GP Response to Tinnitus

[Notreve7766]

Hello

I remember when I first heard Tinnitus one of the lowest moments was being told by my GP that there was nothing that can be done about Tinnitus, it was phycological and I would have to learn to live with it.

I don't believe the GP was being deliberately unhelpful but looking back this was such a big moment in the start of my Tinnitus suffering and perhaps could have spared me months of anxiety and delayed recovery.

I am glad to say that as of today my Tinnitus does not bother me in the slightest and I am fully recovered from my Tinnitus distress. So when joining the forum to help others its sad to read that so many people are being told the same as I was.

This got me thinking...

What could have the Doctor said that might have been more helpful. I've come up with a couple and no doubt this may split opinions but I do aim to reach out to my local GPs at least and offer them this advice so would be interested in your thoughts.

Ideas I have suggested are

In most causes we don't ever identify a specific cause but you can live well with Tinnitus if you manage your anxiety.

Or

Tinnitus is often first heard following any number of potential events (including illness/loud noise exposure/periods of anxiety or stress but once people learn to control their anxious response it can be managed well or in some cases disappear all together

Thanks for reading

[Tal-r789T]

I understand your issue and can echo your experience as can many. Through being on this forum it's clear there are many causes to T and little clear evidence of single issues (such as psychological). However perhaps the best course for GP education would be through the tinnitus society as a formal body setup to help and educate all? Not sure what guidance is offered to GPs to help as (in my case) it was a very general, sweeping and dismissive statement on what could be done which, correctly will affect someone who is already in a highly distressed state. I'm glad you are over the anxiety phase, mine was awful

[Happyrosie in reply to Tal-r789T]

The guidance offered to GPs is contained within NICE (National Institute for Clinical Evidence) . Go to their website and input ‘tinnitus’ to their search box, top middle. It was written with the help of Tinnitus UK under their previous name, but it came out just as Covid overwhelmed us so perhaps docs are not well informed.

[Tinnitusbegone]

I wholeheartedly agree with you. Until one finds a doctor who has themselves experienced T, they will never understand how upsetting it is to be told there is very little help. Incidentally, how did you manage to get over the distress of T?

[Notreve7766 in reply to Tinnitusbegone]

It was a bumpy ride but I did a lot of work on relaxing my body and focusing on my life's purpose rather than my Tinnitus. Gradually over time my body stopped fearing the sounds I could hear and as the spikes came and went I was better able to deal with them over time.

[Graham-E]

Hello and yes in my experience the GP knew little about T or even that was a possibility. There was nothing said by my GP in a negative but also nothing in the positive.

My T was caused by a virus which also took my sense of smell and taste. The T is very intrusive and loud to this day. It was about 10 years ago that the virus created these issues and the path has been long and difficult.

I’ve had positive and negative experiences and the -ve ones win out. The list is long and not too much point listing it all out, but I could.

I was once told by an overseas audiology consultant that my T will only stop when I ‘am no longer alive and kicking’. I was greatly angered initially but then I saw the funny side as a coping mechanism. Let’s face it I’m struggling to think of one single medical condition that is also not cured this way!

All that to one side when T bounces through the door the journey is similar and very different for each person. I am grateful for the NHS and wished it was better funded considering some institutions and professions that have better funding. There is private but of course at a cost which I am unable to access. With healthcare there really should not ‘ever’ be 1st class and 2nd class (private and NHS) because people should be worth more than postage stamps.

Ok rant over.

Any educated is not wasted and I would have thought that T week coming up in Feb/March next year would be a good place to showcase your study. However, even though I’m keep to stay up to date, this T week usually slips by unnoticed. Hardly anyone I’ve spoken to knows about it. I am curious as to why the week we have to tell people about this silent and not silent condition is such a thing for us, is less known than most.

My T is still as loud and intrusive as it ever was and I don’t know why, maybe caused by the virus is a different type of noise or maybe the no more tasking coffee or bread or even smelling them, caused a miserable depression and that makes my T constantly there.

I would love to say mine isn’t a bother but I keep going back to, it will finally be quite when I’m finally quite.

Thanks G

[PointedEars]

I was fortunate that my GP was generally helpful. She did tell there was a connection between stress and T, which at the time I was not aware of, and she did eventually refer me to ENT.

I guess in that it might be stress related it could be to that extent called psychological but even so, telling that to someone usually tends to have negative connotation. There are obviously better ways to handle it. My GP made me aware of the possible connection but never once used the P word. In addition, she offered my a follow-up approintment after which she did refer me to ENT for further investigation.

I still don't know what caused mine to suddently start up and I don't rule out a psychological cause, but the effects seem real. I hear it predominatly in one ear and just when I thought it had gone quiet for a week or so, it surfaced again yesterday - yet I had a relatively quiet and relaxed day, so I guess T can be unpredictable as well.

I think important thing is for a patient to feel listened to. This might be as simple as changing the approach from using terminology that is or can be perceived as been dissmissive or condescending to one of showing understanding and giving reassurance.

[Notreve7766 in reply to PointedEars]

"when I thought it had gone quiet for a week or so, it surfaced again yesterday - yet I had a relatively quiet and relaxed day, so I guess T can be unpredictable as well."

This is interesting! I often think our anxiety is both conscious (Someone upsets us with something they have done or say) and unconscious body knows we are unwell but we haven't felt any symptoms yet)

[nigelph]

I agree. All the doctor told me was that I would get used to it. When after a few months I didn't and I became quite distressed. I saw a audio therapist who told me to just carry on as normal but protect my ears from loud noises. This did not help. But Tinnitus UK (BTA) were great.Maybe doctors could refer us to BTA and this

[Kellythecat-74]

yes sadly that was my doctors response . Its tinnitus --nothing you can do , you'll learn to live with it .

[Fruitandnutcase]

Couldn’t agree more. Someone from another group posted this recently - it doesn’t specifically apply to tinnitus but your doctor could have done with reading it pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl...

[PointedEars in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

The worrying thing here is the reaction of the medical students to the helpful information being presented:

"I look around the room and note a few blank faces and far-off gazes."

The article says "a few" so perhaps there is hope that at least some did take note....

[Sassyjax1]

Thanks for posting this. I’m 18 months in with T and keep getting new sounds. I really hope to habituate one day. It seems to be such a long, anxious journey.