A Physician's TMS story - RSI, Hyperacusis and much more.....

[Alicia Batson MD]

What about ear popping, pain, clogged feeling after a sinus and ear infection? Its the tubes then damage?

Hi "deny",
Sinus and ear infections can cause those symptoms, but so can neural pathways triggered by fear. The neural pathways in the brain can produce any symptom that you can imagine, that your brain can imagine. Sinus and ear infections don't *always* produce those symptoms and those symptoms aren't *always* produced by infections. Then, sometimes, you have both going on - infection and fear ! And one more thought, you used the word "damage" - that's a scary word that implied permanent alteration. Infections don't necessarily cause damage. In fact, usually they don't ! Infections do cause swelling and inflammation though, but that is reversible once the infection is treated. Just some food for thought.....take care. Alicia

 

[CharlieEvans180]

What about ear popping, pain, clogged feeling after a sinus and ear infection? Its the tubes then damage?

Hi De

If it's my experience then it's likely TMS. If I blow through my ears now I get a sensation like they are blocked......I remember getting these symptoms for the first time and they freaked me out......i was diagnosed as having fluid behind the Ear drums. Funnily enough just reading your comment made me blow through my ears and finding sensations. It's like those fear pathways came back.

I held onto the belief that I had fluid behind the ear drums for years. I happened to go and see an audiologist many years later.

There was no fluid. I saw the results. I couldn't believe it.

From that point onward, my blocked ear sensations went away. I still have tinnitus. But vast majority of ear sensations? Gone.

Incredible

 

[deny]

Hi "deny",
Sinus and ear infections can cause those symptoms, but so can neural pathways triggered by fear. The neural pathways in the brain can produce any symptom that you can imagine, that your brain can imagine. Sinus and ear infections don't *always* produce those symptoms and those symptoms aren't *always* produced by infections. Then, sometimes, you have both going on - infection and fear ! And one more thought, you used the word "damage" - that's a scary word that implied permanent alteration. Infections don't necessarily cause damage. In fact, usually they don't ! Infections do cause swelling and inflammation though, but that is reversible once the infection is treated. Just some food for thought.....take care. Alicia

@Alicia Batson MD Thank you for coming back. I still struggle with the symptoms and Im really fearful of it. Also because my jaw pain is on that side. Do you have any recommention for me to move forward?

 

[deny]

Hi De

If it's my experience then it's likely TMS. If I blow through my ears now I get a sensation like they are blocked......I remember getting these symptoms for the first time and they freaked me out......i was diagnosed as having fluid behind the Ear drums. Funnily enough just reading your comment made me blow through my ears and finding sensations. It's like those fear pathways came back.

I held onto the belief that I had fluid behind the ear drums for years. I happened to go and see an audiologist many years later.

There was no fluid. I saw the results. I couldn't believe it.

From that point onward, my blocked ear sensations went away. I still have tinnitus. But vast majority of ear sensations? Gone.

Incredible

Thats incredible! I have been to alof of ENT's but they dont find anytime. I think is fear and my obession about the sensations and the pain. I also have jaw pain on that side since many years. I dont know how to grip the fear.

 

[Alicia Batson MD]

@Alicia Batson MD Thank you for coming back. I still struggle with the symptoms and Im really fearful of it. Also because my jaw pain is on that side. Do you have any recommention for me to move forward?

There are 3 parts of treatment, maybe 4, depending on your conceptualization. 1. Psychoeducation - understanding how your brain works and why it is creating these symptoms. 2. changing your fear thoughts and fear behaviors around the sensations and pain (read The Way Out by Alan Gordon for this) 3. If it is a problem for you, changing how you to treat yourself (i.e. personality traits of perfectionism, high-achievers, people-pleasers and fear thinking) 4. Learning to feel repressed emotions from past trauma (read Howard Schubiner's Unlearn Your Pain). there are many good online recovery programs out there - go to https://www.symptomatic.me/ (Symptomatic – Association for Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms) to learn more and find a practitioner to work with if you need one. You can do this....

 

[CharlieEvans180]

Hi Charlie,
I'm really glad my story is inspiring for you. We can all heal!
Alicia

Thanks Alicia.

I feel really blessed you replied to me. My persistent subjective arm weakness across the whole and both arms, wrists and hands (which is always "turned on") has been worrying to me recently. I have had some will i ever get better days.

Remembering your testimonial restored hope and told me to get back on the horse