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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
 Posted - 08/29/2006 : 23:08:24
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How ironic that this (tinnitus) is coming up for me again after viewing and posting to this thread last week. Actually, it has been creeping up off/on over the past several weeks. But today, right now even, it sounds about as loud as it did when I had it nine yrs ago. As I mentioned, nine yrs ago it appeared and lasted almost 1 1/2 yrs. Since then it will pop up every year or two, mildly and for only a few days. This time seems a little worse.
I read the posts by Fox, especially, and others. Fox, your info about "TRT" sounds very interesting; the idea that everybody has background noise all the time, but only the ultra-sensitive or worrying types pick up and exaggerate the noise. This makes a lot of sense to me.
Looking at it in the TMS sense, I wonder if this current bout is simply the symptom imperative since some of the other physical symptoms I had have faded. What better replacement than tinnitus?
One thing I do know (and this is why I am not too disturbed about this) is that this "tinnitus" is not real. Anybody I have known with real tinnitus had damaged hearing and the ringing got worse over time. Instead, mine disappeared completely for many yrs with very brief and mild exceptions. Also, normal hearing. |
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Fox
USA
496 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2006 : 07:23:23
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| It's funny how psychologically based tinnitus can be. Just reading your post caused me to get loud ringing in the old left ear whereas I have had none for days...As always, I'll just tell my brain this is TMS distraction b.s., ignore it, and if it persists more than a few minutes, I'll turn on my office fan to a moderate level and then play my car radio loud at lunch if necessary (a little sound conditioning)..The ringing will disappear shortly....And remember that I do have diagnosed hearing loss in the left ear - it's like a ruptured disc showing up on an MRI - at least in my case, it doesn't have anything to do with the problem. |
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joela
USA
44 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2006 : 10:00:41
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| No matter what, it's the pits! I had nothing showing up on CAT and MRI and it is still as loud 1 1/2 years later. Wrld, you give me hope that it can go away! |
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nora
Canada
22 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2006 : 10:06:45
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| How timely is this topic. I have just gone through a very stressful time ( dropped both my kids off at college) . My husband and I are now empty nesters and are having some difficulty adjusting, especially since my mother is displaying signs of early Alzheimer's. My back pain has returned with a vengence as well as this annoying ringing in my left ear. Releaved to see that this is probably a TMS equivalent. |
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Fox
USA
496 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2006 : 11:09:50
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| Joela - it can go away - even after experiencing it for years...Mine started after I attended a loud fireworks display and went on for about 2 years. Then, I found out about TRT and got serious about Sarno and now the situation is 95% better - it still comes on/is triggered occasionally - when I am fearful about having been exposed to a loud noise (conditioning) or when I think about the topic of tinnitus. (It just came back REALLY LOUD while typing this post.) But there is no fear. I just laugh at my brain's feeble attempt to keep distracting me with it and search for the anger deep down inside me - plus I do the TRT things that I have already mentioned and, before I know it, the ringing is gone. And without the fear and dread that used to be associated with the ringing noises, it doesn't really matter much even when it's going on. |
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joela
USA
44 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2006 : 11:40:19
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| thanks again Fox! |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 08/30/2006 : 23:12:36
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Fox,
How right you are about tinnitus being so psychologically based. When I think of how this began the first time 9 yrs ago, I can see that. An older brother came to visit. He had very damaged hearing and had just come down with tinnitus and was distraught about it. That's all he could talk about during his visit. Now, I am extremely sensitive to hearing about the symptoms of others. After listening to my brother's woes for a few days, when he left, suddenly I thought I heard ringing. Of course, I thought, this couldn't be! But it persisted and got worse. (note: this was an extremely stressful period of my life anyway) It varied in intensity and then gradually faded away after over a year. Suddenly, I realized it was no longer there.
When you mentioned starting to hear ringing simply by reading my post, I realized that is true of me as well. It is pure suggestion. I am convinced that if not for that fateful visit from my brother nine yrs ago, I never would have gotten tinnitus. I needed to have the suggestion, the mental seed planted; my anxious brain did the rest. And because it worked so well then, of course the brain will return to this distraction again and again until it is no longer effective. Interestingly, this symptom didn't arise again until the OTHER symptoms I have had over the past year mostly resolved themselves. I'm thinking I would not currently have the ringing if I still had the tendonitis, for example. Or the rotator cuff problem. Or the scary neuro symptoms I had many months ago.
Joela--I understand your frustration, espec since, like you, I had all the tests 9 yrs ago and was also fine. But everyone is different. Mine was obviously purely psychological. Yours may be too; I don't know. My brother's tinnitus is probably real, since he has very damaged hearing and now wears hearing aids. I know another older person in the same situation. But in both cases, I think their problems are also magnified by their anxiety level. Neither have been open to trying anything to help themselves other than hearing aids and xanax. I'm sure both are aware of the tinnitus org and maybe the TRT Fox talks about, but are probably not willing to experiment. I think I would be willing to try anything within reason if I were in that situation.
It's really interesting. For most of the past several yrs post-tinnitus, I found it hard to believe that I could ever be plagued by such a thing. Sometimes, as a test, I would even try to concentrate in a quiet room to see if I could hear the ringing, but couldn't. I thought it was just a bizarre fluke, that old tinnitus experience. It is only at rare times like these when it pops up again and I am reminded of it. |
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joela
USA
44 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2006 : 19:26:35
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| Hey wrld: I can't wait for the quiet again!!! Why is it that when I go away (i.e stayed in a hotel in atlantic city for 2 days) I couldn't hear the noise? Same with my cruise. I don't know if it's because it's noisy or because I am relaxed. I hope to post a success story soon! I can't thank everyone enough for their help and encouragement. |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 09/02/2006 : 17:43:00
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| I just discovered something today re: my current "tinnitus." I notice if I am lying prone in bed and then start to lift my head off the pillow, the noise goes away. Settle back on the pillow and it begins again. I did this many times to verify. Actually, just the slightest lifting motion--or even tensing my neck or jaw would silence the noise. But settle back and it began again. I've been trying to figure out what that's all about. Any ideas? |
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drziggles
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2006 : 14:50:35
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While I agree that some tinnitus is TMS, not all is... Some earlier post said that it is hard to damage the ear enough to cause tinnitus, which I completely disagree with. With the popularity of iPods, we are going to have a generation of half-deaf adults, many of whom may also have tinnitus! My problem was going to too many heavy metal concerts without earplugs--that'll do it! If I had known in college what I know now, maybe I wouldn't be stuck with this constant noise... I think that if the promoters of concerts like Ozzfest actually cared about their fans, they would give out earplugs to everyone for free, rather than charging $5 so none of the kids have them--but that's a whole other argument!
I have noticed that whether the tinnitus bothers me or not at any given time has a lot to do with my mental state, which I suppose is TMS-ish, but it's always there. |
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iamwhoiam
12 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2006 : 16:02:52
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Everyone i believe has SOME degree of tinnitus, you can hear it louder when you increase cranial pressure, like when you yawn, get turned upside down, tense ya teeth together, going to loud places agrivates it, and looking for it. . . . . Its normal guys.
Yes, like everything else, its made worse with TMS, MUCH worse. The 'volume' is turned up on it so to speak.
I always wear wax plugs whenever i go out now, no one sees, its just normal for me now, even some of my 'cool' friends have tried it too. You can hear people talk easier too in loud pubs and clubs, your ears dont ring after a night out on the lash either, its great :o)
quote:
Originally posted by wrldtrv
I just discovered something today re: my current "tinnitus." I notice if I am lying prone in bed and then start to lift my head off the pillow, the noise goes away. Settle back on the pillow and it begins again. I did this many times to verify. Actually, just the slightest lifting motion--or even tensing my neck or jaw would silence the noise. But settle back and it began again. I've been trying to figure out what that's all about. Any ideas?
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Edited by - iamwhoiam on 09/03/2006 16:05:41 |
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wrldtrv
666 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2006 : 17:02:44
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Interesting explanation about the increased intracranial pressure, lamwholam. I felt it had to have something to do with pressure increasing or decreasing. Is this something you heard somewhere or your hypothesis? Either way, it makes a lot of sense.
Thanks also for the tip on wax earplugs for loud places. I remember so many times when younger going to clubs and then when arriving home and in the silence of bed, my ears ringing. Fortunately, I never got into i-pods or the old walkmans. I never liked wearing headphones. Never attended many concerts. Consequently, my hearing is pretty good. I think my problem is hypersensitivity to the NORMAL "tinnitus" that everyone has. |
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Fox
USA
496 Posts |
Posted - 09/05/2006 : 13:22:14
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| I just read Dr. Ziggles' post stating that tinnitus can be linked to hearing loss resulting from exposure to loud noise. I do have hearing loss and that may be because I regularly exposed myself to loud music in clubs and at concerts for years. However, at least for me, the noise exposure and the measurable hearing loss in the left ear are beside-the-point (just like my ruptured discs found on the MRI were beside-the-point in regard to my leg pain). My left ear, in my opinion, was just a convenient and "credible" physical site for my brain to lock into in order to distract me.... Naturally, immediately after reading Dr. Ziggles' post, my ear began ringing loud as heck and has been for the last 10 minutes - whereas I noticed NO ringing for the last several days! I know my ear ringing is strictly psychologically based (conditioning). My reaction to Dr. Ziggles' post makes this obvious. |
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Tinnitus
