Physical or Phycological Causes: I'm trying to... - Tinnitus UK

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Physical or Phycological Causes

drittz78 profile image
20 Replies

I'm trying to work out if my Tinnitus has been caused due to an injury done years ago or if it is due to Phycological reasons.

If it's physical would the tinnitus be constant whereas phycology would come and go depending on when you are under stress for example.

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drittz78 profile image
drittz78
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doglover1973 profile image
doglover1973

Tinnitus is a physical reaction to either physical or psychological triggers - like hearing loss or stress. My T was triggered by hearing loss but it can be influenced by stress. In other words it's often a combo of the two. I hope that answers the question.

drittz78 profile image
drittz78 in reply to doglover1973

I would of thought if say tinnitus was due to a head injury then the tinnitus would be 24/7 but if it was Phycological then it may come and go. Would that be a fair assessment or am I wrong.

doglover1973 profile image
doglover1973 in reply to drittz78

I don't really know .. It's so often a combo of factors. You may have T as a result of an injury but it could be made worse by stress - if that makes sense. Is your T constant or does it come and go?

drittz78 profile image
drittz78 in reply to doglover1973

I never experienced it through the day and only at night. It was more of an annoyance than anything. Over the last month it's been constant and has changed from a buzz to a whoosh. I have had some inner ear problems and have an infection elsewhere in my body so also wondering if that could cause it to get worse.

doglover1973 profile image
doglover1973 in reply to drittz78

Sorry to hear it's worse than usual. Inner ear problems and infections are likely culprits. Have you seen anyone?

drittz78 profile image
drittz78 in reply to doglover1973

I have an appointment with an audiologist hopefully soon.

AussieHeart profile image
AussieHeart in reply to drittz78

please also consider ECG / echocardiogram. Any infection may affect heart. Often whoosh is described for heart. I have tinnitus and heart and at first couldn’t tell the difference.

TinnitusUKPat profile image
TinnitusUKPatPartner in reply to drittz78

If tinnitus followed the 'physiological/psychological' track, everyone would be better off, I feel. Unfortunately, it doesn't. At least not often. As DL1973 suggests, your tinnitus could be caused by one issue and intensified by another.

At that point, does it really matter what caused it? It would be nice to know, but unless you have an ability to go back in your life and stop the injury from having happened, it's something which happened in the past and you're dealing with an aftermath.

You have some level of control over how you think and feel about tinnitus - that is something which you can have input into.

drittz78 profile image
drittz78 in reply to TinnitusUKPat

It's more of if it's a injury then I'm probably stuck with it for life. If it's Phycological then I imagine it can be potentially fixed if dealing with said underlying Phycological issue.

TinnitusUKPat profile image
TinnitusUKPatPartner in reply to drittz78

If it were an injury - how would you definitively prove that? - it has happened and can't be undone. There isn't much to be gained from ruminating on a cause which doesn't have a solution associated with it.

And if psychological points of tinnitus origin - like stress or anxiety - are able to be resolved straightforwardly, doesn't that imply that the psychological therapies which are used to help us cope with emotional difficulties can also be put in place to help us manage negative thoughts about physical roadblocks or difficulties which we live with?

You've answered your own question, it would seem to me - you believe that one cause of tinnitus is something that you're stuck with but in the same breath, you state that psychological issues can be overcome.

What is thinking that 'I'm probably stuck with it for life' other than being an exemplar of a negative psychological response to a problem?

surviveT profile image
surviveT

yes allsorts of causes , someof which are notknown to medical science and there are all sorts of T and sounds .Have u had MRI scan ? My T was caused by head bump but by the time i had the scan , nothing untoward showed on scan. Certain physical conditions can be fixed and T can possibly reduce.

Whatever the cause I think the hyper neuron activity which results in T can become permanent after a time - many people habituate and it fades into background with time , but for some people it doesnt . I have had my T for 1 yr n half and i havent habituated as my T is severe

doglover1973 profile image
doglover1973 in reply to surviveT

A year and a half isn't ever so long surviveT I'm two and half years in and still working on ways to adapt and adjust. I think it might be a life long journey.

surviveT profile image
surviveT in reply to doglover1973

yes true - my T is so loud every day , tone is more solid, intense as well as buzzing - just got worse after loud white noise came on after i tried to switch a speaker off - another big setback. I have a big problem travelling in car for longer than 30mins

rabbits65 profile image
rabbits65 in reply to surviveT

I’m sorry your suffering so much , remember one thing that you are not alone in this , I know how much stress it can cause, I cope by telling myself there are worse things out there to live with, actually my arthritis for example is more painful . (Just thought I would chip in to this )

surviveT profile image
surviveT in reply to rabbits65

thanks rabbits - its an awful condition - so many people who are suffering with severe T

rabbits65 profile image
rabbits65 in reply to doglover1973

hi Jo, how are you ? Just to say my T has been with me two and a half years too, same as you , I believe mine was triggered by the shock of losing my dear mother and a brother in law.

doglover1973 profile image
doglover1973 in reply to rabbits65

Hi Penny. It's nice to see you. I'm under the weather at the moment. I think any emotional upset can cause T but especially a double loss - as you say. How are you? Is your T any better ? I was on top of mine over the summer but it's more of a problem lately. Give my love to the poodles 🐶

rabbits65 profile image
rabbits65 in reply to doglover1973

thanks for replying to me, I try to tell myself that the t is better but I’m kidding myself!!! The thing is what else can we do but just get on with it , somebody posted on here once that they coped by thinking of all the other bad health conditions that people have to cope with and that it puts t into a relevant light.. anyway I just wish I could sleep better, nothing to do with tinnitus my poor sleeping is that my arthritis does not like being in bed for too long, I get my best rest on the settee in the evenings, cuddled up to poodles, in this weather their warm woolly coats certainly are very welcome. I often read your reply’s to people and think that your very good. I don’t come onto the site as often as I used to, guess I’m trying to think of other things. I hope your keeping well and warm. It’s 5 am I have had about two hours sleep. I will go and get a cup of tea, always the best medicine !! I guess. Take care, love from me, Penny. 🐩 🐩

Graham-E profile image
Graham-E

Hello, I can only speak for myself here.

I had a virus that caused some damage given me T and successfully removing my taste and smell. This happened about 8 years ago. My T is rock solid constant and really only stress and tiredness appears to amplify it. I know this is not the case and that is why I say ‘appears’ to make it worse.

It’s physically always the same but feels worse when my barriers are down so to say.

Hope that helps G

AldoArgentina profile image
AldoArgentina

You are wrong. Try to think it again.

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