I have had tinnitus since i was about 16 for over 40 years,i have suffered with stress and anxiety following a bad childhood.
In the last 5 years i have had therapy which has been a massive help to me and both my anxiety and stress levels have decreased considerably,i also recently undertaken a much less stressful job.
With this it appears my tinnitus is on the decrease as well,could this be my imagination or a proven fact.Would be good to hear from anyone or if anyone has had similar experiences.
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hillsinmind
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Congratulations on getting your stress levels down. Stress and tinnitus are inextricably linked as they both reduce your dopamine and serotonin levels. This is why people with tinnitus are mainly focused on battling depression. My depression confused me because I couldn’t understand why I was. I couldn’t relate it to anything yet it would creep up on me and for no comprehendible reason I would well up and feel like I needed to find a dark corner to sob in, maybe even suck my thumb for comfort. Now I understand this to be the tinnitus draining my body of dopamine and serotonin.
how are you battling this, if I may ask? I was already a (mostly) depressed person, even tho I have a 'good life'. Now with tinnitus (out of the blue) since 7 weeks, I don't know to handle it. My 'high functioning' depression doesn't feel maintainable.. I could go on venlafaxine (SSRI), but that would make me fearful for the future, since I am 26 now and god knows what it will do for me in the long term, possibly increasing this ringing to unbearable levels.. Pretty clueless right now
Thanks for your reply,its only in the last couple of months ive started to put everything together.Ive had continuous buzzing in my ears since i was a kid im now 58,it was only the other day when i started to realise it was easing..
I had therapy for 3 years and in my eyes the man was a genius,and when i looked on the bta website for the first time it said not to panic about the tinnitus.I used to wake up every morning listening to it,i spoke to a lady at the bta and she suggested try something different listen to birdsong or something that soothes you.
Ive no longer a stressful job and like yourself i have a good life,if i were to offer any advice it would be to see a good therapist he and my wife saved my life.
Good you wont regret it im not saying he can cure the tinitus,but the long term hopefully it will help,i never discussed it with him because i never thought the 2 went together
It is only since joining the bta and speaking to a lady called Racheal that i started to think the stress and if it had just become a habit listening for it and i think it has .
I now appear to have broken that cycle
Good luck with the therapist and keep me informed as to how you are progressing.
Hi sorry to read that you are in crisis stage, I am too, a lot of this is new to me. I think your take on it is generally considered normal. Personally I do what ever I can to help myself feel better. I like to listen to anything by the Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield because I appreciate his perspective. I’m into juice so l like and follow everything from Jason Vale and enjoy the benefits of improving my diet.
I am thinking a lot about sound and trying to evaluate new ideas that I have about it, especially birds, but that’s a long story. Follow what inspires you or intrigues you this helps to put the chemistry in your favour..
Most agree, stress dose affect the level of T, and I've had traumatic experiences that have shot my T up. Your story gives me hope.
Did you take any medication, or quit any habits that may have contributed to your improvements?
I can't remember his name, but a couple of years ago a gentleman from the U.K. Conducted a survey on this website, for stress hormones related to T. I'd filled out the survey but never heard of any conclusions.
No it was through talking to the bta which i found very helpful and wish id joined years ago that really planted all these new thoughts.I do a lot of walking in the mountains and became aware that when i was out there the t was really none existent,obviously because my thoughts are elsewhere,i tried to put this into my daily life which appears to have been successful.Instead of listening for it on a morning and saying how bad it is i listen to birdsong and think how much it is improving.
Its interesting to note since i quit my stressful job because im fortunate to be able to do so,and im now outside all day with little stress the condition is improving,ive also made minor alterations to my diet by reducing my caffeine and sugar intake,my new job is a lot more active .
The therapy taught me to take myself out of the past (bad childhood) and concentrate on where i am now ,since observing the condition ive noticed that if i do delve into the past because i have accepted that my past will never completely leave me that the T increases,tightening of the jaw pressure on the eyes tightening of the skull all heighten the sound.
Im not saying that this is proven but this has worked for me and is an ongoing process,i feel confident that as long as i stick to the tools the therapist gave me for dealing with everyday life and coping with the past i can eradicate the problem.
Thanks for the reply. I'm curious as to what the active ingredient is in stress that causes T.(stress related hormones?) Is it the cause or dose it just make it spike?
Can there be multiple causes of T, and can you have more than one type? Or, are they largely psychocimatic?
I suspect they are a progression of inner ear degeneration to physical abuse and aging however, I've always found that if I tip my head back (such as when painting a ceiling) for any prolonged period, I get a spike in the high pitched T. (That's my stenosis where the bone spur is pushing on the spinal cord)The lower, pulsatile varieties seem to be related to circulation, loud noise or an extra strong batch of French press in the morning.
I've put up with T for 20 years. I struck my head 2 years ago, got a concussion and vertical whiplash. Yes, that increased my stress, but the neck injury/brain trauma was the cause of some nueropothy. I've had to resort to escapism to manage the new symptoms of my now multi faceted T. (Louder ringing that drowns out other noise, hyperacusis, low thumping in one ear, a pulsating motor like sound that's getting louder by the week, slight pressure now building in the ears, some vertigo, and lathargia or light headedness at times.
If this could be reduced back to my earlier state of 2 years ago by a reduction in stress, I'm all in.
Funny thing about staying with the BTA, it's a double edged sword in terms of ignoring my T. What braught me back into the discussion was my progression into catastrophic symptoms, otherwise, I found it easier to ignore if I didn't speak of it. It's just now demanding an answer from me because it's so invasive, I can't ignore it.
All that said, your suggestion to reduce stress is still the best medicine.
Mine i believe was cognitive therapy it was more about the body than the the brain.My physical reactions to certain things i was always going back to my childhood.For instance a disagreement with a friend colleague acquaintance or whoever would be much worse that it is.This would trigger certain body reactions which then feed the brain taking me into the past,so my anxieties and tensions would heighten.He eventually took me out of the past and into the current day,but as he said it will always be there but i have the tools to deal with it.
I would like to reiterate he wasnt a hearing therapist or anything like that,he never knew about my t,it was only when I was talking to Racheal a few weeks ago from the bta and the advice that she gave me that i started working the 2 together and it appears to be working.
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