by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
A lady asked:
Millions of people experience stress. Some people end up with tinnitus because of stress, others don’t. Why? I believe I developed tinnitus from stress. It is the only logical answer I can come up with because I wasn’t taking any medication, and my hearing is perfect. I haven’t been exposed to loud noise. It just happened out of blue one afternoon. The tinnitus began in my right ear and has never stopped. The only thing that I can figure out is that I was under a lot of work-related stress at that time. I have since eliminated the work stress. Since I am self-employed, I stopped accepting work that was causing the stress and reduced my work to part time so I no longer feel work stress at all.
Why then doesn’t the tinnitus clear? I have habituated to my tinnitus. I read your book several times and I also did Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), counseling and used table-top sound generators. I am fine now in that I can live with my tinnitus, and it is no longer intrusive for me. However, I am just really curious about it. So much about it doesn’t make sense to me.
A certain amount of stress is good for us. It gets us out of bed in the morning for example. But too much stress is just too much. Some people know how to handle stress. Others don’t. Probably those that can effectively handle stress aren’t very susceptible to tinnitus. But those that can’t handle stress more often notice their tinnitus, and as they focus on it, it becomes more and more intrusive.
Depression can also bring on tinnitus. Studies have shown that depressed people typically have a higher incidence of tinnitus than people who are not depressed. Also, the tinnitus is louder and more intrusive in depressed people than in people who are not depressed.
Another thing about tinnitus that confuses people is that tinnitus is not one single “thing”—but is really a number of different things that all produce phantom tinnitus-like sounds. Thus, one treatment doesn’t fix everything. For example, tinnitus caused by a constriction in an artery in your neck (pulsatile tinnitus) is not going to respond to the same treatment you need for tinnitus caused by noise, or tinnitus caused from taking drugs, or tinnitus caused by stress or depression. Each of these needs specific treatment related to the cause. Since it is a complex subject, there is no one easy answer that makes sense in all cases.
this is a very good article. thank you very much also i have depression but was also exposed to a loud noise in my left ear but i think i have tinnitus in both ears if it is caused by the depression what can i do?
Hi David:
If you noticed the tinnitus began right after you were exposed to the loud noise, then that is most likely the cause.
If your tinnitus began weeks or months later when you were depressed, then depression is more likely the cause.
If your tinnitus was caused by depression, then getting effective treatment for your depression has a good chance of letting your tinnitus fade into the background. As long as you are depressed, you will most likely continue to dwell on your tinnitus, and that will only make it worse.
Regards
Neil
neil i am at my wits end i cant accept my t its low level in my right ear had it two monthes i focus on it all the time then i had a berevement which sent the level very loud help would be appreciated everyone says i will accept it in time but how long
Hello:
I have been told I have Sudden sensorineural hearing loss. I just went to bed three weeks ago and woke up and could not hear anything out of my left ear. My world has been turned upside down.
I have been to the House Institute in Los Angeles but my question to you is can Sudden hearing loss be contributed to a very stressful work place.
Looking forward to your reply
Carole in RSM
Hi,
I first suffered SHL over 2 years ago in my right ear, I woke up one morning and I was 90% deaf in the one ear it was very frightening. I was prescribed steriods and my hearing started to recover within 2 weeks and fully after 4, the only result is slight tinnitus. Since then I have lost my hearing in the same ear 5 times. I have recently linked the loss to extreame stress, taking the stress away (time of work) recovers the hearing without the use of steriods. My consultant has suggested a blood flow issue could be the cause, to the last post I would say yes it can their are a couple of studies online about this.
My hearing is perfectly fine. I’m always in a quiet room often and when I listen to music it’s usually two volumes only. When I watch TV or using my phone it’s always in a soft volume. I’m stressed out and depressed most of the time (that’s when my tinnitus happens). When I’m happy it goes away.