Can Anxiety Really Increase Tinnitus?

[F-u-T]

I'm crying... why is this happening to me. I can't even be in a quiet room.

So sorry you are dealing with this. It happened to me too when I first got T and H about a year and a half ago.

A few things that helped me were seeing a Psychiatrist who has patients that deal with T. I also started meditation with the Calm app on my phone. The app has meditation sessions that specifically talk about anxiety or panic. Both of these things really helped with the panic and anxiety.

 

[sssing]

I'm crying... why is this happening to me. I can't even be in a quiet room.

Hi Tara, I know how it feels when you can't even be in a quiet room, I went into a library and got out very quickly...prior to this I loved libraries, now I can't go to one. My Audiologist suggests to put on some light music(I use flowing water sounds through an app) at home and AVOID silence.

 

[Tara Lyons]

Hi Tara, when you say you hear an echo? Does it mean your own voice gets louder? You may want to google 'autophony/patulous eustachian tube' just in case...I just want to encourage you from a person who has been through the worst of my life with tinnitus and hyperacusis... Please hang on, I fully understand when you say what you say. You must hang on and overprotect your ears. @Michael Leigh and the others have been giving you lots of good advice and he really does it out of goodwill. It shows that there are people who care and understand what you are facing...

I'm so hopeless . I miss silence.

 

[sssing]

Please hang on, it's not hopeless though I know it seems unbelievable to you right now!!! I am not trying to just say something nice but there really is hope for you. Believe me. Many here have had it for years, and some have it for many years, so it shows that there's hope for us. Read through the posts Micheal sent you and read the successs stories when you feel hopeless. Try your best to take the medicine, it is very traumatizing so it will be very difficult to calm down through normal means. I called my audiologist and doctor many times and found support through them very important. Cry if you need. I find that overprotecting my ears helped. I too miss silence... I hope one day they'll find a way back to silence for us. Have hope, there are treatments coming up. U can always come here for help. Hang on! Don't give up, we understand how you feel

 

[Eloy Resendez Jr]

I'm so hopeless . I miss silence.

Hi @Tara Lyons, the first thing to know is, your not alone, we've all gone through or are still going through the same thing. Seek out success stories on this forum, hang on to the good moments, one day those moments will become good days, then good weeks. I know it's hard to see that now, trust me, I know, I've been through this twice. First time in 2015 and back in December 2019 I was hit with a spike due to some additional minor hearing loss. So even though I overcame it once before, after my second spike, I'm still struggling to get back to where I was. But the one thing I do know is you can overcome this. Like I said I've been there. Do your best to adapt, whatever it is you have to do, mask the sound the best you can through out the day, again, I know easier said than done.

I'll keep you in my prayers Tara, be strong, be patient, and hang on. Take it day by day. God Bless!

 

[Tara Lyons]

Hi Tara, I'm really sorry you are dealing with this. I'm now about 25 months into tinnitus. I've had about 25 sessions of acupuncture. Sometimes it would seem to aggravate my tinnitus, but the overall trend is an improvement in the intensity and loudness of my tinnitus. When I first developed tinnitus it was very severe, and remained that way for about 8 months. At about 16 months I noticed another improvement. Now at just over 2 years it continues to improve. You must be careful protecting your ears. Please stay vigilant. I've had 2 audiograms over these 2 years with no change. I haven't lost anymore hearing, nor gained any. I've worn earplugs on the job, and avoid loud situations. I now pay someone to mow my lawn. Also, I've been taking supplements which may have helped The healing process. The fact that you believe there has been some change is a very good sign. Tinnitus often improves, but initially it can seem like living hell.

Ears are both screaming right now... living hell is right.

 

[KMc24]

Ears are both screaming right now... living hell is right.

I'm so so sorry you have to go through this. When my tinnitus was at its worst I tried various videos on YouTube to mask it. I settled on a high frequency noise video that just about perfectly masked my tinnitus. You may have to try different sounds before you hit on the right one. It may offer you some temporary relief.

 

[PeteJ]

Don't use earplugs in the shower! Although you may not perceive it, you are actually increasing the Db inside your ear canal. Anxiety absolutely makes tinnitus and hyperacusis worse. It's up to you to avoid damaging situations for the next few years until a cure/treatment is ready.

Huh?

 

[PeteJ]

I can't be distracted at home even when I am cleaning or watching TV. It's too hard. I'm too consumed and I feel it's always worse at night!

It seems to get louder and more intrusive at night for me too.

I don't understand it. I am inclined to think tinnitus is an indication of inner ear damage and people here have explained the technical science but I don't know how to explain the 'worsening' at night especially lately.

I can't get the sleep before midnight anymore. It's so loud - I describe the severity as a numerical score 10/10. I so hate it.

As for anxiety, I don't think it alters or impacts tinnitus as much as many here say. Yes, a little but there is constant anxiety with this condition. If your tinnitus fluctuates at all, how can that be explained when tinnitus contributes to one's anxiety all the time?

 

[Tara Lyons]

I'm so so sorry you have to go through this. When my tinnitus was at its worst I tried various videos on YouTube to mask it. I settled on a high frequency noise video that just about perfectly masked my tinnitus. You may have to try different sounds before you hit on the right one. It may offer you some temporary relief.

Can't stop crying. I am so sick of this. Seeing ENT today. Whyyyyyyy.

 

[Lucifer]

Can't stop crying. I am so sick of this. Seeing ENT today. Whyyyyyyy.

Sorry that you are going through this. Hopefully in time you notice your tinnitus will start to decrease and you will feel much better than what your going though right now.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Can't stop crying. I am so sick of this. Seeing ENT today. Whyyyyyyy.

Have you begun taking the medication you were prescribed @Tara Lyons ? If you have it will take a little time to help you relax and calm down and you'll start to feel better....

Michael

 

[sssing]

Hi Tara, it is good to see an ENT who can do a thorough checkup, do let us know of the outcome of the visit. Hope it will be of some help. Take care...

 

[Brooklyn NY]

Hi, in my case, if I'm nervous about something, or if I'm involved in a highly stressful situation, the ringing goes up, but it is always temporary. Good luck.

 

[Tara Lyons]

Have you begun taking the medication you were prescribed @Tara Lyons ? If you have it will take a little time to help you relax and calm down and you'll start to feel better....

Michael

Seeing ENT today. I've had burning and echoing. What is happening.

 

[Gabriel]

Hey,

Your story is kind of similar to mine.
My tinnitus spiraled in only two weeks and then kind of continue to aggravated in term on number of noise etc but has kind of plateau.
In term of loudness it has remain fairly stable (and ata tinnitus actually disappeared), and I am now way more emotionally stable.

Now, giving what you are saying about your state of mind, I would strongly recommend that you seek help with a doctor/ psychiatristt that can treat your stress.
I would try benzodiazepine for a couple of days, as your doctor will probably suggest. I wish I had this in the begining because I actually think it would have greatly helped me.

I would also try simple supplement such as magnesium and b6 vitamin that a lot of people here including me find helpful.
Oil fish and turmeric can help with inflammation and tinnitus symptoms.

Also, I would avoid earplug because they can induce hyperacusis as it did for me, by setting your sensitivity threshold lower. Avoiding loud places should be enough for now ,till you cope better .
I know people are divided about that but there is no medical consensus that being overprotected help and there is doctor saying, as I experienced it, it can induce hyperacusis. It's your call.

 

[Michael Leigh]

Seeing ENT today. I've had burning and echoing. What is happening.

You are in the early stages of tinnitus @Tara Lyons and the ears can react and behave quite strangely. I believe you have noise induced tinnitus probably caused by headphones. With time things will settle down and you'll begin to feel a lot better.

Good luck at ENT
All the best

Michael

 

[Tara Lyons]

You are in the early stages of tinnitus @Tara Lyons and the ears can react and behave quite strangely. I believe you have noise induced tinnitus probably caused by headphones. With time things will settle down and you'll begin to feel a lot better.

Good luck at ENT
All the best

Michael

Thank you, you're so patient and helpful

 

[sssing]

Hi Tara, how was the trip to the ENT? Sorry if this comes a bit late, I hope I'm still in time, I was thinking about your situation and I know that steroidal treatments orally or intratympanic works sometimes for the early days of tinnitus. The theory is that steroids decreases inflammation, oxidative damage and reverses/prevents/stops cell death. You could ask your ENT about it. I'm sure they'll tell you more. Just some thoughts. I hope you can still reverse it. Hope this helps.

 

[Tybs]

I'm so hopeless . I miss silence.

Don't give up hope. I was in your position nearly a year ago: ears blaring with tones and hisses, having up to twelve noises non-stop. I used the same words as you to describe the situation (living in hell), hardly having any sleep for months, and I just wanted it to be over.

Luckily, I did eventually discover the origin. I had a minor accident two days before onset (fell down the stairs) which left me with neck and jaw trauma. I never linked the symptoms before, as I did not know at the time that the neck muscles can actually influence sound perception.

A few months of neck physiotherapy eliminated most of the sounds and reduced the volume of others. As time progresses, the remaining sounds keep reducing: not in a straight line down, but on average it improves every month.

Last week I've had three days of complete silence, and in the nights only some distant hissing has been present. Once again this is a new record for me: the best before was one full day of silence. Things still fluctuate with good/average days, but it is nothing like a year ago, and improving over time.

Keep up the hope. Read success stories on the forum and learn from them, it helped me tremendously last year. I don't know your cause of T, but even though it is a huge struggle, most cases get better over time. Try to keep yourself distracted with things that you love to do, that helps a lot as well.

 

[Tara Lyons]

Hi Tara, how was the trip to the ENT? Sorry if this comes a bit late, I hope I'm still in time, I was thinking about your situation and I know that steroidal treatments orally or intratympanic works sometimes for the early days of tinnitus. The theory is that steroids decreases inflammation, oxidative damage and reverses/prevents/stops cell death. You could ask your ENT about it. I'm sure they'll tell you more. Just some thoughts. I hope you can still reverse it. Hope this helps.

Do antihistamines reverse inflammation?

 

[sssing]

Hi Tara, sorry I cannot answer that question whether antihistamines work for inflammation on the inner ear, I don't know anything about antihistamine use for inner ear problems. Maybe it might work well with other drugs to reduce inflammation? It's best to ask a doctor and get checked... but so far steroids seem to be used most frequently for reducing inflammation in the inner ear...steroids are very effective anti inflammatory drugs, and from my own research I found cases of people regaining their hearing after steroid treatments. It's best to ask your doctor about your symptoms, history and see if steroids or any drugs could help... Sorry if I was not of much help. Did your Ent give you any advice? Don't lose hope whatever happens or how loud it gets! Read the things the other sent. Their all practical and useful. Important thing is really do protect your ears, take the medicine for you calm down and get some sleep. I'll be honest those medicines really saved me from doing extreme things.

 

[Lane]

steroids are very effective anti inflammatory drugs, and from my own research I found cases of people regaining their hearing after steroid treatments.

@sssing -- I recently discovered that some people use high amounts of Vitamin C to reduce inflammation, and some have reported it being very helpful for their tinnitus. DMSO can also be helpful.

 

[leftearguy]

What did the ENT tell you?

 

[Anxinnitus]

Hi Tara,

I am 3 months in with some nasty T in my ear from the Valsalva Maneuver.
I hope I can ease your mind a bit.

Your brain wants to fixate on the new "threat". The ringing that was never there before is now here. We often miss all of the "new normals" that we adjust to every year we are alive and hardly realize because they are gradual. This ringing (no matter the cause) is here, right now.

Your mind is so incredible that it has the unfortunate power of using all of its strength to try and "think" the ringing away (causing itself and your body to be tense, a.k.a STRESS).

Exercise your mind (just like you would your body) instead to protect your ears from noises, heavy lifting, STRESS and ototoxic medications.

The body is automatic, you cannot tell your stomach to digest food, it does it on its own. Same with tinnitus. It is part of the automatic bodily functioning now (given there is no physical ailment that can be attented to by a doctor in order try and fix your Tinnitus).

You can only pacify your body by using your mind at the moment. The ringing is a paper tiger, not a REAL tiger. Stress invokes bodily responses that wreak havoc on our systems. If it does not make it worse permanently, it certainly makes your mind more aware of the T, therefore, keeping you in a jumbled panic every waking hour (my personal experience also).

You are trying to get your "normal" life back before T. This is like a dog chasing a hot dog hanging on a stick in front of him. Stop chasing an invisible "quick fix button" for what your body already has (Tinnitus). The amount of time for your ears to heal is very long (one of the longest times for anything in the body to heal).

CBT Therapy about Tinnitus on YouTube or Doctor videos on YouTube about Tinnitus are incredibly soothing for me. Rearch and destroy! I say. Use your time to research masking sounds, soothing meditations, the anatomy of the ear, etc. My Tinnitus is constant and high pitched. The volume reacts to any external sound. I spent the first two months trying to run away from my body. Update: it is not possible.

My mind that tells me 'I will not be able to live like this forever', is stuck in the future due to past events, all the while each and every moment in the NOW is being missed. You cannot wish it away. You can be proactive with your mind and stregthen its response to Tinnitus, that of which has a good chance of going down with TIME. Time has us in its grasp. We are hamsters on its wheel doing different tricks, all the while it keeps moving regardless.

My post is not meant to tell you to acclimate immediately, for I am nowhere near that stage myself. What I wont do, however, is sit idly by and let my mind keep me supressed in a constant worried panic. I worry every day about my Tinntius, but the amount of time that I worry is decreasing with every day.

I hope this helps you during your T. Whether it stays 6 months or for life, your body is still operating as it should otherwise. Research and excerise your body and mind; this is paramount to your reaction towards your T.

Please keep me updated. Please talk to me anytime.

 

[Eloy Resendez Jr]

You are trying to get your "normal" life back before T. This is like a dog chasing a hot dog hanging on a stick in front of him. Stop chasing an invisible "quick fix button" for what your body already has (Tinnitus). The amount of time for your ears to heal is very long (one of the longest times for anything in the body to heal).

@Anxinnitus, you hit the nail on the head. Good to hear how you have approached your Tinnitus. I've tried to handle it along the same line. By no means is it easy, like you, I am far from where I want to be, but it's all about adapting and fighting to still enjoy life.

Hang in there @Tara Lyons !

 

[Tara Lyons]

Thank you. This is the hardest thing I've ever dealt with in my 32 years of life! It's horrific. Unreal.

I cry every day. I'm in disbelief that this is happening. I miss the days of silence.
I will def reach out to you. I'm seriously struggling. My mom has been staying with me but she needs to get back to her own life as well.

I have no idea what caused this. I've had every test done. It's heartbreaking.

Thank you for your kind words. Everyone on this site is so so helpful.