Evaluating current status

Nuno

New member
Hello,
@David, i would like to know your thought's based on you full experience about this:
I've started having tinnitus from 3 month's, one thing i notice is that the sense of loudness is gradually increasing, for example, before i would travel by car or stay in outdoors and not noticing it, and gradually, now i can. I try not to stress about it.
I resemble very much like you in the way that i have always been very anxious, health obsession, catastrophizing, and i went down with the tinnitus with anxiety and panic attacks, so 1 month ago i was prescribed with Zoloft and rivotril (have hard time in sleeping). More stable now.
Going to the point: when i'm working and focused, i hear the buzz, sometimes more louder than other's, and sometimes when it starts to be anoying i put some sound (few times), but i do the work, or if i'm at home doing stuff or playing with my kids, i tottaly hear it. In those situations even that my mind is not forgetting the sound, i'm doing the things while hearing it but not putting any thought's or judgments nor even trying or forcing those, just in a neutral state, but always noticing that 'is there' and sometimes, mostly when i'm more anxious or nervous, i feel more distressed by the sound, then i put some sound.
I try to do all the things that was doing before, commitments, social, etc, even if sometimes and don't have the willing to do so, and soccially speaking most of the person's don't even realize my condition.
From your point of view, am i on the right path even that it's only the beginning or i'm deciving my self because i'm pushing forward while earing very well the sound (and some times feeling distress) even if i on the conscient level have a neutral thought? i'm afraid that because of my anxious personality, my sub couscious at the same time, maybe is continually putting the alarms on, playing tricks one me.
Sorry for the long text and i hope that my question was rather clear.
Thank you!
 
Yes, I hear you. I think you are on the right path. You just need to get better at recognizing when you are having worrisome thoughts and get better at switching to other thoughts.
 
I also made a video for you. It is uploading now.
 
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Hi David!
Thanks for your answer and video! :)
After viewing your video i realized that by not describing the all picture of my situation i probably skew your answer. I thought that it was best not to create a type 'apocalyptic reditt forum' describing everything with every bit of detail... but on the other hand just like you say in your videos, it's always best to check your ears, so, i went down like i said because of the onset of tinnitus and all the drastic implications in my future life that was running trought my mind like most of us but i did a mri and i was diagnosed with a acoustic neuroma (benign tumor inside de internal ear on the vestibular nerve), very tiny, just 3mm and now i must wait 6 months to see if it grows or not. If it grows then i need to do a gammaknife radiotherapy 'surgery' to 'kill' it. So, it was hard to listen all this at the same time back then.
But, for all that matter and even for tinnitus, at least on the conscious level, i'm calm, stable and i'm not catastrophizing, i'm living in the present and i will have to do whatever it needs to be done if it comes to that point (on sub-conscious, i never know).
The thing is, i try to think in what emotions or feelings that i have when it start's to be anoying, more noticible, to divert to another thought's, but like i said, i stay neutral, just anoyed with the loudness in that moment by which interferes sometimes more sometimes less with what i'm doing, like now, working in front of my monitor doing 'working stuff'.... So i don't know if in this cases i'm 'pushing hard' on being with tinnitus and doing more harm than rather putting my earbud earing some sound or podcast, but knowing that by doing so, i could be promoting avoidance, telling my brain: "ok if you decide to increase the volume, it will be masked".

Have a nice day!
 
Yes, it sounds like you’re in a much better place now than before. It is good to be nice to yourself and hopefully learn to not worry so much. Really being happy is just training yourself to do things that you enjoy more often. Hopefully you’ll get some good news related to the benign tumor. And you’ll do whatever you have to do. You don’t have to worry too much about it right now. I hope you’ll find some things to brighten each day.
 
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