in the night, and even then I am learning to just roll over and go back to sleep.
I too was terrified at the start but now I am learning not to freak out. Remember, just because we hear some bizarre stuff that is incomprehensible and makes no sense, doesn't mean we are doomed. My tinnitus has got better lately. I think the most important thing is to learn to stay calm, to not freak out. It doesn't feel easy but if I can do it, you can do it

Things can get better too, they can't just get always bad.

 

Thank you.. You're right I was already stressed out before it started.. I leave work in 20 minutes and it can't be soon enough.. I generally don't cry but it just came out of the blue and I was worried it wouldn't go away.. I ended up putting in my earplugs as the noise level raised again and then took a break and it seems to be gone now.. Thank you for your kind words of support..

 

@glynis I agree I am very stressed out today and now, 9 months pregnant.. Today at work overly stresed me out with the noise level and I just need to get out of here.. Maybe I will call in tomorrow and stay home. I don't know if I can do this all again tomorrow..

@wishingluck Thank you for your words of encouragement.. I have had that happen in the past, before I had this chronic tinnitus where it would come and go for 30 seconds or so but I'm finding fluctuations in pitch or volume to be really scary as I worry what if this is here to stay? Just really feeling a lot of anxiety overall today with all of this.. hoping tomorrow is a better day.. It does help me to know it happens to other people also.. I'm just so used to the high dog whistle static sound that the lower rumble really took me off gaurd and set me into a panic..

 

yeah I know what you mean. I too have had 'tinnitus' for many years before the onset of chronic T, I would hear a hiss for a few seconds, about once or twice every few weeks or something. Someone even told me it was 'because someone is thinking of me'. How silly.

I too had your same fears, that the spikes would be there to stay. Never happened. The longest ones I had, lasted for about 20 minutes, but only once or twice. In a leaflet of the BTA, if I remember well, there's written something about spikes that we may get while flying, for example. It's written in there that they are not permanent. I keep telling myself to not worry about something that hasn't happened. I think it makes sense

 

@wishingluck
That is encouraging to me! This one only lasted a few minutes and went away so I'm grateful for that! I left work and did some meditation for my anxiety and feel a bit better my tinnitus also seemed to calm down a bit. It's still there but just the high pitched crap that's usually there.. I don't know why today was so hard.. Everything was so loud and it really was making my t react and flair up.. I appreciate your words of encouragement and I think it's best to not worry about something that hasn't happened also.. Worrying won't do any good.

 

There is wisdom to learn there in the quoted text. It shows that you have the ability to get used to a repeated sound, as bad as a high dog whistle which would have scared the heck out of a person who has no prior experience with T. Hope your other tone will fade off, or that you will get use to it just like your dog whistle.

We sometimes forget that we are actually making progress in T habituation until we go back to the beginning. Having 2-tone T or multi-tone T is not uncommon at all. David Letterman is known for his 2=tone T which he described in this 1996 video, and he seems not affected by it as he only retired last year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCdx8aueK9I

 

@billie48

You are right. I am used to the sound I normally hear so any variation sent me into a panic. My normal t doesn't send me into a panic usually anymore just really irritates me. A lot. But that's progress since the beginning, I know. It just really scares me.. I still have difficulty sometimes coping with the thought this may be forever. Trying to remain hopeful that it's not though.

Thanks for your kind words. I really needed to hear all of these today.

 

I called into work today. My t is so much more managable at home where I can control the noise levels.. Sigh.

 

Hope your having a better day Natalie.....you have two beautiful daughters......lots of love glynis

 

I get new sounds all the time. These days I just observe them, and usually forget about them after a while. They are now just another instrument in Satan's little orchestra.

 

Satan's orchestra.. I love that.. That's exactly how it feels.

 

Ugh.. Yesterday was a good day, things were fairly quiet all day.. Today my tinnitus is super high pitched and constant and it's really getting on my nerves. I'm so frustrated and irritated. I feel like I'm in a terrible mood because of this noise today and I just can't shake it. What a way to spend Christmas Eve. I told my dad how loud my ears were to day and his response was 'mine too' and shrugged his shoulders and went on with his day. I wish I could do that..
I know he's been dealing with his longer then me so he's obviously probably habituated but I'm just really over this shit already.


Just feeling mad at the world today.

 

Or maybe he just got tired of fighting it and said to hell with it.

I hope today is a better day for you. I think Christmas Eve can actually be more stressful for many people than Christmas Day itself.

 

Natalie,
Don't beat yourself up for being afraid when you experienced a change in your T. That is such a normal reaction. My T will change at times depending on what I'm doing or if I'm becoming stressed and not aware of it. I am a psychologist and I live with strong T in both ears. It's suspected that it's origin is from my years of flying with the USAF and combined aircraft and munitions noise. As a psychologist I have to now live with and do the very things I have counseled people with T to do in the past. It's both humbling and eye opening.

 

Hi Natalie,
Hope you had a nice Christmas Day.
Im enjoying myself but going at my own pace as my lungs are really bad and breathing not to good at all.
I have got all the family coming today so will be busy and noisy.
I know my family and hubby will help out and I can go at my own pace and time out on my nebulizer.

We went my sons last night and a lovely family night and had a lovely night even though I was fighting to get my lungs behave.
We were getting in a big taxi going and I could not climb in as had high boots on and got a pushed in to help but ended up on the floor of a black cab....
well that was it,every one was laughing hahaha.
Had a lovely night but I stayed relaxing on the sofa and had a laugh later as we split in to teams play a game of general knowledge.
My little grandson had a lovely time too.
Lots of love glynis x

 

Thank you! Christmas was super low volume and I was able to enjoy the day minus tinnitus causing too much havoc. Yesterday was also low volume however today it's cranked right back up so far. Sigh. I hope you had a good holiday!!

 

Thank you. It really scared me. I am also seeing a psychotherapist and we do mindful meditation techniques to help control my anxiety and reactions.. I do notice it helps and I agree with you my stress levels directly coorelate with the volume of my T which can be frustrating as sometimes we cannot control the stress. How long have you had to live with T in both ears like that?

 

Glynis,
It sounds like you had a great day! We were very busy with the 2 small kids and my boyfriend's family! Then we ended up going to my family's in a nearby town and didn't get home until late. It was a great day and I really enjoyed myself. Also, luckily my tinnitus was fairly low volume all day. I did resort to ear plugs occasionally as the nosie level got really high and I was worried about my ears but everything worked out. I also ate whatever I wanted and didn't notice a reaction that day or the following day which makes me feel better! Today my T is back to loud but I'm still grateful I got a quiet(er) Christmas!

 

Two good days in a row, that's progress!

 

Mine fluctuates quite a bit, tone and volume. Every once I a while I get a tone that is downright tolerable.

 

Thanks Over the last 3 weeks the T has gone from mostly constant to cycling 1-2 days good followed by 1-2 bad days then 1-2 good days again. I don't know if that means anything or not. I'm trying to do everything right to help myself get better (avoiding certain foods, using ear plugs in loud situations, etc) I really don't want to live my life like this!

 

How long have you had your T?

 

My flat tone I think I may have been born with. I don't ever remember not hearing it. My high pitch tone developed around when I finished undergrad in 92. It's the one I am talking about whenever I'm discussing T and is really the bothersome one. My pulsatile tinnitus I just got with an ear infection about 6 months ago. It's objective and can be controlled with medication so I don't consider it "real tinnitus".

 

Ah! 3 tones to deal with.. that sounds difficult. Anytime I get a new sound it really causes an immediate fight or flight response in my body. I'm hoping this improves as time goes on.

 

It's going to go up and. That's a all part of the intermediate T problem. You think it's over.. The pow right back at you. More good days will come. Took me 1 year and 3 months to have it resolve. Take a break from reading up on it and talking about for a few days!!
It helps. I would pop into this group every once and awhile to look for positive post. Bookmark them and revisit those good post on days that I had panic about my t! Hang in there.

 

Thanks for your reply! I try to stay off the site for 3-4 days then I end up back at it reading everything which I think I probably need to stop doing! Im so glad you're doing better overall. I love the success stories also, seems great to have that extra boost when you need it the most.

 

I've lived with T in both ears for over 20 years. I am continually creating new ways to adapt to T in my life and in the lives of my patients. I've even used my T as a focus in meditation and at times identified a rythm and utilized it with meditation.