I feel like I have been losing extra hair for the past 10+ years now. I put my fingers through my hair and there's always a few hairs that come out. Is this normal aging (I'm in my mid-forties) or is this stress?
Also, I have also had ringing in my ears for as far back as I can remember. Does anyone else suffer from this, and could it be trauma related? Could it improve if I manage to heal?
Its hard to say, really. My ears have been constantly ringing for a long time (years) as well. I'm not sure why, don't really expect it to improve, but it would be nice!
EDIT: Sorry I don't have a better answer for you.
It's really hard to know. The body does some interesting things to try to get us to notice it's stressed or holding onto unprocessed trauma. Years ago when my mom attempted suicide, I developed an itchy rash on the palms of my hands. (?) I also had a random single itchy bump appear on one of my palms a couple of years ago. It finally went away this past November, but then when things got stressful again, it returned. I'd pay attention to your body and see what it's trying to tell you.
Of course, it could be your shampoo. Pantene makes my hair fall out. :)
I have tinnitus but I'm not sure it is related to trauma. I've played drums for as long as I can remember and the Navy certainly didn't help either.
I've had quite a few audiologist look at my hearing for tinnitus and other issues. The best recommendation they gave me was to use sound machines and set them up to a level that's just slightly below the threshold of your ringing. It helps. All of the bedrooms in our house have sound machines.
I agree with the others who say it's hard to know whether these are cptsd symptoms and also whether they'll get better.
Having said that, an awful lot of physical symptoms (pain, weakness) I have had or still have turn(ed) out to be cptsd-related. A lot of them are now gone or much better or at least not all the time.
Quote from: owl25 on June 09, 2020, 01:36:52 AM
I feel like I have been losing extra hair for the past 10+ years now. I put my fingers through my hair and there's always a few hairs that come out. Is this normal aging (I'm in my mid-forties) or is this stress?
Also, I have also had ringing in my ears for as far back as I can remember. Does anyone else suffer from this, and could it be trauma related? Could it improve if I manage to heal?
Hi Owl,
I've just seen your post but have you looked into histamine intolerance and SIBO? Hair loss sounds like iron deficiency which can happen if you have malabsorption usually caused by inflammation/SIBO. Histamine intolerance can also be related to SIBO and cause a pressure build up/ringing. Gut dysbiosis can be related to chronic stress/CPTSD as well.
dolly
Thanks dolly, those are some interesting avenues to look into. I have seasonal allergies and eczema, which are of course histamine related. On the other hand, I've always had those and my hair used to be fine. I had bloodwork done for iron a while ago because of fatigue but levels were normal. I may try anti-histamines and see what they do for the ringing in my ears.
Hey Owl,
Glad you found something in there. I was told for years that all my test results are normal when there was something off - weight gain, fatigue, brain fog etc. Not a lot of doctors are making this connection, or that it can also be related to anxiety etc. When I learned about functional ranges I saw that my iron was around 18 (the range was 15-125 I think in the UK) and the level you need for proper hair growth is 70+.
I also have an overgrowth of strep and can't help wonder if it's related to the eczema I had growing up.
dolly
I'll check to see what my iron level was when last checked. It's been quite some time though since I had that done, and I'm not too keen on going for new blood work with covid cases on the rise again here. The other thing that also makes it harder to pinpoint issues is peri-menopause. It's not been too bothersome (I've read some horror stories) but I wonder how much of that is causing the current loss of hair.
I have heard of values coming back as "normal" but ending up not being normal for the person in question before. Definitely very frustrating to be told everything is fine, yet there you are with all sorts of physical issues.
In what way would strep be related to eczema? I hadn't heard of a link before.
Hi Owl,
Apologies, I read this and it disappeared off my list and forgot to reply! If you're able, I would try to see a functional medical practitioner. I've been to see naturopaths before but I found FMPs are more based around your test results and what the functional values are. From what I've read as well, SIBO can have an impact on hormones and has been linked to PCOS in women. Although, it does seem like it can be a factor in both high and low estrogen. So, you might need a more detailed/personalized interpretation based on what your levels/symptoms/circumstances are.
Strep is related to different skin issues.
https://nationaleczema.org/eczema/related-conditions/
https://jmg.bmj.com/content/39/10/767
I wish the docs would've made that connection growing up and being told that my itchy skin was just sensitivity to the type of laundry detergent we were using. It's interesting because I had asthma as well and so did my dad which we both "grew out of" but maybe it's just your body learns to function around that type of infection. I also used to have bad allergies and histamine intolerance which is more manageable now.
https://drruscio.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-histamine-intolerance/
Hope there's something useful here for you.
dolly