TMS successes and new challenge - Tinnitus

[SSS]

Hi - I've been gone from this forum for a few months as I completed the structured program and then ended up doing 12 weeks of therapy with a TMS therapist and made a lot of progress. I had been diagnosed with interstitial cystitis as well as back issues, had really limited my diet and in general been consumed with illness and reading Dr. Sarno's book as well as this forum really helped me. I have almost no pelvic or back pain and can now exercise even daily. I'm eating and drinking what I want and when I get twinges I remind myself its TMS and they go away.

Each time I've had pain issues its been related to various transitions in my life - having a child, changing jobs etc. Recently I got sick with a stubborn respiratory virus and had an ear infection and at the same time had to decide if to leave my long time job and retire. I made the decision to retire, got better from the virus, but ringing from the ear infection stayed.

I checked with a specialist and today was told I have mild hearing loss that is probably causing the Tinnitus and/or its residual from the damage from the ear infection - but I only had an infection in one ear, but the ringing is in both although stronger in the ear that had the infection. The specialist suggested hearing aids although day to day I don't need them for the hearing loss.

I am really confident this is a TMS symptom, but I'm so FRUSTRATED. It feels like each time something good happens in my life, my mind/body sabotages the good feelings by presenting me with a new symptom. I realize this is classic TMS - trying to distract me from my emotions with physical symptoms.

I've tried ignoring the ringing and just moving on with my life, but its very hard to do as its always there.

I'd appreciate any words of support and ideas on how to proceed with this new challenge.

 

[cain aven]

I acquired the ringing in the ears last summer, after having TMS freakouts about my inconsistent vision & floaters. It was an ear infection, like yours, and 'floated' between ears though more commonly in the left. Eventually I saw a specialist, and my hearing was mostly fine (very minor loss in left), but the ringing has remained. But I should say - I was obsessively researching floaters and TMS and kept seeing Tinnitus associated ("things the brain normally filters out but isn't for some reason"), and I believe my TMS jumped on this as I was beginning to adjust and ignore the floaters, and the TMS needed something new. This was a particularly stressful time with parent's health issues, marriage issues, general depression about aging myself, etc.

After six months the symptoms are much softer now. Tinnitus is pretty common with people with anxiety (anxietycentre.com has a couple great videos about it on youtube, I recommend you check them out), and should be dealt with like any other TMS syndrome. It does seem like it takes a long time for the brain to quiet down again, for some people its a couple weeks, for others it is a year or more.

Edit: if you search this forum, you will see other case studies of people who have struggled with and overcome this issue. I was lucky, in that the audiologist flat out confirmed for me that my condition was stress.

 

[Enrique]

[QUOTE="I'd appreciate any words of support and ideas on how to proceed with this new challenge."[/QUOTE]

Hi. I have a history of tinnitus since I was a child. I had a firecracker go off next to my ear and suffered some damage to my ear so I do have hearing loss in my left ear. The tinnitus has always been there but very softly until a few years ago. It got louder and I was very frustrated about it.

I researched a bit and found Joey Remenyi who has a program and wrote a book on it. https://www.amazon.com/Rock-Steady-Healing-Tinnitus-Neuroplasticity/dp/1774580624
Basically, she treats it very similar to TMS. Check her out... It has helped me quite a lot. It's not totally gone, but it really hardly bothers me much now.

 

[SSS]

I acquired the ringing in the ears last summer, after having TMS freakouts about my inconsistent vision & floaters. It was an ear infection, like yours, and 'floated' between ears though more commonly in the left. Eventually I saw a specialist, and my hearing was mostly fine (very minor loss in left), but the ringing has remained. But I should say - I was obsessively researching floaters and TMS and kept seeing Tinnitus associated ("things the brain normally filters out but isn't for some reason"), and I believe my TMS jumped on this as I was beginning to adjust and ignore the floaters, and the TMS needed something new. This was a particularly stressful time with parent's health issues, marriage issues, general depression about aging myself, etc.

After six months the symptoms are much softer now. Tinnitus is pretty common with people with anxiety (anxietycentre.com has a couple great videos about it on youtube, I recommend you check them out), and should be dealt with like any other TMS syndrome. It does seem like it takes a long time for the brain to quiet down again, for some people its a couple weeks, for others it is a year or more.

Edit: if you search this forum, you will see other case studies of people who have struggled with and overcome this issue. I was lucky, in that the audiologist flat out confirmed for me that my condition was stress.

Thanks for the encouragement and ideas. I will check out the videos

 

[SSS]

Thanks, I will check out the book

 

[David B]

I have the same. Mild hearing loss, not unusual for people in their mid 50s, and minor tinnitus. The aha for me was after my recovery from major TMS back pain I would suddenly experience very loud ringing in my ear and I remembered reading about TMS and tinnitus. I have for the past several years turned a skeptical eye or thought toward the ringing, sometimes saying “I don’t believe you or stop it, I know what you are” and it will dissipate quickly. It’s amazing! Stay with it. Believe. TMS is sneaky. It picks the places you had an injury that healed, a place with a minor issue you didn’t know you had, places that will create the most distraction from the hidden emotions you don’t realize you have. AND you can overcome it!

Side note: I’m interested to read Enrique’s recommended book to see if I can make any progress on the constant but more minor tinnitus. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[rara rivera]

Hi, I’m a “spirit doctor” (master reiki practitioner, psychics medium & Channeler) I specialize in TMS and have helped many overcome it. Let me know if your interested in a distance session

 

[Enrique]

Was just watching this interview between an audiologist and Dr Clarke. Putting it here for reference sake. Dr Clarke mentioned very briefly that tinnitus is largely a TMS symptom.

 

[David B]

Great stuff! So good learn of more MDs who have seen the light on TMS/MBS.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Dr Clarke wrote a seminal mindbody book in 2009 called "They Can't Find Anything Wrong" and he's slightly infamous amongst Sarno fans because he had his own separate path that he'd been on, and I guess he was reluctant(?) to acknowledge Dr Sarnos's contributions (I'm pretty sure he never adopted the use of the TMS acronym). He's a founding board member of the PPD Association ("PPD" replaces TMS, which is probably reasonable at this point), with a primary goal of supporting and increasing the spread of mindbody knowledge in the medical and health industries. All of the well-known TMS luminaries are active members along with a growing list of others, so be sure to check them out at ppdassociation.org. Their resource page is a good roundup of different films that have come out in the last several years, along with links to some of the most recent work of Alan Gordon and Dr Schubiner among a number of others.

 

[David B]

There is a great YouTube video from an ENT surgeon Vik Veer called How I Cured My Tinnitus. It is a must watch