How I Cured My Tinnitus Anxiety and Started Enjoying Life Again
Courtesy of Sue McGaughey
Fact checked by Nick Blackmer
Meet the Author
Sue McGaughey is a behavioral consultant, writer, and blogger living with tinnitus. She has a TikTok page (@SuesCoffeeTalk), where she shares tips and strategies to manage life with tinnitus, based on her own experience.
My journey with tinnitus began the way this condition affects many others. One day, everything was fine—and then it suddenly changed.
Just six months ago, I led a superactive lifestyle that included working out at the gym, biking, and taking long walks. One night, my nightly walk was interrupted by a sudden sharp pain in my left ear. Dizziness and a constant ringing followed and didn’t go away.
The next morning, the ringing remained. When I contacted my doctor, she diagnosed my problem as tinnitus based on my symptoms. While she assured me it was quite common, I visited an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor (otolaryngologist), who confirmed the diagnosis but did not find a cause.
A computed tomography (CT) scan showed no physical reason for the continued ringing. Since there was no underlying condition to treat, I was advised to learn to adapt to it.
When I realized I couldn’t cure my tinnitus, I learned how to live my best life despite it.
Overcoming Fear of the Unknown Regarding My Tinnitus
I was suddenly dealing with an untreatable problem that I knew little about and coming up with more questions than answers. The biggest fear for me was the unknown:
Is this going to last forever?
What caused it?
Will it ever be gone?
How would it affect my life?
Would I ever be able to get on an airplane to visit my daughter and grandchildren?
In the beginning, I was in panic mode daily. I lived with panic and fear every day. I was also frustrated by the side effects of prednisone (a corticosteroid often prescribed to treat ear inflammation with tinnitus). Other issues—like a lack of sleep—intensified my anxiety.
Despite my fears, I declined antianxiety medication, discontinued the prednisone, and chose to address tinnitus with a more holistic approach. I had more success dealing with tinnitus as I learned to face my fear and not let it overcome me.
I came to view tinnitus as any one of life’s unknowns. My biggest challenge was facing my fear of the unknown and living in the present. We do not have control over the unknown, but we do have control over our known. Be proactive and positive in your present.
Having a responsive healthcare team and a supportive therapist helped me focus on staying positive. These techniques helped me:
Lifestyle Tweaks to Help Manage Tinnitus Discomfort
I realized that tinnitus was just like riding a bicycle. You fall, you get back up. You can’t let it overtake you or make you depressed. You have to acknowledge it and just start living, And that’s what I did. I started taking positive steps toward living.
I learned how to manage my life with tinnitus with the support of others:
My family encouraged me to remain physically active.
The teaching staff at my school understood my request to lower the volume of classroom videos.
I received accommodations to preboard a plane to avoid sitting near the engine.
The more things I tried, the more things became possible. Other things that helped me include:
Watching TV with filtered earplugs to soften the sound.
Sitting in quieter areas of a restaurant, like against a wall, and avoiding the busiest times.
You have to try these things little by little so you can be prepared for how to handle different situations.
It’s little things like that that can make a difference, but you have to advocate for yourself. And if you want to continue to live life to the fullest that you can with tinnitus, you have to be proactive and train yourself to think more positively.
You have to accept the fact that you may not be happy about your tinnitus, but you can seek out ways to deal with it. Look for strategies that work for you physically and emotionally so tinnitus does not overtake your life.
Of course, I have bad days when I cry or get upset and frustrated with my tinnitus. One of the things it has taken is my freedom to go to a movie theater. As a former movie reviewer, it’s something I really miss. While I permit myself to feel sad about my condition, I don’t stay there. I get back on the bike,
Encouraging Others Who Have Tinnitus
One of the best choices I’ve made in dealing with tinnitus has been to journal my experience on a TikTok page. Sharing my tips and strategies allows me to address tinnitus in different ways, which can even involve laughter. Doing this has helped tremendously. Hearing from people who find my posts helpful is also rewarding.
The thing about tinnitus is that everyone is different. What sets it off for one person might not set it off for the other person. So, you just have to play around to find what works for you.
I encourage others to focus on staying healthy, staying active, and taking care of yourself rather than stressing over everything. I have found that the more things you find to worry about, the worse the ringing gets.
Be aware of surrounding yourself with too much negativity. You’ll be better off if you seek out people who want to have a good life and live with tinnitus in a positive way.
Coming to terms with tinnitus involves accepting the fact that you can’t fix it, but you can make life better. I can make life better for me.
You still have to laugh, no matter what you’re diagnosed with. You have to find a way to get through things and still be positive and still have hope and still have faith.
Maybe one day, I’ll be able to share how I cured my tinnitus. I choose positivity, and I hope you do, too.
As told to Anna Giorgi
Read the original article on Verywell Health.
