Had a panic attack at school over my most recent tinnitus spike.

[SausageMan]

Hey people . To give a bit of context : I got a cold 4 days ago and since then my tinnitus has gotten worse and still hasn't improved.

Ever since the spike began I have been walking on egg shells in order not to upset myself about the tinnitus but today I really gave into anxiety . Today at school everyone started talking about about the graduation ball and which university they would be going to and I just began breaking down(thank god the teacher let me go to the toilet.). I started thinking about how I will never experience the joy of going to a ball and not having to worry about returning to reality after its all done. How I will never be able to get my dream job while everyone is going after their dreams without a second thought. How everyone is able to have fun and not wonder about how they are going to sleep tonight. And I used to be like them before my current spike. Now I live in constant fear that the cold has caused permanent hearing loss and I am doomed to remain in my current state. The cold is going away but I am not getting better. The only thing giving me hope is that I am still pretty congested and there is still a chance that that may fix things. I was contemplating wether I should post this but I really felt the need to do so.

[Happyrosie]

Hello again SausageMan. I’m so sorry you are upset but life does go up and down - life is like that. So you have a cold. That’s all it is - a cold. And when you have a cold, the T gets louder. So it gets louder - never mind. It does not stop you from living your life.Remember about one in twelve people have tinnitus. When it starts is difficult but we all manage to live with it and habituate.

Please please read again the comments that were made last time you posted, especially from BTA PAt.

If you live in the UK, how about giving the British Tinnitus Association a ring? They are all experts on T (and of course they all know what it’s like). And they have a chat line. Just make sure you phone or chat during their office hours - all information on their website.

[SausageMan in reply to Happyrosie]

The replies were very informative but the fact that its not getting better is freaking me out.

[Happyrosie in reply to SausageMan]

As you will have seen from your reading, tinnitus might take effort on your part to habituate. Like any skill - football, foreign languages, mathematics, talking to girls - habituation is a skill that you will learn, and it takes time. There are going to be a lot of things in your life that you will find difficult to deal with, this is just one of them. There will be many many more. That’s life!

[doglover1973]

Hey Sausage . It's very natural for tinnitus to cause fear & anxiety - especially in the early days. You must be a young fella if you're still at school . Is there someone you can talk to there? Perhaps the school counsellor. It really takes the fear out of tinnitus if you talk about it . Don't look too far ahead. Just take a day at a time and hopefully things will get better 🙂

[Hidden]

Hello SausageMan

Sorry to hear what you went through today.

I have similar experiences: with ear pressure and tinnitus. When it happens it feels as though everything is going wrong. Please do not feel bad about the panic attack. I hope it has subsided.

It seems that stress and anxiety are both symptoms and triggers when it comes to tinnitus...a cyclical process as you no doubt are aware. This makes it difficult to unravel the two.

You are not to blame for your tinnitus, hearing being blocked or your temporarily panicked thoughts. It seems your thoughts were spiralling in response to your hearing difficulties and in turn your hearing felt worse, each feeding off the other. Generalised thoughts such as the one you mention that: everyone is going to have fun are common when people feel physically low and distressed. We all have these thoughts at times. Many people don't admit to them but they do all experience them. I think with tinnitus we maybe experience these thoughts in a more sudden way. I'm no expert, just trying to piece things together in my own situation and hoping I can maybe help a little.

As other posters very helpfully suggest, the British Tinnitus Association and/or a school counsellor or staff member could help.

I had a panic attack last Monday, my tinnitus and ear pressure were bad. I started tripping over my feet, I felt like a fool as this happened in Tesco supermarket and I felt like people were staring at me.

My thoughts started spiralling negatively - I was 'alone', a weirdo who can't go to noisy bars, can't drink and socialise like normal people'...etc...etc

...then a few hours later all those horrible thoughts started to subside and calmed down as my tinnitus calmed down and I knew they were just thoughts and were not necessarily true.

What helps me sometimes is if I say to myself these thoughts are manifestations of my physical health and the state of my tinnitus is reflected in my state of mind.

Logic can be a good anchor to hold onto.

Breathing techniques help - a simple one is: breathe in through your nose while counting to three and then out through your mouth counting two. Tell yourself it will pass.

I hope you feel better and have a good rest tonight. Things will look better tomorrow.

All the best.

[SausageMan in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the response. It feels really nice having you lot understand my situation. Makes me feel less alone. How do you deal with the ear pressure?

[Hidden]

Thanks. Hope you feel better. This site has really helped me. I try not to get tired and need my sleep. Reading, TV, walks used to be side events and meeting people was my 'main event' - but now I give them equal importance as I find talking too much quite draining and listening for too long is tiring. While I do like people I also need a lot of quiet-time to recharge.

[Hidden]

In other words look after yourself, put your health first - before absolutely anything else.

😊

[rabbits65]

Just remember SausageMan we are all here for you. We are all suffering to a certain degree and know just how your feeling. You will feel better very soon 😊

[SausageMan in reply to rabbits65]

Thanks for the positive message!

[SimToTheWorld]

SausageMan, how are you? I hope and pray you are better.