I'm freaking out today , it's so loud I'm almost having a panic attack

[Alugo6340]

I'm really trying not to panic but it's so **** loud I feel like my head will explode. Last night I couldn't sleep cause it was too loud so I dranked alot of booze. It was way too loud so I dranked alcohol to knock myself out. The night before yesterday was terrible, it was a huge terribly loud storm in my head. I had this horribly loud low frequency wavering sound that goes ooooo ooooo ooooo. It's very loud and intrusive that I almost had a panic attack. I was hoping that horrible low frequency sound would disappear after a few days but it hasnt. Sometimes my tinnitus gets so loud that I feel like I'm hallucinating voices as well :/ I'm trying not to panic and think this is new base level cause I woke up with it screaming. I feel depressed cause everyone else in my house goes to sleep in peace and quiet with quiet heads and I have this super loud screaming fire alarm in my head and horrible wavering low frequency sound that gets louder as the dah goes on so what can I do??? My heart is fluttering and I feel nauseous . I feel sick to my stomach. I feel I dont deserve peace and quiet or this wouldn't be happening to me. I wanna pass out...

[hypnotize]

Hi. I'm sorry to read this, how you describe your experience sounds pretty awful. I've had what i would call 'real' tinnitus for 5/6 weeks now, i felt how you did for the first 2 weeks, but have since managed to tell myself that stress is a feeder for tinnitus, so when i can, I'll do anything to avoid stress and that in itself includes not being stressed by the tinnitus. Sounds ridiculous i know, but the way I manage it is by accepting and then retreating from it, by not giving it the attention it wants.

Do you have other stress triggers at the moment? Due to our situation (worldwide) right now, I'd say if you aren't somehow affected by the lockdown/Coronavirus then you're doing pretty well. I'm a nurse, i can't avoid stress right now, that's an impossibility. When i leave a shift it sounds like i have an aeroplane taking off in my head and its still ringing away when i need to be sleeping.

All i can offer is, try to find time to do whatever you need to do to de-stress.

You deserve peace and quiet as much as anyone, don't blame yourself for what is an uncontrollable and obscure medical condition that may never have a complete cure.

I wish you well.

Ian.

[arthursseat]

First of all we all deserve peace and quiet.

I have had tinnitus for 30 years and had it under control until we had the lock down, and then it hit me again. So I went back to what I did in the first place and that is to find something that I really have to concentrate on in order to do it -- personally I am lucky in having three things, all hobbies.

I then throw myself into doing it (in this case it was writing stories of exactly 100 words which needs concentration). At the same time I tell myself over and over that the noise does not really exist, it is just a freak of something where my brain is telling me there is a noise.

I have found that by doing that gradually I find I overcome it and the sound becomes a "friend". I know it's still there but over a period of a few days I "know" it it is not going to do me any harm.

Another way is to converse with someone and have a competition of some kind -- say a "punning" competition. This relieves stress and can help.

Finally, whenever I am with people I always tell them I have tinnitus if I miss what they have said (handy sometimes with the wife) and I even find that helps as I can even joke about it.

Writing this has highlighted mine again but I will immediately go back to one of my three "to do" things to concentrate. My mind is used to doing that.

I hope at least something helps.

John.

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

Hi Alugo - as some of the lovely comments below have said, nobody 'deserves' tinnitus and you would be hard-pressed to find anybody whose actions deliberately brought on tinnitus. It happens to people from all walks of life, of all ages and for different reasons.

I know that it's difficult right now, but drinking or self-medicating should be avoided if you can as these ways of managing tinnitus delay problems rather than tackling them. Try and look for some other ways to help yourself when the sound feels as loud as it is for you right now.

Breathing exercises will calm your panic and anxiety - they won't necessarily take away your tinnitus, but they will help shift your focus away from the noise, which can make it seem less intense and disturbing.

Tinnitus can take a while to get under control and the more that you view it as something to be scared of or threatened by, the more attention you are likely to pay to it. It may well be this anxiety which is making your tinnitus feel invasive at the moment.

Some links, which I hope will be helpful to you:

tinnitus.org.uk/tinnitus-an...

tinnitus.org.uk/tinnitus-an...

A guided relaxation exercise - tinnitus.org.uk/relaxation-...

Take care and let us know how you're getting on.

Best wishes

Pat

Helpline Team

[T-shirts]

Oh, sorry to hear that your having such a bad time, have you been to the doctor, think you need to go asap, it's very scary at first Tinnitus, but as you have other sounds too, that needs investigation, are you on an antidepressant, or any other tablet's, it doesn't sound right your other sounds too, get your Doctor to send your to see a ENT doctor as an emergency, you are stressed, and this makes it worse, I'm wishing you well, please find help as soon as, best wishes,

Anne