Postpartum, Tinnitus and Scared

Hello folks.

I am from Vancouver Canada and I’m 9 months postpartum. I was diagnosed with postpartum anxiety and depression following a birth injury. I couldn’t walk or stand for more than 5 minutes for a good 5 months.
Through physiotherapy and osteopath treatments, as well as talk therapy I’ve recently recovered from pain and muscle spasms from my injury, and without the help of prescribed SSRI’s or pharmaceutical medication. I’ve used meditation, massage and herbal supplements to get me through my ailments the first 8 months following giving birth.

However, after all I’ve been through, I have developed a sudden onset of tinnitus 3 weeks ago. This has pushed me over the edge of holistic natural treatments. I’ve started antidepressants and I was admitted 2 days ago because of suicidal thoughts. I’ve never reached such a dark place in my mind. My tinnitus came on one night after a meditation session in my infrared sauna, and it has been quite intrusive. I’ve booked a craniosacral appointment as well as acupuncture.

I find in the mornings I can go with minimal symptoms for at least an hour, then tinnitus will start buzzing at a high frequency in the back of my head. It doesn’t feel
Like it’s in my ears. Does that make sense? I do have an old whip lash injury and I suspect muscle tension and anxiety are the culprits. I also have
TMJ. My hope lies in that the tinnitus is not constant and it seems to be quieter intermittently in the last 3 days. Please let me know your thoughts and feedback, also I would be interested in learning more about treatments and coping.

With kindness,
Meesh.

 

@Cptnmoonlight
Welcome to the forum Meesh. I see some positive signs from your description of your T. Firstly it may have a cause like TMJ, muscle tension or anxiety, or a combination. These are quite common causes of tinnitus and they are also fixable. If they are taken care of, your T may fade. Secondly you do have periods of low T ringing which is a luxury some don't have. As your stress level improve and as time goes on, your ears may become more stable, and that will lead to T much more manageable. In living with tinnitus, we need to capitalize on the positive signs and try to stay positive. I know how important this is as positivity has helped me greatly from the hell of my ultra high pitch tinnitus plus the extra horror of hyperacusis. I was in a mess initially but today I live a normal, productive and absolutely enjoyable life. I share some helpful strategies in my success story. Check it out if you have the time. Take care. God bless.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

 

Wow @billie48 your story is very inspiring!! Thank you for your guidance and positive feedback. Agreed. Being positive will help me through this journey. I had my first CST appointment today, he worked on my TMJ and I tapped into a peaceful place with diaphragmatic breathing throughout the session. Have you had any experience with a Nucca chiro?

 

Thanks for your kind words. Yes, positivity will definitely help as it will lower our stress level which is beneficial to calm tinnitus. I am happy for you that you are having treatments that will help you along. But I have not had a Nucca chiropratic treatment before. Apparently it is a gentle and relaxing procedure. Is it like a deep massage of the neck?

 

A nucca chiro specializes in the upper cervical neck area. I went to my first acupuncture treatment today, he said I’m young to have tinnitus - I’m 35. Really? Cmon I’m not that young!

On another note I’ve recently implemented some techniques Ive found from this forum, such as measuring my response to T instead of measuring my reaction. It’s been extemely helpful, as well as intersecting negative thoughts. Albeit challenging.

 

That is the 'Back to Silence' method by IWLM, the most read success story on this forum. Good for you. Intersecting or countering negative thoughts is proposed as a way to defuse the negative distorted thoughts in CBT. You are using some of the best techniques out there so you should find good result with them. Good luck. Take care. God bless.