Tinnitus for a Month, Maybe from Stress — Scared and Anxious

Hello everyone,
Sorry for my English!

For a month I have been lurking on this forum feeling hopeless. I have had mild but permanent tinnitus since the end of October. I have not been exposed to loud sounds, I am not a heavy headphone user.

I suffer from great anxiety tough. I tried ignoring it but I feel anxious about it all the time, even though it is often masked. I don't know if that makes sense but even as I do not hear it, I think about it and I feel sick.

My GP gave me Xanax and I take it to sleep. I saw an ENT and I have no hearing loss (I know it is not really reliable).

I am so scared that it will not go away and that I will not be happy again. Please send positive things. I have never felt this way in my entire life.

 

It will get better. I was in your position 5 months ago and although mine has stayed, my reaction to it has changed. You will be happy and ok again, hang in there. You’re going to be fine x

 

Sorry that you have to go through this. For virtually everybody with tinnitus distress, the mind learns to ignore the sound, but it can take a year or more. This is called habituation, and it's automatic. There are various ways of relaxing and helping the process of habituation along, which takes some time and effort. Rest assured, though, if everybody who had tinnitus distress didn't get over it, there would be dozens, if not hundreds, of websites like Tinnitus Talk, to handle the traffic.

 

Oh. Brother. I feel i need to comment here. If nothing else just for support. As far as I can tell the ringing in my ears started around October 25 this year. The first week or so it seemed like more of a curiosity although quite annoying. As I progressed onto a second week and really started to loose alot of sleep over it I think that was when it got real for me.
Thats when the anxiety and depression hit hard and before I knew it I was in full flight or fight response 24hrs a day.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I think we can get through. It mostly just sucks being told by your ENT that there is nothing they can do. I even had an MRI done 2 weeks ago thinking I probably have a tumor or something. No. Of course not. I'm perfectly healthy. Lol. Sure Doc.

Honestly. From what I can tell. Habitation may be the only long term solution. At least for now. Don't get me wrong I still hold out hope that it will go away. I'm sure you miss quiet days like me. Seriously. I wish you the best of luck. Just out of curiosity does the Xanax help? I've was prescribed prednisone for a week. And I only taken lorazepam 1mg to sleep and take the edge off.

Anyways good luck

 

HI @M1436.

I am sorry to hear of your difficulties with tinnitus. As others have said it will improve with time. The clue as to why you have developed tinnitus is in your post which I have quoted: "I am not a heavy headphone user". The fact that you use headphones makes me believe they are the cause of your tinnitus. Please stop using them immediately and my advice, is not to use them even at low volume.

Headphones, headsets and earbuds are the most common cause of tinnitus. This is followed by other forms of loud noise. Next is an underlying medical problem within the auditory system, medication, stress can cause it too.

Please read my posts that I think will be of some help. Try to avoid quiet rooms and surroundings especially at night. This can be achieved by using low level sound enrichment. More about sound enrichment is in my post: New to tinnitus what to do.

All the best
Michael

 

I sympathize strongly. My GP recommended jazz music as it often can mask tinnitus at the right frequency. I’m listening to it now as I work, and it mostly distracts me (hard with high-pitched, intrusive ringing though).

Hang in there, acceptance is hard but eventually you just... do it. Because what other choice do we have? We’re all incredibly strong for what we’ve endured.

I also get bugged out that doctors are so willing to prescribe anti-anxiety meds for tinnitus. It’s not fixing the problem. I think talking with friends, therapy, CBT, exercise, etc. should be tried first. There’s no need for everyone to start being dependent on something that’s not even technically treating the problem. Of course it can be helpful as a stepping stone as you adjust to this new part of your life, but just my two cents.

 

Did a pair of headphones mug you on the street or why is your answer to literally everything headphones?

 

I will assume that you went to school and hope you were taught the way to address someone with manners and respect, which you haven't shown to me when quoting my post. Should you summon me in future, please do so with respect or I will not reply. Furthermore, tinnitus is a serious matter and when I'm writing about it I don't play at it, so please do not be facetious.

If you have ever experienced severe debilitating tinnitus, like I and many people in this forum have, then you would treat it with the respect it deserves. Peruse some of the many posts in this forum and you will see, most people got their tinnitus by exposure to loud noise. Typically, it is headphones, earbuds and headsets use that causes it. This is followed by other forms of loud noise exposure and there are many: playing music in a band, attending clubs, concerts where loud music is played. Working in a noisy environment the list goes on.

When tinnitus isn't caused by exposure to loud noise, an underlying medical condition within the auditory system is usually responsible. This is followed in no particular order by: TMJ, pulsatile tinnitus, medication, ear infection, build-up of wax in the ear and even stress.

Michael

 

I still use headphones often. But I am much more cautious about the volume level. I try to never go louder than the Tin Man. The damage may be done and it will take time to habituate... but seriously. The depression and anxiety of not doing the things you love is what's causing a large amount of the problem I think.

 

@BrOKeN_1 -- Just to mention, I tried some BOSE canceling headphones when my hyperacusis was especially bad. It did reduce the volume of sound coming into my ears, but it made my tinnitus worse. It only took 3-4 tries to make the clear connection.

 

It's because the headphones turn down so much random noise around us. I had the same phenomenon with the Bose QC35 II headphones.

But, some people report increased or spiked tinnitus after using them; really it's not foreseeable how the negative pressure to the eardrum or spikes during imperfect alignment of noise and noise-cancelling could influence the ear. We understand so little about our hearing organ.

I also set my headphones to a fixed maximum value when using them on my PC now. Some spam pop-ups make a very loud beep, who knows why, they must be causing tinnitus in many people.

 

So can TMJ problems / tinnitus be cured?

 

Hello everyone.

I just wanted to make a quick update post. I have not replied to this post because I was feeling so down and depressed about tinnitus, and couldn't even bring myself to type out messages, but I want to thank everyone for their kind words and useful pieces of information.

I am now much better after 2 and a half month. I stopped Xanax because it made me feel uncomfortable to take benzos, but I started Paroxetine to treat my high anxiety. I know SSRI are a controversial subject on here, but for me it made a huge difference. I don't think my tinnitus really decreased, but it does not bother me anymore, except sometimes when I go to sleep. The pitch has changed to a lower tone, which is definitely more manageable, and I stopped having ear buzzing/electrical feelings. I'm still anxious about sound levels though. I think one positive thing about all of this is that I finally started treating my anxiety.

I wish everyone on here the best, especially the severe sufferers, and I pledge to protect my ears the best I can, because it was NOT a positive experience overall.

 

Good to hear you're doing better, I became aware of it 10/2020 too. Like you I was in bad place during the first 4-6 weeks or so, I have become somewhat used to it by now although I'll have mini-spikes for a couple of days here and there (like right now lol) but overall it doesn't bother me as much as it did that first month where it was so bad that I found it hard to be even alone (COVID-19 isolation didn't help neither). I took Zopiclone for a bit then Trazodone to help with sleep/anxiety but it gave me weird feelings and I read that it can make your tinnitus worse so I cut that out... there might be setbacks but it really does get better as time goes on. Hopefully we'll all be in an even better headspace another 3 months from now.

 

This is so true, I imagine there are hundreds of thousands of people that get tinnitus but never join a tinnitus forum because they just straight up habituated to it. Most of the people joining tinnitus forums have either just gotten their tinnitus or is experience peak anxiety from it... like I was.