Trusting a Doctor's diagnosis with Anxiety?

[PotterBook]

Good afternoon! My 8year old girl developed a fever last night after a weekend of fun and activity (and little sleep) she hadn't complained at all, until all of a sudden she exited the swimming pool saying she was FREEZING. She then mentioned a little sound that she occasionally could hear in her ear that only lasted a second and then stopped. She said it had happened earlier that morning, and again yesterday evening. Overnight, with fever (taking ibuprofen for comfort) she complained about her throat and her ears. In the past few weeks, she had mentioned a headache a few times too. Needless to say, we took her to the doctor this morning. He checked her all out, took a rapid strep test which came back negative, and confirmed that it's a "virus" that is going around in the summer, which tends to effect the throat. In mentioning the headache he didn't even bat an eye, her blood pressure was perfect and she's been in the sun at camp... I asked about her ears, and he said that sometimes when you get an infection in the throat, it can have a residual pain in the ears. I asked about the sounds that she's been hearing (she said that she heard it again this morning) and he said that can be associated with it as well, as it's pressure within the inner ear as a result of the illness. I asked if that would go away, he said that after the illness clears it may take a little time for the inner ear to correct itself again, but then yes.

Well, my anxiety is making me CRAZY thinking that my little 8 year old is going to suffer tinnitus for the rest of her life, or is going to suffer hearing loss, or all these crazy stories you read about on Google. I know I'm probably over-thinking and especially over researching, but that's what we do with anxiety, right?

My husband says that he's had this sort of "sound" she's speaking of (she said that it sounds like the sound a bow makes when you let go of an arrow in archery) when he's sick, and that it comes and goes and goes away once he's better.. but of course I don't believe him I think he's patronizing me.

I should just trust the doctor's diagnosis and believe that my daughter will get through this virus in a few days and go back to being the spunky little spitfire that she is, right? I mean, if he thought there would be anything worse, he's have ordered more tests, or if he thought that the sound could become permanent he'd have said so, right?

I hate anxiety! Sheesh..

[Jeff1943]

Anxiety always makes us exaggerate minor fears turning molehills into mountains. Usually it's about ourselves, an aching chest muscle must be an impending heart attack. In your case, due to your anxiety, it's your daughter's minor ailment that you're turning into a mountain of stress and worry for yourself. A possible ear infection becomes tinnitus leading to complete loss of hearing.

You must accept that the doctor knows what he's talking about. He went to medical school for 5 years and he sees hundreds of patients every month. So he can sense when something serious is wrong and when it's not.

Potterbook, yoor daughter is not going deaf, neither will she develop tinnitus. She is young and healthy, she will soon recover from what ails her. May I suggest that you stop worrying about an illness your daughter doesn't have and instead turn your attention to the illness you have - anxiety disorder. A good self-help book for anxiety will stop you feeding your anxiety with fear which causes more anxiety which causes more fear thereby perpetuating your condition indefinitely. It will help you see things as they are, helping you keep a sense of proportion. Everything is going to be fine I assure you.

[PotterBook in reply to Jeff1943]

Jeff, thank you. 😊