Day 27 of Having Tinnitus After a Bad Flu & Listening to Music on Headphones

Hey guys,

I need to get a few things of my chest... First of all I’m glad I found this amazing forum with all your stories. I’m still kind of new to the whole tinnitus thing but I have to talk to someone that can understand my current situation.

27 days ago I had a bad flu, my nose was clogged and my throat felt very sore. On that day I called In sick and felt miserable that I was not able to go to work so I decided to listen to music (I always do whenever I feel a bit down). After a couple of minutes I called it quits and took my headphones off. The moment I took them off I heard a high pitched noise, of course it wasn’t the first time I heard it but this time it was louder than the times before. I jokingly told myself “well buddy this time it’s going to stay” I decided to not worry about it but I kept thinking what if it is going to stay? I then went to bed and it was quiet and all, so me lying in bed focussing on the sound that was violently loud got me so scared and intimidated. I got out of bed starting to panic, keeping my ears against all sorts of devices in the house but I could not find the source of that sound. It became very clear it was coming from my own head. I put my fingers in my ears and it was still there. I put on some brown noise and got some rest only to find out the other day it was still there. I rushed out of the house so I could mask the sounds my head was making.

4 days later I went to a general practitioner. They checked my ear on excessive earwax but they were clean. She told me to use nose spray and hoped for me it wasn’t the loud music that caused it. Deep down I knew it had to be the loud music but I followed her instructions and used the nose spray and you guess it! No result.

I have an appointment scheduled at the ENT doctor and they are going to do a check of some sort. At this point I’m still adapting and accepting that it is what it is but I hope it will fade out at some point and that it wont get any worse than what it is right now. I don’t want to acknowledge improvements because at this point it could just be my brain fucking with me. I’m not as scared as I was in the first days (which were the toughest) I told myself to get used to it as soon as possible even if it were to go away but still. I sometimes plug my ears in a silent room on purpose just to listen to it and link positive thoughts to the sound I’m hearing. I’m lucky with having good company around me and all the support. I would like to hear some tips&tricks from you guys I think it would help a lot!

Thank you for reading

 

Welcome to the forum @Newbee7. If your tinnitus is from an acoustic trauma, then you can ask the ENT or your doctor if they can prescribe a course of Prednisone. If it is from your cold, it may be related to the sinus infection or ETD. So ask the ENT to check on these conditions.

Staying calm and positive is the way to go to stay off from the fight and flight limbic nerves from being activated, which then will tend to make tinnitus sound worse. If the tinnitus bothers you, you may want to mask it, perhaps with nature sounds or your favorite music. Just don't panic nor despair as tinnitus general will improve over time. To help you stay calm and hopeful, try to read up the success stories, like the simple method from the "Back to Silence" success story, the most read success story. You can also check out my latest post there about how to habituate to loud tinnitus. Below is the link to it.

Wish you well. Take care. God bless.

How to Habituate to SSHL and New Loud Tinnitus

 

Hi @billie48.

Thank you so much for your reply. It means a lot to me! I will definitely ask about the Prednisone and about the sinus infection. I love to check the succes stories. It gives me hope and makes me happy to see others improve or get cured in a way. I will check out the link!

Take care

 

Hey guys,

Yesterday I noticed that I was starting to feel like myself again. I really forgot about the tinnitus due to work and stuff but yesterday at work I got reminded that I have tinnitus but when I got home it was really hard to find once I put my fingers in my ears in a quiet room. I can’t easily hear it’s there anymore but when I concentrate really closely there is definitely some sound.

Am I getting better or is it just my mind that has adjusted to this? Falling asleep has also gotten easier. I noticed I haven’t used sounds to mask it in the last week.

Wish you guys all the love and best in the world!

 

@Newbee7, glad to read you are doing better! Whether it was caused by the flu or loud noise, this is a warning. Do not expose yourself to loud noises! If you must, wear ear protection! Godspeed.