Tinnitus, Hearing Loss, and Anxiety

Hi!

I suffer from tinnitus since June 2018. (My mother has this condition, and her father was also afflicted by it -- so there must be something genetic going on.) Tinnitus lead to my first visit to a psychiatrist, and I'm still taking drugs for anxiety. It would be hard to live without one of them: mirtazapine, an antidepressant prescribed off label for anxiety disorders. I think I recovered from severe anxiety (in June 2018 I lost 5 Kg, and barely could eat), but mirtazapine allows me to fall into sleep even when my tinnitus is at its more effervescent, distressing form. (Unfortunately, mirtazapine made me gain 20 kg, and I just started loosing some weight.)

That tinnitus causes most of my anxiety (now a manageable anxiety, but sill there) is beyond doubt. But is anxiety also the main cause of my tinnitus? I don't know! (Increased anxiety worsens my tinnitus -- I have little doubt about this.) I went to an otorhinolaryngologist (what a word!), and made a few audiometric tests. According to the tests, I have some high frequency hearing loss, and I was told that such loss was the cause of my tinnitus. I doubt this. During the tests, I was, not surprisingly, experiencing tinnitus. So how could the doctor have inferred that I couldn't ear those very high pitched sounds because I have hearing loss (and, therefore, that I have tinnitus because I have hearing loss)? Maybe I couldn't hear those damn sounds just because my auditory field was filled with tinnitus! I wish I could repeat the tests on one of the rare occasions when I'm free from tinnitus... This makes me suspect that too often tinnitus is wrongfully attributed to hearing loss.

Well, I'm still unsure about the cause or causes of my tinnitus (of a quite irregular nature, by the way)... What lessens its intensity? I found out that after being exposed to certain kinds of noise (shower, city noises...), it tends to become very tolerable. Talking on the cellphone also helps a lot, but I don't do that often. After a 30m conversation, my tinnitus nearly vanishes...

Best,
Pedro

 

Welcome to the forum!

Yes sometimes it is not easy to pin down the exact cause of tinnitus. Acoustic trauma and stress/anxiety are two well known causes.

There are many other causes, single or combined, which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including but not limited to drug side-effects from ototoxic drugs, ear wax build-up, ear-wax removal suction, inner ear infection, Eustachian tube disorder or ETD, ear drum injury, fluid build-up in ears feeling pressured or fullness, sinus infection & congestion especially with a bad cold, TMJ, TTTS, autoimmune disorders such as Lyme Disease & Fibromyalgia, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, anemia, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma/shock, acoustic neuroma tumor, head injury or TBI, neck injury or muscle problems, hearing loss from aging or other causes, Meniere's Decease, barotrauma from rapid pressure changes in flights or diving, especially with congested nose or sinus causing failure to balance the pressure changes, slapping of the ears, deep grief, untreated sleep apnea, extreme/extended stress, anxiety & panic disorder, depression, sleep deprivation, etc. T can also be caused or made worse by unhealthy diet such as too much salt, sugar, caffeine, MSG, alcohol etc. or by lacking some mineral or vitamin supplements, such as Magnesium, Zinc, B12, D3 etc.

Regardless of the causes it is important to manage our response to it. The fact that you are having breaks from T simply by distracting it with social conversation is a good sign. Given time and being able to living life as usual without stressing over tinnitus will likely bring about habitation. Good luck. God bless.