My ears having been ringing constantly since December. When other noise is around, I can deal with it alright, but nights and mornings and quiet times are horrible. I started having panic attacks and anxiety in January. My GP said I'm healthy and to stop worrying about myself and concentrate on something else. He recommended Xanax. Since I "crashed" so badly in January (thought I was going crazy), I see a mental health counselor who recommended Lexapro. I took that, thinking it might help, but experienced severe burning sensations in my hands and arms. I don't want the Xanax as I know it can be highly addictive. I do have an RX for Klonopin, but don't want to take that for the same reason. I am currently trying Cognitive Therapy, but the panic attacks feel like they are just around the corner. I feel like if the ringing would go away I would get back to normal. I don't have many episodes of dizziness, but the bed was spinning like crazy last night (only when I was on my right side). Many times I feel lightheaded, particularly if I am anxious (what a vicious cycle). I've just been RXed a med for dizziness to see if it will help (can't remember the name--Mic...).

My MRI results were normal and unremarkable. My next stop is an ENT. I am getting terribly disinheartened that three different doctors haven't pinpointed the problem. I wonder if the ENT should have been my first stop (had pins and needles in hands and feet which is why I requested the Neuro appt.)?

Are these common symptoms of ear problems or do I have only stress-related tinnitus as my GP insists??

Any help would be most appreciated--I really am having a hard time coming to terms with being so stressed that I cause myself to feel so badly.

Thanks.

hi taz

i posted to your other thread , should have seen this one first, well , inner ear disorders can cause so much anxiety and your doc is a numb scull to report that u r healthy and "snap out of it" kinda reaction. your mri is normal , so is mine, i too had pins and needles in hands and feet , this is why i was refered to a neurologist, but that is also a symptom of anxiety, its no wonder we feel anxious with all this inner ear stuff eh......u have tinnitus, this can start after having a bad head cold, allergies or seem to appear out of the blue... but , anxiety or stress ,apparently, cannot cause tinnitus but it will aggravate it........u had spinning in bed , on one side, this sounds like bppv....
benign positional vertigo......and is usually one ear or the other........so it sounds like u would feel more at ease to see ent or better still a neuro oto.........and pin point where the prob lies, it does sound inner ear and not just anxiety, but they provoke each other and why we feel as bad as we do... stay in touch

brina

I started having panic attacks and anxiety in January. My GP said I'm healthy and to stop worrying about myself and concentrate on something else. Since I "crashed" so badly in January......

.....Are these common symptoms of ear problems.....

Hi Tazmindog,

You are describing what happened to me in late December - a total crash! For me it was endless labyrinthitis which produced low-level anxiety for 4 months. Then I got a head cold in Dec and the symptoms were all revved up again but only this time I had no reserves left to handle it. So, like you, some terrible panic attacks ensued and (unlike you?), some depression followed. I finally got onto a really good psychiatrist friend of the family who told me that what was happening was not unusual for people that get hit with inner ear troubles (ie lab or tinnitus) and that an "anxiety disorder" had resulted. In the end I had to go on Cipramil to calm things down and give myself a chance of getting out of this pit. So far it's working. The terrible anxiety is gone (but not 100% gone). So this idea that you can just "stop worrying about yourself" is ridiculous when you suffer from something like this. Your tinnitus should go away eventually. This I was told by a top otolarynologist in Sydney. But it could be a while. Perhaps you should try a different SSRI med to help keep you calm (and avoid side-effects) while this thing clears up. You really need to avoid a situation where your anxiety remains unchecked and is allowed to keep disrupting your life for an extended period of time.

Good luck and let us know how you go.

Scott

Thank you for your posts. I am scheduling an appointment with an ENT, but it won't be until the end of the month as I'm out of state (with my mom trying to get back into my skin). The "BOOM" I heard turned out to be the roof of the trailer creaking and cracking under the snow and the cold--Mom finally heard it, too. But it just shows to what length this tinnitus has stressed me.

I never realized having ringing ears could lead to such emotional upheaval. I am reconsidering the Lexapro to try and calm down and get a more positive outlook. I did have a week of horrible depression with terrible thoughts of just going away or being committed. It was an awful feeling and the worst week of my life. Although I don't have those thoughts now, I still feel blue. The trouble is, the GP who RXed the Lexapro didn't want to RX it because he doesn't like antidepressants. If I have the reaction to the Lexapro again, I don't know how much of a battle it will be to get a different script. That's stressful in itself.

I'm glad I'm not the only one with these sensations, although I truly wouldn't wish this on anyone. Thanks for your encouraging words.

D.

Hi,

Just before my anxiety began, I had that horrible loud ringing in my ears. It drove me craxy, and worried me sick. I went and saw an ENT, and this moron told me I had the beginnings of Menieres disease. This freaked me out, so I spent 3 years thinking this, and waiting for it to get worse. Anywho, the ringing has stopped (stopped ages ago), and I since saw another ENT (because I began the dizziness, like being on a boat, so not vertigolike) and he told me I don't have Menieres, and was checked for an acoustic neroma, so had an MRI, which was clear. All in all, nothing was wrong with my ears.

What I'm saying is if you're the same as me, the ringing will stop, I used to play really soft music at night while trying to fall asleep, this helped a lot. My friend just recoved from some dizziness, his doc said he had an inner ear disorder and to ride it out. he's fine now, lasted a few weeks.

So see ENT, they'll get to the bottom of it, and hopefully fix for you.

Am I correct in thinking that there's no real treatment for tinnitus? That I just have to wait until it goes away on its own? Any idea how long it will take? This has been going on for 2 months now and last night it got a little worse. Makes me want to jump out of my skin. I know this morning I'm tuning in to it because it got so loud last night. I'm trying to redirect, but it's hard as Hades. I keep eyeing my sample box of Lexapro to help with the anxiety.

No magic pill out there to fix the incessant ringing??

Dawn.

Am I correct in thinking that there's no real treatment for tinnitus? That I just have to wait until it goes away on its own? Any idea how long it will take? This has been going on for 2 months now and last night it got a little worse. Makes me want to jump out of my skin. I know this morning I'm tuning in to it because it got so loud last night. I'm trying to redirect, but it's hard as Hades. I keep eyeing my sample box of Lexapro to help with the anxiety.

No magic pill out there to fix the incessant ringing??

Dawn.
Tazmindog:
so sorry to hear you are suffering with tinnitus. If it's any comfort, I think just about all of us on this board suffered with some sort of tinnitus. I have had mine for approximately 8 months and it varies. It is only in my right ear and I find that when I am laying down it is more noticeable. There is a woman on this board Ruth...who may chime in and tell you of her bought with tinnitus and it was very difficult for her to deal with. She may have some advice to help you deal a little better with this. Anxiety is very common also...I know I suffered with anxiety terribly..tempted so many times to go on Lexapro or some other form of antidepressent but was told by many board members to stay away from this. We all wish there was a magic pill, but only time, VRT and staying with this board to keep you sane will help you through this. Lots of good advice from people on this board. We all know how tough this is and you will find that we are the only ones who truly know what you are going through.

all the best,
Kathy

Am I correct in thinking that there's no real treatment for tinnitus? That I just have to wait until it goes away on its own? Any idea how long it will take? This has been going on for 2 months now and last night it got a little worse. Makes me want to jump out of my skin. I know this morning I'm tuning in to it because it got so loud last night. I'm trying to redirect, but it's hard as Hades. I keep eyeing my sample box of Lexapro to help with the anxiety.

No magic pill out there to fix the incessant ringing??

Dawn.
Hi Dawn,
I can completely sympathize with you on the tinnitus. I have had it since June last year constantly. It hasn't left me for a single minute. I hate it, but I find just like you that I can tune it out if there are other noises going on. Lately it's been louder than ever, and with some new tones I am getting some sensations similar to the reaction when a normal person hears nails on a chalkboard. But it's in MY head, I can't escape it. So I know this trapped feeling completely.

As far as your question about treatments. I was sent a very interesting article on this but I no longer have it. As I recall there are some things they can do. There is a masking device that one can wear to retrain your brain to ignore the tinnitus, and I guess it's pretty effective. As far as drugs, I haven't heard of anything that works so far. And in the article it spoke of some other techniques in the therapy vein that can help reduce or treat the tinnitus. Now the trick is finding a doctor who knows something about this, or has an interest in taking you seriously and trying to fix it! Right now that's the bind I am in. I have had a series of disappointing doctor's appointments and not a single one I feel I can call upon to really help me. They all just wash their hands of it and say, "it's a very complicated diagnosis, we have foot and a half thick books on the subject. It's a terrible diagnosis with no real answers for you, we just have to wait and see where it's going". Well, I don't need to pay someone a couple hundred dollars a visit to tell me that. Ugh. Anyway, I have an appointment with a neurologist at the end of March, he's doing a third opinion consult. We'll see where that gets me. If I find out anything helpful, particularly on the tinnitus, I will post. Good luck to you.
Julianne

Thank you for your posts. Looks like we're all in the same topsy-turvy boat, which has a degree of comfort but not as much as being on a cruise ship would. What is VRT and how do I find out about it? I put my radio between stations last night and that helped me sleep to a degree, but it just isn't loud enough or quite the right tone. The exhaust fan in the bathroom is loud enough, so I figure I can always go sleep on the floor in there if I'm so upset that I can't get any sleep.

Why do many feel like staying away from the antidepressants is a good thing if you can? I can understand the benzos, which are tempting but aren't healthy. But I do keep fighting the Lexapro battle. I have a 2 year old whom I feel I'm not responding well to (and she just now choses to go into her terrible twos at nearly three) and we are putting an international adoption on hold indefinitely because my anxiety is so high. I can't help but wonder if the meds would assist in evening things out and taking the edge off the anxiety.

Please let me know how the neurologist visit goes--hopefully he will have some good insight.

Thanks again.

Dawn.

There are many reasons for tinnitus. Search the web for tinnitus and you will see a wealth of info. The only one that can really understand is an otologist as even most ENT's are not well adapted to the conditions of the ear that an otologist has. I had it and found out that two non drugs have been used to lower the noise or eliminate altogether. They are Ginko Baloba about 3 to 6 tabs a day and niacin. But I would take the inositol type niacin rather than straight niacin. Some tinnitus is caused by the brain and no surgery will correct it. Some people have been led to believe surgey would cure it only to find out it left them totally deaf but the noise still persisted. Don't run into surgery before really understanding what you are getting into. I opted to not have a canal wall down surgery to hopefully cure a pulse tinnitus because of the risks involved. Some times there ia a chemical imbalance that causes the brain to trigger the noise one hears and that should be checked out first. Also there are 750 drugs that caused loss of hearing and tinnitus. There is a site by Dr Neil Bauman on the web at neil@hearinglosshelp.com that one should go to to read. He has just published a new book on the drugs that cause hearing loss and tinnitus. I have talked to him personally over the phone on my condition several times. His place is in Pennsylvania where he works from.
Big Al

Thanks for your response. I am now using a sleep sound machine to sleep at night and it has helped 100%. I feel I am not tuning into the sound so much, even during the day. However, I've got to be really careful because once I start thinking "the ringing's gone, thank God" then I start listening and, of course, it's still there. I'm coping for now and hope that my March 1 appointment tells me something. I honestly can't imagine living with this for the rest of my life, although that may very well be the case.

Dawn.

hi taz

u mention taking anti depressants, i am on them i take mirtazapine i was puton them because the intense feeling of despair and wanting to give up (depression) this came about because of these awful symptoms of feeling im moving and a prominent tugging, push pull, muscle contractions in my brain, its not my brain but thats how it feels, 24/7 , also i felt drunk but without any merry, my surroundings were shimmering constantly, i had tingling in my hands,feet, mouth and a pressure that would build up behind my nose then feel like it was pushing my upper teeth out...i felt like i was looking through a goldfish bowl, when i turned my head to look at things there was so much curvature...when i sat down it intensified the feeling of movement ,that i felt i was in a rocket pushing through the gravity and bouncing about...and moving at speed.......at times it is like a ship on rough waves.....so when got to see a neurologist when he told me to take the anti depressants i did not hesitate, i would have taken anything to feel normal again, though the a-d did not rid me of the symptoms i eventually found i could cope with it, that took a while and in the process i had some diazepam which i took for a weekend and that realy helped to take the severity off......if u can get through your feelings with the tinnitus all well and good but if u feel u need help then try them ,if the lepraxo doesnt agree with u try another,
i was like u 12 years ago, i started with tinnitus i was really bad with it, mine started in one ear and 2 weeks later the other i had quite a range of sounds, ie morse code like sounds, birds chirpping, hooting, hissing, dont laugh ..then i had hyperacusis.....ie...when i woke in the middle of the night, the sound of my husband and children in the next room breathing gently, sounded like whistles at a football match.......i kid u not........all and all a most horrific time , but most of this eventually settled down, i still have tinnitus but not like it started out, so if u end up with it, u wont feel like u do now....down the line.....u will habituate to it.......most likely it will go for u.........i hope so , iused to listen to a radio at night or have the window open to let in other sounds....dont be in loud situations, say if u r walking along the road and a police , ambulance, siren is coming , block your ears, if u go to a loud club, take foam ear plugs with u, thats what i used to do, i dont care if they r noticable, but i can pull my hair around and cover them......i hope some of this helps........

brina

For most cases of tinnitus, there's never a cause found and usually it's a life-long affliction (30 years for me to date). I rarely think about it and can hear over it (after 2 stapedectomies anyway).

If coupled with dizziness and vertigo with or without nausea it's a different story and usually indicates a case of labyrinthitus...an inner ear infection, usually viral that often follows a cold. Then the tinnitus passses (or lessens) when the infection clears up.
I found good symptomatic relief from the labyrinthitis with MECLIZINE (similar to dramamine)...25 mg. a day I believe.
Lifetime tinnitus flairups seem to respond well to diazepam (Valium...MY choice as the best benzodiazepine), lower sodium intake....and good music....avoid screetching sounds!
I've just learned to ignore it....until I DON'T :D:D!