Had success with TMS (rsi, tendonitis), now in doubt about tinnitus

Hi guys!

I'm a 25 year old ex-Comp Sci student, and this stuff basically saved my life. Below is some ramblings about what I went through, skip to the bold sentence below if you don't want to read a pretty standard tms story.

So last September (just over a year ago), I had to leave my temp job at a data entry place due to RSI. Typing and mousing almost non-stop from 8-4 wasn't fun and it was stressful when you're all behind the targets for the day. I ended up leaving after taking too many days off due to wrist pain, and had to tell the agency I couldn't work until this had resolved itself. I killed lots of time by walking, which after a while became impossible to keep up with the same intensity because my feet started hurting. So I ended up sitting around for almost all of the day, using software to click for me and a pen for mouse control. I'd gone to the Doc's maybe three times, and eventually they suggested physio. That was alright, had a few nice conversations with the practicioners there but nothing really came of it. It was getting worse, and my mood was worsening too. But rest was what the doctor ordered, so rest it would be.

Fast forward 3 months, and I heard about TMS for the first time. I read a lot about it, and thought "Gee, this'd be nice if it was actually my issue. But nope, I've just got RSI from my job." Eventually it became so bad it hurt to use a knife and fork (not a lot, but there was definitely pain there), and I was starting to lose hope of ever getting better due to the horror stories you read online of people struck down with this condition for years.

Fast forward another 5 months or so and I'd had enough with sitting around all day doing nothing but watching youtube videos. I decided to give this TMS thing another look, and eventually caved and asked my mum to buy me The Mindbody Prescription. I matched almost exactly what Dr Sarno was describing in his book, I keep a lot of stuff down and rarely get annoyed at anyone. I swear it was almost impossible to believe, but it was working. I sat down on the sofa one day, the book in my lap as I couldn't hold it without pain. Within 20 minutes, I was holding the book and turning pages and everything! I finished it, and decided to go to the local park with a notepad and pen to write down the things that might have been causing me 'rage'. Writing was an issue for me with RSI, but I pretty quickly moved past that and by the end of my half an hour session I had a list of 25 or 30 things. Over the next few weeks/month, I started getting my life back. Playing games, typing, texting, walking (oh god, I missed the walking), and eating food without having to put the cutlery down and rest every minute or so. It was crazy, I couldn't believe it, but I was cured. I was waiting for an MRI of my right wrist (3 months it took in total from me begging my GP to having it done to going back in for the results, the NHS is excellent but it isn't perfect) and it came back clear. Clear! 9 months of my life, just to be shown that there's nothing wrong. Without Dr Sarno, TMS, and you guys here on the forum, I'd probably still be wallowing in self pity and, by now, crying in to my pillow.

Honestly, my sincerest thanks to you all for sharing your stories and your encouraging words. Even though they weren't directed at me, they helped more than I could ever show.

Now here's where I need some help.

A few months in to the whole RSI episode I started getting ringing in the ears. Very slight, and I've been to a fair few concerts and festivals in my teens and early twenties so it's kind of to be expected. But it started to get worse once the RSI/Tendonitis was cleared. About June of this year I went to an ENT, they did a few tests and found nothing wrong with my hearing. But it's been getting louder, and this year at the annual Great Dorset Steam Fair (a break my friends and I have been doing for a few years, bank holiday weekend at the end of August here in the U.K.) I couldn't sleep because I didn't have anything to mask the ringing. Headphones are too bulky and I sleep on my side anyway, which makes it very impractical. The first night was the worst because the fair hadn't started yet, after that it was a little better because there was a little more ambient noise around to help me ignore the T. For about two weeks after I got back, it was better. A lot quieter, I couldn't hear it over the TV for the first time in a while. But since then it's come back, and come back worse.

I've taken to leaving my PC on at night with a white noise generator going to help deal with the quiet. It still seems to be worsening, slowly but surely. I haven't heard anything close to silence for at least 4 months.

It apparently can be a manifestation of TMS, but I find it hard to believe for some reason I can't figure out. So now I would like to know, do you guys have any suggestions for what I should do? Things that I should try, maybe some things I could approach my GP for to put my mind at ease that it's not something bad?

I feel kind of lost, to be honest with you.

Thanks in advance,

Tom.

 

I only got the mild high frequency tone when I was at my worst and that went away. I simply don't know about more severe tinnitus, because hearing damage is a real physical thing.
My advise is to keep your attention on both regular medicine and TMS, because they don't need to exclude each other. If it doesn't solve it, it may make it more acceptable/bearable.
take care!

 

I had 8 years of horrible tms back pain that was cured 3 years ago through Sarno's work. Then 8 months ago after months of intense stress (starting grad school) I had a fight with my husband and had a sudden onset of severe tinnitus. It's definitely TMS. I'm still struggling with it- some days insanely loud and some days totally tolerable. If you've been to the dr. and there's nothing else wrong then be sure it's TMS and keep doing the work (read Steve Ozanich, Nicole Sachs, journal, start therapy, ignore it, etc). Don't lose faith!