Unusual Case — Please Help

Hey guys I wanted to share my story so far and ask for your advice if you have a similar case.

2 months ago I woke from sleep in what I now guess was a panic attack. I thought it was a seizure at first but after googling I see it was most likely panic. If relevant , leading up to this I had weird stiff cracking neck, swollen glands round jaw and neck but doctor said all is well and it's gone now.

I have never had panic attack before either. I awoke with strongest heartbeat ever , unusual vision like I was tripping , and a feeling of derealization. I considered an ambulance and calling my parents, it was the worst experience. Instead I got in a roasting hot shower for over an hour, paced myself and did deep breathing etc. I came out feeling grounded but not 100% . Went back to bed then awoke hours later back to normal - except for this fizzing sound in my right ear /brain .

Weeks passed and I was so worried about this noise. Over Christmas I drank red wine to see if it would affect it , no effect. I also smoked some weed which made it louder and also the whole weed experience felt different to getting high before taking the "attack" . Another thing ruined I also got a feeling it may move to my good ear , which it later did though not as bad .

As of now I'm awaiting MRI results due February. Scan of both ears.


My questions are, does anyone have this type of tinnitus ; it sounds like a headache tablet dissolving in water, that fizzy sound with a sense of movement to it. I sometimes get a ringing which passes momentarily but mainly it's the fizzy movement sound 24/7 . I can feel it originates in brain rather than ear but it took a while to distinguish that. It's so bad in a quiet room , you lose the sense of "quiet house at bedtime" , can' detect the silent ambience as the sounds I hear is just enough to blank it out .

I also thought I had hyperacusis but I realise that it' more like I hear external sounds PLUS the internal tinnitus sound and the high frequencies of both sounds overlap. It's so weird. Can anyone relate to this?

The fizzy sound has a sense of movement or electrical zapping which makes it extra hard yo fall asleep to, as I interpret it as movement as well as sound .

Any help or even just a chat would be great guys, this is totally destroying me. 3 months ago I was a highly respected musician, now I'm completely ruined, feeling verrrrrry hard done by

I must add that as the days go on with this, I am loosing memory of how I heard before this ; I' forgetting my crisp hearing , or rather, what it' like to hear a sound against a backdrop of silence. So depressing . Its like observing colours on a coloured canvass instead of blank white . Imagine vibrant sky blue on a white canvass.... now imagine it on a red canvass . It becomes cluttered and the true form is not as appreciable

 

Thanks for sharing your story.

I can reassure you that you wouldnt be conscious during a seizure.

The language you use in your post "derealization" makes me curious as to how you would know this if you hadnt experienced this before?

The hot shower was a good idea.

Not so sure about the wine (at least it was red) and the weed.

Post your MRI results here if you dont mind.

Yes. Many of us, including myself have a static sound/s. I have hissing in both ears and my head that moves around, and fluctuates in loudness.

Sometimes, i hear a white noise pulsating in my right ear that i can modulate with clenching my teeth (but my dentist recommended i dont do that anymore because i am grinding my teeth down

You will feel destroyed at this stage, but many of us including myself have managed to habituate. You are not completely ruined. There are many musos on here who are able to get back to making music.

For now, stay calm (easier said than done). get your mri and an extended audio if you can. post it here, and go from there.

 

It’s not unusual. Sounds very much like you had a panic attack. It could have been caused by a physical illness, not necessarily just a psychological trigger. Your body and mind telling you something isn’t right. Happened to me after surgery this time last year.
Then derealisation aspect is most definitely a bad part of having a panic attack.
They also have the horrendous effect of turning T up to a high volume, albeit usually temporarily.

I would suggest laying off the weed. Hallucinogenics and anxiety related things wouldn’t be compatible.

You are a musician so noise is definitely a possible contributor to your T. Just keep a tab on your dB exposure and make sure not to exceed 85db (even less probably), without hearing protection. Do you wear custom musician earplugs?

Quite often my T changes tone to a very high pitch that is as much a fizzing sensation as it is a sound.