Can Grief and Stress Cause Tinnitus Spikes?

[Kirstine]

Hello Dr. Nagler.

Gotta say, I'm a little surprised to see you here
But just glad you're available.

I am a little nervous at the moment.

I have been doing amazing with tinnitus since last summer. I stopped using my tinnitus maskers during the day, and only wore them at night.
So I would say I was - am? pretty much habituated during the day

I have had an extra visitor a couple of times.
A visitor I know from the past. A nice little static sound in my left ear that sometimes visit for hours, sometimes days.
But then it usually stays away for a looong time.
But since my granfather passed away in December it has visited 3 times, and it seems to stay for days, and then go silent. But the thing that concerns me, is the frquent amout of time the sound makes it back. It makes me worry that maybe it is here to stay. Recently it came back on Friday, on and off Saturday, on and off Sunday, and yesterday it wasn't there the whole day, but started back up just before bedtime, and today it's just ON!
It reacts to sound, so I can't really mask it, unless I turn on a faucet.

In some way, there is a part of me that "knows" it will go back down, I just don't know when. But there is also a scared part of me, that thinks it's here to stay.
So to ask a question, could this be just a "spike" or rather spikes due to stress and grief?

Thank you in advance

 

[Dr. Nagler]

Hello Dr. Nagler. Gotta say, I'm a little surprised to see you here

Well actually I started the Doctors' Corner with Markku's help way back in March 2014. I was away for a while but returned a few months ago.

But just glad you're available.

Good to be here. I just wish other doctors would be interested in participating. But it is what it is.

I am a little nervous at the moment.

You and me both! There's this thing called Washington, DC. It's enough to make anybody nervous. But I digress.

I have been doing amazing with tinnitus since last summer. I stopped using my tinnitus maskers during the day, and only wore them at night. So I would say I was - am? pretty much habituated during the day

Well good for you! I mean it. Call it what you wish. Relief by any other name is still relief, no?

I have had an extra visitor a couple of times. A visitor I know from the past. A nice little static sound in my left ear that sometimes visit for hours, sometimes days. But then it usually stays away for a looong time.

Not all that unusual, as I am sure you know.

But since my granfather passed away in December it has visited 3 times, and it seems to stay for days, and then go silent. But the thing that concerns me, is the frquent amout of time the sound makes it back. It makes me worry that maybe it is here to stay. Recently it came back on Friday, on and off Saturday, on and off Sunday, and yesterday it wasn't there the whole day, but started back up just before bedtime, and today it's just ON! It reacts to sound, so I can't really mask it, unless I turn on a faucet.

And you are - quite naturally - trying to figure it out. All I can say is good luck with that. We all do it, of course, but it rarely gets us anywhere except to the land of frustration.

In some way, there is a part of me that "knows" it will go back down, I just don't know when. But there is also a scared part of me, that thinks it's here to stay. So to ask a question, could this be just a "spike" or rather spikes due to stress and grief?

Well there are a couple of issues here.

The first has to do with what exactly it is about the sound that causes you distress. You already know that it is not dangerous to you. And you already know that a lot of folks have these sorts of unpredictable auditory phenomena. Which makes you ... normal. So perhaps instead of trying to figure out the sound (which is for the most part pointless), maybe try to point towards what precisely what it is about the sound that is bothersome to you. Lots of possibilities there. But going at it from that angle can be enlightening.

The other has to do with the role of stress and grief. Many clinicians feel that stress and grief can serve to sort of pull the covers off tinnitus that had been present all along but that had been existing "under the radar" so to speak. The problem is that trying to "de-stress" for the purpose of covering the tinnitus back up can itself be a stressful undertaking. Lots to unpack there, but that's the general idea.

Thank you in advance

You are most welcome, @Kirstine. I'm not sure that my response will have any practical value for you, but possibly it can at least offer a plausible explanation.

Stephen M. Nagler, M.D.