| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
matthijs0
Netherlands
6 Posts |
 Posted - 06/19/2011 : 03:37:42
|
I was exposed to loud music at a bar for three hours without protection for one time. The next day I woke up I had pain in my ears and was a little bit deaf, especially in the left ear. It got somewhat better during the next days. I have had this before a few years ago and since that I have been having a little tinnitus (not that noticeable) and have been wearing earplugs (with some axienty of loud noised: when I see a band that is going to play I want to get away when I don't have earplugs). I probably have some damage since that time since the audio diagrams I got then show a negative peek at 4 kHz.
However, now it is more noticable (like an old CRT TV with the volume muted). I suspected myself from having TMS (primairely caused by RSI which has been with me for more than 7 years and my experience is that I often can 'think the pain away') and I was wondering whether this symptom could be another sign of it? Because as Dr. Sarno says one bad experience/damage can give cause for TMS-like (tinnitus) symptoms while the main cause may be already improved or gone.
Are there any TMS-like tinnitus symptoms that distinguises it from real tinnitus (permanent/chronic or temporary/acute damage to the inner ear of nerves)?
One thing I noticed is that when I just wake up from my deepest sleep the beep is hardly there when I concentrate. However, it gets worse from the next quarter of an hour.
I am going to see an expert/doctor very soon and I want to know whether it is real or fake tinnitus because maybe I will get some medicament (Trental, Prednisolon, Betahistine and/or Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy) which has sometimes demonstrated alleviation of the trouble during the acute phase (within 72 hours, preferably within 14 days, an maximum of 1 - 1.5 months) of real tinnitus although this might be spontaneous recovery as well according to some people.
Thank you for your help. |
Edited by - matthijs0 on 06/19/2011 04:37:24 |
|
|
matthijs0
Netherlands
6 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2011 : 03:42:24
|
| Sorry, wrong button. |
Edited by - matthijs0 on 06/19/2011 03:44:53 |
 |
|
|
art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 06/19/2011 : 05:47:37
|
There's a logical fallacy called post hoc ergo propter hoc. "After this, therefore because of this." So nn your case, drawing a definitive causal line from being exposed to loud noise to ear damage, might not be warranted stictly speaking.
That said, common sense would dictate that it probably is connected.I'd seek medical treatment.
Just to add: I'm sure some would disagree with me. I tend to be more conservative than many with respect to possible medical problems..
As I said, I'd get checked out. If the results are ambiguous, and the doc says there's no harm in TMS self-treating, then there's nothing to lose.
BY the way, I have tinnitus. I've no idea if it's TMS or not, but my approach is simply not to worry about it and ignore it. It's damn loud when I pay attention, but mostly I'm able to forget about it.. |
Edited by - art on 06/19/2011 08:54:09 |
|
|
|
matthijs0
Netherlands
6 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2011 : 04:18:18
|
| My specialist said there's nothing he can do (no medicaments as I suggested). I have a ~15 dB peek at 4 Hz, it is a minor damage for my age (28), but I am still stuck with the tinittus :S He said it could be months to let it fade away (if it will). His assistent said I have sharp hearing sense, that's probably why I hate some specific (loud) noises. |
|
|
|
tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
|
|
matthijs0
Netherlands
6 Posts |
Posted - 06/22/2011 : 02:55:06
|
What I noticed is that I got two types of ringing: one hihgh frequency sound like a beep/old TV and a low frequency sound like a train engine in the distance. Sometimes one is present and other times the other, and sometimes both. I am not sure but when I got a increased heartbeat the train engine might be coming into prominence. Also, I think it may be alternating between left and right, but often it is present at both sides. When I hear it in my right ear, sometimes I can hardly detect it in my left ear.
I think this suggests that the inner ear might not be the problem (then a constant frequency must be emitted I think), but the nerves and brain may (and thus probably TMS). |
Edited by - matthijs0 on 06/22/2011 03:57:18 |
|
|
|
Gibbon
United Kingdom
138 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2011 : 06:02:06
|
hiya - your story is very similar to mine. I also suffered from both tinnitus and RSI....this is my "success story" re tinnitus:
I haven't written a success story elsewhere for tinnitus (just my RSI), so I'll write it here. I used to play in a band and ended up quitting after getting sharp pains in my ear. About 3 years later I started getting pretty severe tinnitus. There would be a constant pain and discomfort, which made even concentration difficult. I went to various specialists but to no avail. I gradually started to avoid all types of music and loud noise, as this seemed to make the condition worse. Gradually it settled down to the state of just a minor background irritant (soon to be replaced by RSI!) but the stress-response to any type of music/loud noise continued. Following starting the TMS techniques I noticed an improvement in my tinnitus symptoms as well - noise which would have previously set my ears ringing, with persistent pain for days no longer had any effect. Speaking with Georgie Oldfield, she was adamant that my tinnitus had all the characteristics of a TMS symptom. At the time i found this pretty hard to accept - after all i was sure there was a physical cause (my years in a band...). And yet, I'm now sitting here listening to music again full volume - something that would have been inconceivable only a few months ago. So, i have to conclude that my tinnitus probably was just another TMS manifestation. Given as there is little else available for tinnitus sufferers I would strongly recommend this approach to all people with tinnitus - there is nothing to lose and a massive amount to gain.
http://tmswiki.org/page/Tinnitus
Hope this helps
|
|
|
|
Teddybear
13 Posts |
|
|
tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2011 : 09:03:43
|
quote:
Originally posted by Teddybear
Allergig to sound
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/i-was-allergic-to-sound-1987908.html
That's a great article. Although they don't mention TMS or psychosomatic causes, that's what their talking about. I excerpted some of the article that should "ring" true to TMS devotees.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'I was allergic to sound'
...Yet doctors found nothing.
... how a talking cure finally saved his hearing..
...This was all going on while in the middle of recording my first album...
...Eventually Chris saw an ear, nose and throat consultant, who ran a battery of hearing tests but could find nothing wrong...
...but nobody seemed able to come up with a sensible diagnosis. It made me very depressed and extremely ill-tempered to be around. I had just moved in with my girlfriend, so her first experience of me as a partner was this incredibly anxious man who was terrified of sounds. It was a really unhappy time for me."
...Still without a proper diagnosis, Chris scoured the internet for a solution and that's when he discovered his unusual condition actually had a name – hyperacusis.
..."I found several websites which mentioned hyperacusis, but they all seemed to have different ideas about how it should be treated.
...Chris finally stumbled upon the website for the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), where he discovered to his relief that hearing therapy is available on the NHS. "I was a bit sceptical at first because it sounded a bit like seeing a shrink for your ears. But it was an amazing treatment. My hearing therapist told me to stop using earplugs in everyday situations because they were simply reinforcing the hypersensitivity to sound. Specialist earplugs were recommended for use in loud musical contexts but were to be taken out at regular intervals. She also explained that the more I worried about the sounds, the more I tried to avoid them, which was causing problems too. It had become a vicious circle," explains Chris.
..."Rather than being like going to a shrink, seeing a hearing therapist is more like just having a chat about your ears. She asked me questions about the problem and got me chatting and basically put my mind at rest. My biggest fear was that I had permanently damaged my ears but she reassured me I had not. She explained that because I had been afraid of hearing loud sounds I had become anxious and stressed, which caused the brain to produce substances which increased my sensitivity to sound. Effectively, the more anxious I got the worse the pain became."
...Angela King, senior audiology specialist at the RNID says: "It's possible to get hyper-acusis on its own or with a range of other conditions such as depression, migraine, Ménière's disease or chronic fatigue syndrome. Some people with hyperacusis may also have tinnitus, where they hear noises such as buzzing, ringing, whistling, hissing and other sounds in the ears or head.
..."The symptoms of hyperacusis can make people very angry, distressed or anxious and they often, as in Chris's case, find themselves panicking when they try to escape the sound which is affecting them.
...Chris's hearing therapist helped him to break the routines he had built for himself, including avoiding noisy situations wherever he could. That way he could control the anxiety patterns he had developed because of the pain and distress caused by certain sounds. "To be honest, once I had been reassured that the problem was curable I started to get better almost straightaway. I had no idea the brain could play tricks on the body in this way. It was a definite physical pain but clearly there was a psychological element to the condition," says Chris.
...Now that I am equipped with all this knowledge I honestly feel fine and think I can cope with anything. Occasionally I get a twinge but I know now what to do and what not to do.
...I think it's really important that people know if they have this problem it's not the end of the world and they are not going mad. There is help out there and I am living proof you can recover from this.
...Chris Singleton's new album, 'Lady Gasoline', is out on 28 June. Dates of his tour can be found at Chrissingletonmusic.com
...What is hyperacusis?
* People with hyperacusis, or extreme sensitivity to noise, are not all affected by the same types of sounds, but the symptoms are often similar. It can feel painful or startling, it may make you angry or distressed, and you may find yourself panicking as you try to get away from the sound.
* Nobody really understands the causes of hyper-acusis, but long-term exposure to loud noise can damage delicate structures within the inner ear. It's also possible that some functions of the hearing system that "balance" sounds are affected, as the brain normally sends information about loud noise back to the inner ear so that the volume can be turned down and the inner ear protected.
. ...The brain also plays a vital role in processing sound signals from the inner ear, so problems in the ways these signals are processed could be another factor."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DR. SARNO'S 12 DAILY REMINDERS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0dKBFwGR0g
TAKE THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS TEST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale
Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Jiddu Krishnamurti
|
Edited by - tennis tom on 06/24/2011 09:11:20 |
|
|
|
art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2011 : 11:34:49
|
INteresting TT. I have both tinnitus and hyperacusis. The hyperacusis is much worse because it's painful. The tinnitus, although it's quite loud at times, is much easier to ignore...
I'm not sure if my tin. is pschosomatic or organic/structural. My father, most definitely not a TMS type, had it. I was in a rock band years back as well. Not sure about the genetic component. My dad might have injured his ears in world war 2.
I conducted what I think is a kinda interesting experiment. I ran the faucet starting with very light water pressure and slowly increased it til the noise finally drowned out the tinnitus. Then I reversed the process until the sound emerged once more...
Seems to me that psychoso. noise would be heard no matter what but of course I might be wrong. |
Edited by - art on 06/24/2011 11:38:06 |
|
|
|
ennio
28 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2011 : 14:38:39
|
matthijs, my situation is very, very similar to yours. Around the time I started having back pain, I began experiencing hearing changes in my left ear. If I would talk to someone on the phone in that ear, they sounded like a computer talking. All tests were negative.
Then, about 3 years ago, I put on my ipod headphones without first checking the volume. It was on full blast and, although only for a second or two, created ringing in my left ear which has not gone away.
I had hearing tests that showed hearing loss in my left ear since. CT scan negative. Now the ringing is there all day. Add to this that whenever I feel myself getting very stressed, I hear a higher-pitched ring in my left ear that slowly fades after about 5 seconds.
The common thread with TMS is that whenever I experience new pain in one part of my body (I used to believe I had fibromyalgia) it never goes away. Always there in some form. So, even though this was caused by acoustic trauma, I suspect it is part of TMS.
I had tried a few meds per hearing specialists for this issue before I discovered TMS, and they did nothing to help.
I am working hard to re-train my brain since I have had chronic pain in various areas for 15 years. It's difficult to change the old programming of fear and conditioning, so I'm constantly fighting myself. I am convinced TMS is for real though. It's a matter of telling my unconscious who's boss. I am hopeful that the tinnitus will fade once I can conquer my own head. :) |
|
|
|
golden_girl
United Kingdom
128 Posts |
Posted - 06/24/2011 : 22:58:17
|
Just throwing this out there Art - can't think of many more stressful situations than a war....!!
"F.E.A.R.
Forgive Everyone And Remember
For Everything A Reason"
Ian Brown |
|
|
|
Wodg
Australia
89 Posts |
Posted - 06/25/2011 : 22:50:54
|
| I think everyone has tinnitus but your notice it |
|
|
|
matthijs0
Netherlands
6 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2011 : 11:57:00
|
Thank you for all your answers. I have read some of the links mentioned, but another time could be helpful.
Yes, Wodg, I am aware of that. I always make the comparison with my eyes: if I close them I don't see true black, but also red and brown spots that jump around, for example.
art, I will give that experiment I try and apply it to myself.
ennio, maybe the book by Fred Amir has some directions for you: it discusses a way to control the unconscious with clear, easy-to-follow instructions.
Further, I agree that whenever TMS has a new spot it remains a weak spot vulnerable to 'pain'. My back pain which I got since about 3 months now coincides with breaking up with my girlfiend and the stress of finding a job with my RSI complaints. When I got my tinnitus, the evening before I was in a rush of finding my earplugs and stressed (I know that having tinnitus is hard to live with). The day after I was pretty relaxed and I thought it will probably will go away but as soon I noticed the recovery did not make that much progress the next days I felt anxious.
I got the tinnitus when I am finding out about TMS and trying to eliminate it (like preventing cracking of joints in neck, arms etc. and ignoring pain), but it can be a serious physical abnormality as well. About the same time, probably some weeks earlier, I noticed some little tinnitus but I ignored it and calmed myself by saying 'at least it will not get worse' (but then I forgot my earplugs for one time). Further, I am not able to think away the tinnitus like Dr. Sarno suggests for pain.
I am now trying to avoid loud noises to get some more recovery I hope, but I am aware that I should not get used to quiet noises. I used my earplugs in the pub last night and too some beverages, but in some silent moments outside I noticed that the tinnitus probably got louder which scaries me (it made me crazy so I needed to put them off).
I will give some updates now and then. Any other suggestions/ideas are very welcome.
|
Edited by - matthijs0 on 06/26/2011 12:10:57 |
|
|
|
Wodg
Australia
89 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2011 : 20:11:12
|
When I don't have TMS I read these posts and just think you guys are are crazy alas I am as vulnerable as you guys.
I mean you went to a loud pub ONCE! you really have to stop avoiding loud noises and throw your ear plugs out. Don't go to that doctor and don't seek any treatment. It will be a mistake and will only quell your anxiety for a short period until you think of the next thing.
I've had tinnitus among 100 other thing over the last twenty years, you name I've had it and at the time there was no talking me out of (I think talking people out of TMS/anxiety is almost pointless they are not thinking rationally) I think you get to a point where you just have had enough, like heroin users who after 10 years or so just simply get bored and sick of it and quit, I've reached that point...and it's getting real old. |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Real tinnitus or TMS-like tinnitus?
