Auditory Flashbacks?

[Virtues]

My question... is this possible? I found a couple threads on the subject, but they were locked and I'm not able to post exactly what I'm experiencing; that's the reason for starting a completely new thread. For the most part what I was reading in those threads sounded like psychosis, but what I'm experiencing is something quite different. When I hit my IED in Iraq I went completely def except for a ringing in my ears. Occasionally I will get triggered and I will get what I think is a flashback. It's the same ringing in my ears. It's not the normal tinnitus that I suffer from, it's a sudden overwhelming loud ringing in my ears, exactly like when I hit my IED (only I'm not def I can hear other sounds too). I become disoriented, and in a few seconds (30 seconds or so) it passes. I never know when it's going to hit me, what's going to trigger it, where I'm going to be when I get triggered, it just sort of happens.

My concern is if this is not a flashback then this might be a neurological issue, as I suffered a TBI in the blast. I do get some other unexplainable symptoms such as episodic vertigo. Anyways, thoughts on this? Does anyone flashback in the auditory only and stay present in the here and now with their other senses?

 

[Friday]

Does anyone flashback in the auditory only and stay present in the here and now with their other senses?

Yep. Absolutely.

Flashbacks can be any of the 5 senses + emotions. Reliving any aspect.

I walk around smelling smoke so often that when there's actually smoke? I'll miss it, because I'm so damn used to smelling shit burning when it's not :facepalm: Hell. I even carry around camphor with me, just because it helps with flashbacks of terrible smells as much as actual terrible smells. Ditto will hear rotors when the sky is clear, suddenly go deaf and ringy, etc. I flat out don't ask people anymore if they hear that, smell that, etc. most of the time. I probably should, I just don't. Mostly because then my family assumes I have a migraine coming on. In no small part because when I start asking people if they _____, that's usually followed by my announcing I'm going to go lay down for awhile. Since I'm trying not to lay down, but get more present.

Single-Sense flashbacks tripped me out in a major way, because I'm far more used to the whole Nightmare-While-Awake movie version of flashbacks. But apparently those are the rare version, while single sense is much more common. For me, it's the other way around. But while I get completely hijacked by the whole nightmare while awake thing, the single sense ones will happily go about their business while the rest of me is completely present. Irritated. But present.

ETA ... That said, I'm a huge fan of getting checked out medically. Just to rule out big bad problems, easily avoided.

 

[Powder]

That sounds like a flashback, not psychosis, because of the dissociation that goes with it and flashbacks are a dissociative phenomenon, so they say.

 

[Ronin]

Can you (get) check(ed) it's not a neurological issue the flashbacks are compounded by?

As in totally can be 'just' a flashback, but it could also be one returning so much for a reason that's deeper / something else, and I'm afraid that's only what a visit to a doc would tell you.

 

[Powder]

Also, you know it's not real, which is consistent with flashback. If psychosis, we'd be the ones telling you that cannot be really happening.

Auditory hallucinations is typical of autoimmune disease of Lupus, I found out. I think that sometimes when we have PTSD, we attribute everything that could be PTSD to it. But when you have a medical diagnosis of something, like TBI or Lupus, you have to track patterns and see what triggers to the other problem exist and if the symptoms are triggered by those, or the PTSD triggers only. And does this symptom cluster with other PTSD symptomology or the other pathology, the TBI or the other disorder.

A doctor will not be able to be there to track patterns and rule things out through the process of elimination. It's up to us as patients to do our homework and keep a record of patterns to share with the good ol' doc.

In my experience, I find myself educating my Doctors about my disorders, which I find frustrating. I lack the patience to keep going back and passively reporting symptoms and hoping they care enough to think and solve the mystery. So, to speed things up toward a better preventative care, I do a ton of research and bring my observation or question to the Doc. I try to bring only one per visit though so as to not be a total pain in the ass.

I've often suggested my ideas to medical professionals to hear "why didn't I think of that". Which is pretty frustrating when you're an English major. My salary and his are so different. I should have went to Med School, but with my PTSD, I just didn't have the stamina or resilience to the demanding schedule. And I am not a sound investment for the institution, sorry to say. I just am not. I may not live long enough to pay off the debt.

 

[Virtues]

Can you (get) check(ed) it's not a neurological issue the flashbacks are compounded by?

As in totally can...

I've had a brain MRI and there's nothing organic. That said, my Neurologist has given me the basic head to toe exam: follow my finger, check my reflexes, watch me walk, push/pull exercises, etc... and he's not concerned about the vertigo or the episodes of ringing (and I've been through 2 neurologist, both feel the same way). They are concerned about the migraine headaches, and I am being treated for them. That leaves me to wonder. What about the vertigo? What about the ringing?

 

[Friday]

That leaves me to wonder. What about the vertigo? What about the ringing?

One thing I've noticed is that if I have a physical problem going on? Especially when I've been dissociating a lot / not really paying attention to my body as much as I should be, I'll end up having a lot of flashbacks in that area.

Noticed it first with my teeth. Started having all kinds of toothy flashbacks :wtf: Times when my teeth were broken, teeth in my hair, etc. Come to find? I had a cavity. Ditto I noticed later that when I'm getting a sinus infection or ear infection, that I start to zap back to times I've had my bell rung. Drowning? SAR stuff? I need to check my pulseOx & make sure I'm not running around with walking pneumonia.

I don't know how common any of that is, and I only noticed it over the past few years when I've been highly symptomatic anyway, no idea if it was true the first time I was symptomatic, and didn't happen at all during my good years ...but it's been a helluva nice shortcut to nixing some of this bullshit. Being able to get rid of some of my PTSD stuff that's being triggered by modern day physical stuff with something as simple as some sudafed or azithromycin.

So if your MRIs are clear and there's noting neurological going on? I'd run a fast check for ear infections & sinus infections & tooth abscesses (common causes of vertigo & tinitus), just to see if there's a physical thing that the PTSD is jumping on & obscuring.

 

[Virtues]

I'd run a fast check for ear infections & sinus infections & tooth abscesses (common causes of vertigo & tinitus)

They were concerned about the vertigo when I first reported it so I was sent to ENT. ENT ran a check of the outer ear (looking for any sign of infection or such) and everything checked out a-ok (MRI showed I had some polyps in my nasal cavity, no big deal; they didn't even want to perform a surgery to get rid of them) so they sent me over to audiology to run some checks on the bones in the inner ear. They told me that a lot of times (especially given that I was blown up by an IED) the bones in the inner ear can become damaged and that can cause the vertigo. They said it can also give me the "swimmer's ear" sensation that I've had since 2007. YAY!!! at this point I think they've found the problem. I go to audiology and they perform their tests on my inner ear. They do some crazy stuff like putting pressurized water on my inner ear, and all kinds of tests... but they all come back a-ok. Granted I failed the regular hearing exam and was diagnosed with hearing loss and tinnitus, but I checked out on all the other tests, no damage to my inner ear. WTF now??? Obviously this is all in my head and there is no physical damage to my inner ear causing the vertigo. I even looked online and there is a name for it "somatoform vertigo" and apparently it is common among sufferers of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Bottom line it is all in my head. At least I think it is. The doctors are covering their six; they've left an open claim for vertigo on my file, and they're "watching" it to see if my condition improves or degrades.

Anyways, I digress, back to the episodes of ringing. This got me to thinking. What if the ringing is in my head too. What if it's not something organic like I had thought. The first thing that came to mind was my IED strike. The ringing is EXACTLY like my IED strike. It sounds IDENTICAL; I even become disoriented momentarily and have to get my baring. Like Muse said this is clearly not psychosis. I am well aware that this is not real. It is momentary then lapses. I know no one hear can tell me for sure what I am experiencing. I just wanted to know if what I hypothesized might be a flashback was even in the realm of being something remotely possible.

 

[Powder]

I'm with you, Florian.

My "hallucinations" are ordinary things I've seen or heard sort of Blipping and I feel disoriented and fuzzy for a minute just prior to and after.

They sound real but I feel a sense of "doubt" due to the fuzzy feeling.

For me it was a week ago that at work I kept hearing a quieter version of the bell when it wasn't time for it (like a minute before the bell) and noticed people still walking around. I wouldn't think "the bell." Instead, "Is that the bell?? It was too faint to be real, and I felt tense and dizzy.

So I can't be sure mine is PTSD flashbacks since it's not trauma related. It's more auditory hallucinations, which I think, can be part of PTSD that does overlap with psychosis.

Just my 2 cents. Not an expert.

I think we're squarely in PTSD territory, but always good to get checked out just in case.

See if taking walks, deep breathing, horse time, and other steps lowers stress, and makes it go away. :) Glad you got an MRI at some point. How long ago?

 

[Virtues]

Glad you got an MRI at some point. How long ago?

My MRI was in 2015 (it was early in the year; I don't remember the exact month), so about 2 years ago. This was right about the same time I went through all my other tests (ENT & audiology). I have kept current with neurology; my last visit with neurology was just last month. I have noticed a decrease in frequency of episodes, and a correlating increase in treatment, but they are still regular enough for me to consider them a noticeable symptom (maybe 2-3 times a month). I talked with one of my therapists today about them and he said they very well could be flashbacks, but they could be something else, especially considering I have a TBI. He referred to it as "phantom ringing". He wants me to track them and see if I can establish a pattern (time of day, if I had eaten, what and when I had eaten, where I was, any noticeable stressors, what I was doing, etc...) He seemed to be interested in my cortisol levels which interested me, as I know from a full blood work up I had done in 2013 that my cortisol levels were on the floor; I don't know what they are right now. I can't convince the VA to test my cortisol levels; my doctor doesn't see a point in doing so, but the episodes started in 2013. Anyways, if there's a connection I would be interested to know what it is.

 

[claroscuro]

Cortisol is a hormone produced by your adrenal glands, and helps regulate how your body responds to stress (it's called the stress hormone).

Low levels could be an indicator of adrenal fatigue, or in some cases, failure, meaning your adrenal glands can't keep up with your body's demand. Affects of low cortisol levels that may play a role here are hypoglycemia, and low blood pressure, but since it can throw your entire homeostasis out of whack, it can be an indirect cause.

I think it's definitely worth checking out.

 

[Virtues]

Affects of low cortisol levels that may play a role here are hypoglycemia, and low blood pressure

I suffer from hypotension. It's especially effected when I'm suffering from a migraine headache; I'll suffer a significant drop in blood pressure during the migraine (almost dangerously low).