New Symptom?

I haven't posted for a while, I have been doing pretty good, recovering from my hernia operation well and back to work next week. I am having the odd TMS symptom popping up (TMJ, reflux, headaches) but never staying for more than a few minutes to a few hours...Until last week....

Headaches started, lasted 3-4 days. I got on with it and they started to slowly disappear, only to be replaced by a god awful ringing in my ears :S I have had a bit of a head cold aswell so the doctor thinks it may have something to do with it as he can see a little fluid behind the eardrums, but...I have come down with some pretty bad colds/flus and even ear infections but never experienced ringing in the ears.

Its been going on almost a week, while I'm distracted it isn't too bad but as soon as I go to lay down, relax, read a book. It starts and it is driving me crazy!

As usual after excessive googling ( I don't know why I do it to myself) the fear of the symptom has crept up on me, the words 'chronic' and 'decades of tinnitus' have got me shaking in my boots and I've only had the bloody symptom for 6 days, It's laughable at how quickly I am able to work myself up with fear and negative thinking!

Just wondering if ear ringing is actually a noted TMS symptom and if so has anybody experienced a symptom like this?

 

Whether it is or isn't you know yourself that excessive googling, excessive worry and fear are NOT going to help! Be kind to yourself and distract yourself by doing something more constructive - like mindfulness/meditation or reading something inspiring - go on...!

 

Ringing in the ears, also known as tinnitus, is a very common symptom, and yes it is absolutely a TMS symptom. Tinnitus in the index of both of Dr. Sarno's books, and he writes about it in detail. I think if you read about it in Dr. Sarno's books, it will be a lot less scary to you, it will become just another TMS symptom that will fade once you understand why it's there.

 

Yes, tinnitus is one of the (many!) chronic conditions I have had - like the others they came and went to be replaced with something else. There was a period when my tinnitus was really severe - life-affectingly uncomfortable. It got to the stage where I couldn't be around any kind of noise - I'd even avoid shops which played music because it would make the ringing worse. The worst it ever got was when I went for an interview, it was so loud I almost couldn't concentrate on the interviewer! Looking back it was a clear manifestation of stress - though interestingly I didn't catch it at the time as this was before I knew about TMS. It was instead superseded by RSI, and the tinnitus subsided as I had something new to worry about

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

It's weird. When I didn't know anything about TMS, I would latch onto symptoms for months to years at a time before they would one day just disappear, only to be replaced by something completely different shortly after.

Since learning about TMS, addressing my stresses and anxieties, the symptoms seem to come in flare ups instead, which alternate in a very short period of time. I could have 4 of my symptoms alternate over hours - days, only to disappear when I have addressed whatever stress is causing them. Then I go into a kind of "remission" if you will.

My downfall is when It dawns on me I have been symptom free for a while, I start to begin to think how great life is looking and the fear sets in that something is going to come along and knock down my house of cards....This thinking is what seems to trigger my flare ups.

The Tinnitus is probably going to stick around for a bit, it is a very new symptom to me and I think accepting and ridding myself of the fear could take a few weeks, at least. But however long it takes, just talking about it and realising that it is in fact another symptom, has already quietened it down considerably, so much so that all of a sudden a few other symptoms are flaring up sporadically over the last couple days...

This all just confirms for me that it is TMS and it knows I'm onto it, it is having a little tantrum before I put it back into its box for its next 'hiatus'.

 

Whenever TMS symptoms flare up for me, I just re-read the Sarno books. Take a look at The Mind Body Prescription and The Divided Mind by Sarno, and especially look up tinnitus in the index and read those sections. Check out my posts here and my TMS story (in my first post). When I had really bad shoulder pain, which had lasted for a year, it immediately lessened once I found it in the index of the Sarno books. I had been dealing with the pain for a year, and I never even thought that it might be in the Sarno book because I had read it so long ago. Keep re-reading those sections and the symptom will become a lot less scary. First, you'll see that there's nothing wrong with you. You'll lose the fear of the symptom. Then you'll slowly realize why you need it. Once you no longer needed, and aren't afraid of it, it has no power, and it will disappear. Look up "chinese finger trap" on YouTube. It's kind of like that. If you fight against it, it will fight back. The key is to let go. When you give it no power, it loses all its power.

 

Braden, I began having tinnitus fifty years ago and I only really hear the ear ringing when I am doing nothing and
think about it. The busier I am, I rarely even hear it. Or even if not busy but engrossed in watching a movie on tv or dvd,
I don't hear it. I believe, as Sarno says, it's another TMS symptom.