Tinnitus as TMS

I have some questions abouy tinnitus as TMS. If tinnitus is tms, then why do so many people with hearing loss get tms? Is tinnitus as a result of sound incident still tms? Same questions with hyperacusis.

Thanks

 

@Mani
Tinnitus is pretty much very well documented as TMS.
Doubt and focus on the physical is also part of TMS (and part of OCD thoughts).
People with "hearing loss" are not particularly documented over other kinds of TMS. "So Many" is kind of relative. When Dr. Sarno was working, back pain was the most common symptom he saw - but it was also something common to his particular medical specialty. As time went on, his protogees and colleagues often found that there were many other common forms of TMS that were always given "medical" diagnoses and medically treated eg. digestive disorders, tinnitus, fibromyalgia, and other things...but through their work with their clients it was pretty clear that most of the patients were folks with TMS.

You asked about the physical trigger: an incident that you attribute to "causing" the hearing issue - the trigger is usually just a convenient method of grasping your attention. You've documented many other physical manifestations of TMS in your life...so the question is why would it not be your hearing after a loud trigger? The trigger does not mean it caused any "damage" - which you've said your doctors have all ruled out. You have no hearing damage, you have no hearing loss correct? It just FEELS like this is the case because your brain as latched on to this sensation.
Your hearing issues are 100% equal to my symptoms. I've over come many of them because they didn't frighten me nor really get my attention. Once I learned about TMS it was easy for me to just say "oh, TMS" when I would sense them - and they go away. Because I'm not focus or fixated on "fixing" them - I don't believe they are any big deal nor a health concern or anything scary. However my back pain - triggered several times in a row to begin with - got my attention and frightened me. Add to that the associations I've made over the years that build up into some kind of a story line in the head. You've got one: you make certain associations that have you hiding in attics and cellars.
If you had simply heard a noise and felt a sensation and did not have other TMS associations with it - it wouldn't be your main symptom at all...but I believe you'd still have some sort of symptom because TMS is not about the symptom at all. It's about the anxiety, fear etc. That is why we work on those areas and stop focusing on cause and effect. Completing the SEP is a great way to work on the psychological aspects of TMS - the true cause of the mechanism.

 

Quote today from SIRPA UK

"It can be useful to ask ourselves at this point when we're experiencing those fearful thoughts about our symptoms, whether having these thoughts are actually helpful, and whether something more supportive such as saying "I'm simply feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment, and that's ok" could be more useful."