- Apr 8, 2016
- 6
- Tinnitus Since
- 05/2013
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Unknown..possibly anxiety driven.
Hi guys,
Finally decided that the best thing for me is to join a forum and speak about my troubles with tinnitus.
It started one summers day back in 2013. Had just come back from a ride on my bike, was sitting drinking a cup of tea and thought "ooh , my right ear is ringing"....Didn't think much of it at that point.
What has followed since then has been nothing short of debilitating. I initially thought it was due to my bike exhaust(which is quite loud, but had never caused me a problem before) , I also had very bad toothache at the time and thought this might have something to do with it. Couple the above with subsequent trips afterwards to the doctors to be told i have ear infection, it seemed i had a number of issues to eliminate before i got the ringing under control.
One changed exhaust, a tooth extraction and a bout of medication for ear infections later, I thought I had sorted it. The noise had gone away but it turned out this situation was only temporary.
It would flare up on numerous occasions....Seemingly whenever I was under the weather to start with, congested/flu'd up(which kept me going back to the doctors for antibiotics, ear infection meds and decongestants). Sometimes the meds worked and at other times they didn't do anything at all. It was at this point I was at a loss, it would flare up even when i wasn't ill. And i started to question whether the cause was something physiological or something psychological.
My reasoning for this questioning was because it seemed that if I was busy doing something, concentrating and not thinking about it, the ringing would not be there. Then I would think "ooh my ear isn't ringing". Only for that thought to latch onto it and bring it back again.
From there it was a downward spiral. My anxiety/stress levels soared. It affected my homelife, my performance at work and seemed to have a ripple effect everywhere. Previously having been treated for anxiety some years ago, i've managed to cope without falling into full blown panic attacks over it. But I've really struggled mentally to come to grips with whats happening to me. Having had thoughts that i am going doolally, sick in the head/mad.
I'd also have periods where it would go away for weeks at a time and I would think all was well, only for it to return again with a vengeance. Moreso in times of difficulty/stress.
When it returns, it's the last thing i hear when i go to sleep, the first thing i hear when waking up in the morning. And comes and goes all day. The only way i can describe the noise is a high pitched whistle as if i'd just walked out of a concert or been standing next to a nightclub speaker all night.
Recently it has returned again, this time I have had a cold for some time and been very congested, to the point where i can feel my eardrum vibrate when speaking(i have quite a low voice lol). In addition to this I am getting occasional "tapping" of my ear drum. ( like when you have a nervous muscle twitch in your eye, but on my eardrum lol ). It's all very weird.
Where I go from here I have no idea, I have been to ENT and had an MRI scan to which they found nothing, and am currently waiting for another appointment with them in addition to a referral to the "tinnitus clinic".
Am trying to carry on again as usual without letting it bother me too much. Infact the longer this issue has gone on for the more comfortable I have become with it over the years i guess. Almost as if I am consigning myself to the fact that i have this problem and its never going to go away so may as well accept it for what it is.
I know the above all seems a bit long winded, but i am at the stage where i want to share my experience of this with others now. So that I can speak about it with people who can relate to my story, and get a sense myself of not being alone.
Because thats how i feel about this. Alone...... No one I speak to in my daily life can really understand what its like to put up with this ailment. Most repsonses being "how terrible it must be" or jovially quipping about how i should be careful that i dont start hearing voices. The latter being extremely unhelpful.
So there it is...... My name is John, and i have tinnitus.
is it physical?...I dont know....Am I going mad?....probably, but what is normal anyway eh?
J
Finally decided that the best thing for me is to join a forum and speak about my troubles with tinnitus.
It started one summers day back in 2013. Had just come back from a ride on my bike, was sitting drinking a cup of tea and thought "ooh , my right ear is ringing"....Didn't think much of it at that point.
What has followed since then has been nothing short of debilitating. I initially thought it was due to my bike exhaust(which is quite loud, but had never caused me a problem before) , I also had very bad toothache at the time and thought this might have something to do with it. Couple the above with subsequent trips afterwards to the doctors to be told i have ear infection, it seemed i had a number of issues to eliminate before i got the ringing under control.
One changed exhaust, a tooth extraction and a bout of medication for ear infections later, I thought I had sorted it. The noise had gone away but it turned out this situation was only temporary.
It would flare up on numerous occasions....Seemingly whenever I was under the weather to start with, congested/flu'd up(which kept me going back to the doctors for antibiotics, ear infection meds and decongestants). Sometimes the meds worked and at other times they didn't do anything at all. It was at this point I was at a loss, it would flare up even when i wasn't ill. And i started to question whether the cause was something physiological or something psychological.
My reasoning for this questioning was because it seemed that if I was busy doing something, concentrating and not thinking about it, the ringing would not be there. Then I would think "ooh my ear isn't ringing". Only for that thought to latch onto it and bring it back again.
From there it was a downward spiral. My anxiety/stress levels soared. It affected my homelife, my performance at work and seemed to have a ripple effect everywhere. Previously having been treated for anxiety some years ago, i've managed to cope without falling into full blown panic attacks over it. But I've really struggled mentally to come to grips with whats happening to me. Having had thoughts that i am going doolally, sick in the head/mad.
I'd also have periods where it would go away for weeks at a time and I would think all was well, only for it to return again with a vengeance. Moreso in times of difficulty/stress.
When it returns, it's the last thing i hear when i go to sleep, the first thing i hear when waking up in the morning. And comes and goes all day. The only way i can describe the noise is a high pitched whistle as if i'd just walked out of a concert or been standing next to a nightclub speaker all night.
Recently it has returned again, this time I have had a cold for some time and been very congested, to the point where i can feel my eardrum vibrate when speaking(i have quite a low voice lol). In addition to this I am getting occasional "tapping" of my ear drum. ( like when you have a nervous muscle twitch in your eye, but on my eardrum lol ). It's all very weird.
Where I go from here I have no idea, I have been to ENT and had an MRI scan to which they found nothing, and am currently waiting for another appointment with them in addition to a referral to the "tinnitus clinic".
Am trying to carry on again as usual without letting it bother me too much. Infact the longer this issue has gone on for the more comfortable I have become with it over the years i guess. Almost as if I am consigning myself to the fact that i have this problem and its never going to go away so may as well accept it for what it is.
I know the above all seems a bit long winded, but i am at the stage where i want to share my experience of this with others now. So that I can speak about it with people who can relate to my story, and get a sense myself of not being alone.
Because thats how i feel about this. Alone...... No one I speak to in my daily life can really understand what its like to put up with this ailment. Most repsonses being "how terrible it must be" or jovially quipping about how i should be careful that i dont start hearing voices. The latter being extremely unhelpful.
So there it is...... My name is John, and i have tinnitus.
is it physical?...I dont know....Am I going mad?....probably, but what is normal anyway eh?
J
Member
... am sure i don't need to tell you that its been a rough road......
