Tinnitus, anxiety and ADHD-like symptoms

[daverussell]

Following frequent episodes of amnesia, including two major episodes where I lost several days, I found memory/auditory processing issues, increased anxiety, insomnia, nausea and vertigo has taken it toll.

So I started to research the link between mind and brain. I think it's safe to say many of us - despite a level of habituation - suffer anxiety of constant noise and spikes. Reading further into my neurological symptoms and following a discussion for further scans to determine a diagnosis of the amnesia and memory problems I found these all related to temporal lobe of the brain, particularly the amygdala and hippocampus. I also often thought about my behaviors and similarities to ADHD, where I have high desire to keep active to divert attention to my Tinnitus and difficulty processing auditory input.

So I've questioned my so called habituation. Having said that for anyone stressful situations can certainly make it difficult to cope and ignore the Tinnitus.

Thoughts?

[Sonnybee]

Hi there Dave. I agree. No matter how well we manage to cope, and learn to live with T, stressful situations will tend to bring the T back to the surface. Theres also that worry in the back of our minds about spikes, relapses etc. I believe this to be pretty normal, now I've had T for a while, and I try to treat these thoughts the same as the T itself, by trying the old CBT tactic of relegating them down the list of importance. Difficult, I know, when we are stressed. My doc once told me to eliminate the stress in my life. Just like that!!! Easier said than done. I know from recent posts you've been in the wars of recent so I wish you well, and remember when we have a spike, its normal, but our response should be less frantic. Could I recommend a book I bought on amazon called, Living Well With Tinnitus. Its a workbook that you fill in, and is basically a CBT course guide. I found it so helpful. Have a good one and take care.

[daverussell in reply to Sonnybee]

Thank you. It's been an interesting part of the journey this last few months. When I thought things could get worse, this week I caught man flu.Take care too.

[hhr2]

Dave, I've read your thoughtful and helpful posts with great interest. One thing I would like to hear about is the amnesia you have experienced - how does it manifest? What happens? Do you think it could be related to the whole crazy tinnitus thing?

I'm asking because I've had three short episodes of memory loss since last fall but they last between fifteen minutes to an hour or so and then I recover. The symptoms don't tick any medical boxes with my GP or neurologist. (Not TIAs or temporary global amnesia).

[daverussell in reply to hhr2]

I'm speculating, tinnitus is exacerbated by and adds to stress. So alongside work and hyperacusis the pressure kept on mounting up. This could be Dissociative Amnesia.All my symptoms point to Dissociative Amnesia. nhs.uk/mental-health/condit...

I'm potentially more susceptible. For over 20 years I blocked out childhood abuse, then memories started creeping in that became more than just an hazy image that I thought I'd just made up.

So, just like blocking out the childhood abuse, my mind as protection mechanism has reverted to blocking out stressful moments.

All the symptoms point to Temporal Lobe in the brain that the neurologist wants to carry out further tests. Just like diagnosing a child with ADHD or Autism, to get the label the symptoms must reach a certain threshold (severity and impact) to be given such a label. Either way, that's just the way my brain is wired. The labels do however help, but no less real, but they are part of the journey to either recovery or coping mechanisms.