You have to just endure tinnitus until it recedes into the background. A lot of adults with and without MAV have tinnitus. I havenāt heard true silence for four years. Mineās partially MAV and fluctuates and partially hearing loss from a botched ear surgery. Eric (@ander454) lives close and sometimes we get together. Heās on my left and Iām on his right. Obsessing over it makes it seem worse than it is. Itās annoying until it becomes part of the background. Youāll get thru it. Hopefully for you itās a short lived side effect.
Really, stop hedging and go see a mental health professional. Donāt be afraid to heal your mind as well as your brain.
The tinnitus started before I started taking the meds. I havenāt had it before for this long so that is why itās causing me stress. I will be looking for a mental health professional though.
100% with Emily and Erikā¦ yes, the medication is clearly something that is needed but healing your mind along with the medication is critical. Please seek counsel.
In the meantime, I did a quick Google search for āStress and Tinnitusāā¦ it would seem that itās quite possible that the amount of stress your putting on yourself over the tinnitus is actually making it so much worse. Hereās the first quote I found and of course thereās thousands more. āTinnitus is very often a symptom of hearing loss or other medical issue. However, the ringing, buzzing, whooshing, or roaring in the ears can be exacerbated or even triggered by stress . When the tinnitus then causes more stress , this creates a vicious cycle of ringing that causes anxiety that causes ringing!ā
Youāll need to address the str ss first in my opinion to conquer the restā¦ and in case you need to hear it one more timeā¦ YOU CAN DO IT
Thank you for your input and kind words. I feel like stress may have caused the initial tinnitus but Iām not sure why it has gotten louder. I started Lexapro a few days ago and now Iām worried that that may have something to do with it. I read your success story and am really happy you are doing better. Did you say that your tinnitus went away on amitriptyline? I feel like I need medicine right now to balance out the dizziness but I donāt want it to cause problems elsewhere. Itās causing a lot of stress in me.
Another thing you need to consider is finding more meaningful activities to take your mind away from your symptoms.
During my illness, I found a new hobby and worked so hard at it that itās now my living. I am so into it that I often completely forget my tinnitus.
If your work is so uninspiring to you that your symptoms continue to dominate whilst working (caveat: you have the basics under control) then your work is maybe the issue: get another job, do something more interesting with your life? Use MAV as a reason to renew, invigorate, improve?
The other technique is audio distraction. Listen to an interesting podcast or YouTube that you find fascinating. Completely takes me away from all my problems.
A big help is to go out for a walk. Whenever you are anxious just get out of the house and go for a long walk in nature. You will forget most of your symptoms and your anxiety will drop dramatically.
Forget the tinnitus for the time being. Itās just like all of MAV. If itās going to get better itās going to get better but itās going to take a loooong time. If the tinnitus is going to go away it will still take a long time so you might as well get on with the rest of your life in the meantime!
(I have read an account of someone who had tinnitus for 10 years but it eventually disappeared! Thatās a long time to have it distract you from getting on)
Stop giving the monster so much airtime. Stop letting it dominate. Set the agenda!
You need to get to the stage where you are no longer focussing on it. There are far more important things in life than tinnitus
FYI Amitriptyline (whilst a great drug for many reasons) had zero effect on my tinnitus. Once I came off Amitriptyline I did not have any change to my tinnitus either. I recommend not expecting a miracle pill for it. It doesnāt exist. Thatās not to say it wonāt go of its own accord though! Be patient!
Yea, I agree I need to focus more on other, more uplifting things. On a side note, do you think people can go back on medicine they once had success with? I know you are not a doctor but I tried Amitriptyline three years ago. I wonder if it would work again if I were to try it again.
Hi Camille,
Yes, my tinnitus went away completely with Ami. This was one of the first things to go away for me and mine was horribleā¦ screeching tinnitus.
It certainly may be worth trying Ami again. I am a huge proponent of Amiā¦ it treated me so well!
