anxiety getting the better of me

[Loucas12]

Hi there, I have been experiencing T in one ear since September this year. Initially I seemed to be able to tune it out for most of the time but now I am having long spells of anxiety where I can’t stop listening to it and of course that makes it louder. I have bee lucky enough to see a councillor for around three weeks. I just feel like I’m stuck and have definitely have a level of anxiety that I’ve never had before. I am retired now and do have hobbies but there is not many hours of the day where I feel normal anymore. I am hoping to habituate this but it seems along way off at the moment. I am trying to resist anti depressants and sleeping tablets. I’d be grateful for any advice.

[Jimbob7]

Well, like you - my T can give rise to acute anxiety - I think there could be something going on with interaction with the limbic system - so it's not you! It's a result of the high frequencies of the T triggering your Flight/ Fright Centres. That's from an Audiologist by the way - I haven't just made that up.

Like you as well I dislike the idea of A/D and Sleepers but if you can get your head around the fact that the Anxiety is being triggered for you - then why not use something to calm things down a bit, give yourself a breather and some space to rationalise.

I have a very good GP who is completely aware of my case and he knows if I phone him and say I'm having a very bad time he'll give me a few days supply of Diazepam. Just a very low dose for a couple of days actually works wonders. It gives me some relaxation, some head-room and just calms the whole ghastly situation down. I don't really have a problem with anything that can come in to the fight with the T and provide some benefit. I generally make that call perhaps once every 2/3 months.

[fauxartist]

Sometimes meds are necessary, but some meds can be addictive, like sleeping pills or many anxiety medications. I think the anxiety may make you focus more on the tinnitus, but I don't believe your tinnitus is psychological...that's just my opinion. Too many people go to doctors who fob us off because they can't find the answers that are just not there yet. You may be better served to go to a therapist for dealing with your anxiety and finding the root cause of that and help you work through understanding it.

[Notreve7766]

Try not to worry Loucas12 you got this 💪 One thing people with Tinnitus can agree on is that if we can achieve reduced anxiety then our Tinnitus is less disruptive.

We all respond differently to different things so finding what truly relaxes you and helps you reduce anxiety is the key you need to help you unlock the potential for living well with your tinnitus.

For me it was a combination of small actions that added up to large benefit. Learning about the condition (not from Google but from health professionals/CBT/Gratitude Listing/Meditation/Recognising and celebrating even the smallest of successes on those most difficult days/Hot Baths and creating the most relaxing of bedtime routines.

In the early days none of the above was enough and I needed more aggressive distraction techniques like occupying my brain to do 2 things at once (Gaming and Listening to music) for example. Exercise to help me sleep at night, findings sounds to play in the background that didn't aggravate my Tinnitus. ( I think we can all find sounds to do this and again we will all be different but piano or tubular bells sounds seem to get my brain off tinnitus. I've head others say Rain sounds or nature sounds birds chirping etc

During the harder days its important to find things that help take your attention away from Tinnitus.

You have achieved this before and will again

Hope this helps

[Notreve7766]

I have my own opinions and experience on various topics relating to Tinnitus and Anxiety.

My journey to living well with Tinnitus was helped (one of the many positive actions i took) by antidepressants which when needed helped me gain some objectivity on what was happening. I avoided sleeping tablets because I researched that they are sedatives and ultimately don't help you achieve natural sleep which at the time put me off. But as i said earlier we are all so different and what has worked for many has also not helped many so it really is about trying what you feel is best for you

[Petra1988 in reply to Notreve7766]

Which AD die you take?

[Petra1988 in reply to Petra1988]

did you take?

[Notreve7766 in reply to Petra1988]

Sertraline.

It took a few months but i would say it gave me a 10% boost in my ability to cope which was much appreciated at the time.

I was lucky that I didn't have any side effects so you can see how Side effects could have wiped that 10% gain quite easily which is why you read mixed reviews on Anti Depressants generally i think

[Petra1988 in reply to Notreve7766]

Thank you for your answer. My doctor said I should take sertralin too, but I am so anxious that it could make my Tinnitus louder. But I feel so said and depressed because of my T. and I feel that I need something that helps me out of that deep dark hole. So I have the tablets at home but I am afraid to take it. Don't know what to do

[Notreve7766 in reply to Petra1988]

I was exactly the same when I was deciding what to do. Being afraid is natural. If your worried then you will likely over monitor after taking them and we know what happens when you over monitor. It will seem worse.

When I started I had imagined the week before that I had started and noticed what I may have blamed the medication on - this helped me when I was inevitably over monitoring after starting the medication.

I started on the lowest dose and it can take 1-2 months to have any impact.

Sertraline in itself doesn't make Tinnitus louder it would be the over monitoring so when I started my course I made sure that for the first 2 weeks I could be as relaxed as possible - took time off work - no anxious situations I could see ahead.

I hope this helps

[please_stop in reply to Petra1988]

I’ve had T for a number of years, i’ve had generalised anxiety for far longer. A year ago I couldn’t cope any longer with how anxiety was effecting my day to day so I started on Setraline. It took a few weeks to work. In those weeks anxiety got a lot worse before it got a lot better. Actually the way I felt took my mind completely off T. Research SSRI to understand how they work. However, whilst my anxiety has abated i can’t connect this with T coping strategies, probably because i built them whilst grappling with anxiety. Coping with T is a roller coaster, sometimes you find it bothering you and can’t recall the last time it did bother you. I’ve accepted there’s nothing that can be done, when it does bother me I tell myself i can’t change it so accept that and go deal with things I can change. I’ve managed to connect it to positive states of mind which took a while but certainly helps a good percentage of the time: ‘oh, there’s T, that means I’m alive and I love being alive’

[Nathalie_007]

my partner has been taking melatonin to help with sleep and it defiantly has worth speaking to your GP regards that, it has helped him. You can’t buy over the counter here in the UK.

[Hel_C]

I look to exercise, meditation and calmness to help my stress and anxiety which impacts on my tinnitus. When my tinnitus gets shouty that is a message to me that something is not right - currently I am very tired which flares it up. It can become very overwhelming.

Have you discussed menopause with anyone? - this was something that impacted my overall health and therefore my tinnitus and low oestrogen is also linked to tinnitus alongside all the other symptoms.

Personally I no longer take anti-depressants, I have not drunk alcohol for over 2 years and when I get an inner peace life is great when I focus on self-care, health and wellbeing. I hope that helps.

[Loucas12 in reply to Hel_C]

I am thinking of going back to my GP for tests as they’ve only looked at my ear not my overall health. I think it might be time for something to calm me down. I am seeing a counsellor. This morning although I though I was doing really well yesterday I was woken by horrendous ringing in my left ear to the point it was like a huge headache and eventually after calming myself to a certain level I went back to sleep until 11.30am this morning. My husband is really concerned. I do have an appointment with an audiologist for a hearing aid this week, I am hoping for some relief although I know this will not be a cure.

[Tlyna]

I have had it in both ears since 1993 when I was violently assaulted by a patient. It is constant surging sounds which seems to be muted when I get busy and can ignore it but at night when things are quiet and I am just sitting at the computer or reading or going to bed it can get really loud and intrusive. I've found a couple of long soundtracks, one of mild ocean surf and another of a forest stream that I set to low volume as in just within hearing range. It seems to settle down after a short time. I leave the sound on all night.