Here's my story.
On May 14, 2024, I went to an osteopath for a massage. It was my first massage ever, but insurance covered it, so I figured, why not?
At the time, I was 190 lbs, in superb shape, and training hard. I had never had any health issues, anxiety problems, or even needed to see a doctor. (Except a week before, I had flown to Mexico, which made me extremely anxious since I have a fear of flying.)
During the massage, the osteopath crossed my arms over my chest and leaned on them with her full weight. She was a tall, heavy woman, and my spine cracked loudly. She then proceeded to "crack" my neck, thrusting it left and right. I didn't feel pain at the time, but I wasn't expecting to be cracked and really didn't like it.
Five days later, I started experiencing numbness in my face and hands. I had never had this before, so I went to the ER. They did an angiogram, multiple blood tests, and a heart test, all normal. The next day, I felt burning in my chest, which freaked me out and sent me back to the ER. I made the mistake of googling my symptoms and convinced myself I had multiple sclerosis or some neurological disorder. I was experiencing burning skin, shortness of breath, chills, numbness, and more.
The doctors assured me it was just a virus and would pass. But I was so anxious that I would spend entire days in bed, convinced I had some serious disease. Finally, on July 31, I had an MRI. No disease showed up; they scanned my entire head and spine. The only findings were a mild herniation at L4-L5 (no spinal compression) and a disc bulge at C5-C6 pressing on the C6 nerve root, but still no spinal compression.
Despite the reassuring MRI results, I was still nervous, thinking it could be something serious. My neurologist told me these findings were just "gray hairs" of the spine — normal changes that most people have but don't notice because they don't get MRI scans.
Fast forward to September, and I was finally starting to feel better. I knew I was still in fight-or-flight mode because I'd get stressed even while playing video games and would wake up anxious. But overall, I was doing much better. The heavy physical symptoms had faded, and reading Dr. Sarno's book helped a lot.
Then, on September 24, out of nowhere, "EEEEEE" in my right ear. I thought it might be water or something that would go away.
Three days later, the ringing was in both ears.
As of today, I still hear the ringing. It shifts from ear to ear and varies in intensity, following my stress levels. I've been to the doctor, ENT, audiologist, and my neurologist.
The audiologist said my hearing is perfect; I can even hear sounds I'm "not supposed to."
The ENT was unhelpful. He just kept saying he didn't know what was causing it.
My neurologist, the one I'd seen for my previous issues, told me it was definitely anxiety and prescribed me 10 mg of Amitriptyline, explaining that it's a low dose and can sometimes help with tinnitus and anxiety.
I'm hesitant to take it because I've read that it can cause tinnitus for some people. Anyway, it seems to be better now. Initially, the ringing was so loud that my head would vibrate, but now I can sleep fairly well. During the day, it's not too loud unless I'm stressed.
At this point, I don't even care as much because dealing with all these issues has drained my energy. Still, I'm hopeful it will heal soon.
Thanks for reading.
On May 14, 2024, I went to an osteopath for a massage. It was my first massage ever, but insurance covered it, so I figured, why not?
At the time, I was 190 lbs, in superb shape, and training hard. I had never had any health issues, anxiety problems, or even needed to see a doctor. (Except a week before, I had flown to Mexico, which made me extremely anxious since I have a fear of flying.)
During the massage, the osteopath crossed my arms over my chest and leaned on them with her full weight. She was a tall, heavy woman, and my spine cracked loudly. She then proceeded to "crack" my neck, thrusting it left and right. I didn't feel pain at the time, but I wasn't expecting to be cracked and really didn't like it.
Five days later, I started experiencing numbness in my face and hands. I had never had this before, so I went to the ER. They did an angiogram, multiple blood tests, and a heart test, all normal. The next day, I felt burning in my chest, which freaked me out and sent me back to the ER. I made the mistake of googling my symptoms and convinced myself I had multiple sclerosis or some neurological disorder. I was experiencing burning skin, shortness of breath, chills, numbness, and more.
The doctors assured me it was just a virus and would pass. But I was so anxious that I would spend entire days in bed, convinced I had some serious disease. Finally, on July 31, I had an MRI. No disease showed up; they scanned my entire head and spine. The only findings were a mild herniation at L4-L5 (no spinal compression) and a disc bulge at C5-C6 pressing on the C6 nerve root, but still no spinal compression.
Despite the reassuring MRI results, I was still nervous, thinking it could be something serious. My neurologist told me these findings were just "gray hairs" of the spine — normal changes that most people have but don't notice because they don't get MRI scans.
Fast forward to September, and I was finally starting to feel better. I knew I was still in fight-or-flight mode because I'd get stressed even while playing video games and would wake up anxious. But overall, I was doing much better. The heavy physical symptoms had faded, and reading Dr. Sarno's book helped a lot.
Then, on September 24, out of nowhere, "EEEEEE" in my right ear. I thought it might be water or something that would go away.
Three days later, the ringing was in both ears.
As of today, I still hear the ringing. It shifts from ear to ear and varies in intensity, following my stress levels. I've been to the doctor, ENT, audiologist, and my neurologist.
The audiologist said my hearing is perfect; I can even hear sounds I'm "not supposed to."
The ENT was unhelpful. He just kept saying he didn't know what was causing it.
My neurologist, the one I'd seen for my previous issues, told me it was definitely anxiety and prescribed me 10 mg of Amitriptyline, explaining that it's a low dose and can sometimes help with tinnitus and anxiety.
I'm hesitant to take it because I've read that it can cause tinnitus for some people. Anyway, it seems to be better now. Initially, the ringing was so loud that my head would vibrate, but now I can sleep fairly well. During the day, it's not too loud unless I'm stressed.
At this point, I don't even care as much because dealing with all these issues has drained my energy. Still, I'm hopeful it will heal soon.
Thanks for reading.
