jumpwomble
11-11-12, 10:14
I can't believe that I'm still having anxiety issues! :ohmy:
My last bout with my ear has really sent me into a spiral of HA. After being relatively fine for a long, long time, my last ear symptoms have really triggered full-blown HA, with bouts of obsessive googling of health forums and medical websites. The problem with vague ear issues is that almost *anything* can explain the symptoms, ranging from simple ear infection to really serious conditions! I'm sure this doesn't help HA at all!
I went to a doctor who said I had otitis externs, and prescribed ear drops. It cleared up after the ear drops although it flared up a day after I stopped the course. I called the doc and he referred me to a private ENT as I indicated I was prepared to pay (no waiting for weeks on the NHS, the waiting would kill me!). Strangely enough after I made the ENT appointment, the symptoms cleared up. When I saw the ENT, there was nothing more to be seen, he sent me for hearing tests, was very dismissive, said nothing was wrong and sent me away, much poorer for it... but relieved. Still, he didn't reassure me, just gave me very little info in fact. I complained about it in another thread.
Now I seem to be obsessing over whether my symptoms are returning, whether it is just a simple garden-variety ear infection or something worse and relatively rare, like Meniere's or some variant. Every day I wake up full of stress and anxiety that I will start experiencing some hearing loss again, or that vague low humming noise, etc.etc.etc. and now I wonder if I am not imagining it or focussing so much on it that I am hearing noises that were always there to begin with???
How do I break out of this cycle? I ignored my own advice and googled and went on various health forums to read other people's experiences and am now scared and can't get it out of my head!
It is so true, what someone else said on this forum, that once you read something, however unlikely, it is like a seed that's planted in your head....
jumpy
My last bout with my ear has really sent me into a spiral of HA. After being relatively fine for a long, long time, my last ear symptoms have really triggered full-blown HA, with bouts of obsessive googling of health forums and medical websites. The problem with vague ear issues is that almost *anything* can explain the symptoms, ranging from simple ear infection to really serious conditions! I'm sure this doesn't help HA at all!
I went to a doctor who said I had otitis externs, and prescribed ear drops. It cleared up after the ear drops although it flared up a day after I stopped the course. I called the doc and he referred me to a private ENT as I indicated I was prepared to pay (no waiting for weeks on the NHS, the waiting would kill me!). Strangely enough after I made the ENT appointment, the symptoms cleared up. When I saw the ENT, there was nothing more to be seen, he sent me for hearing tests, was very dismissive, said nothing was wrong and sent me away, much poorer for it... but relieved. Still, he didn't reassure me, just gave me very little info in fact. I complained about it in another thread.
Now I seem to be obsessing over whether my symptoms are returning, whether it is just a simple garden-variety ear infection or something worse and relatively rare, like Meniere's or some variant. Every day I wake up full of stress and anxiety that I will start experiencing some hearing loss again, or that vague low humming noise, etc.etc.etc. and now I wonder if I am not imagining it or focussing so much on it that I am hearing noises that were always there to begin with???
How do I break out of this cycle? I ignored my own advice and googled and went on various health forums to read other people's experiences and am now scared and can't get it out of my head!
It is so true, what someone else said on this forum, that once you read something, however unlikely, it is like a seed that's planted in your head....
jumpy