Is This Tinnitus? Or Something Else? I Don't Know

A year ago i gave birth to my first child ( Sept 2012 ) . Shortly afterwards ( 2 months ) i started to develop a noise in my left ear which kind of sounds like an airplane had passed over your house , then it turned into something that sounded like there was a car parked outside with the engine running, and water running in pipes . These noises started because I was suffering from postpartum anxiety and depression (never had a history of mental illness) and the "noise" i was hearing was a constant reminder to me that I had a postpartum illness. I have been treated with medication and therapy since then and am recovered fully from PPD .

My assumption was that after I recovered (from PPD) the "noise" would go away completely. The noise is not as loud as it was in the beginning. It is no longer that airplane or car parked outside noise. It is a little quieter now a days, sometimes it is completely gone for a few days and makes it way back slowly. It is in the left side of my ear/head and sounds like a soft pitch fork type of humming (not high pitch, very low droning pitch if that makes any sense). The sound gets louder only if I am tired, stressed or have had alcohol consumption.

Does it sound like T?

The only reason I am questioning it is because the noise i am hearing is different and it is not as consistent as other may be experiencing. I don't mean to come on here sounding like a whining child, because i know that there are other who have it worse. I have had an audiologist look at my ear and told me that I have conductive hearing loss? I dont know what that is. I also had an MRI done and it was unremarkable; normal? *sigh*

Thank you for listening. Good to know there are others out here who understand.

 

Hello ker, I don't know. Others with more knowledge will advise you. Read through the forum and other posts.

 

There is a simple definition for tinnitus: if you can hear it, you have it. Tinnitus consists of simple sounds (eg. hissing, static, crickets, etc) as opposed to complex sounds (eg. voices, music); the latter is a potential indication of mental illness. It sounds as if you have tinnitus.

Women are sometimes known to develop tinnitus during their pregnancy. It is uncommon, however. There is also known to be some correlation between depression/anxiety/stress and tinnitus. I am not myself a huge believer in those theories, but if the evidence is there, then the evidence is there, I guess.

Your bone conduction hearing test indicates that there is a potential mechanical problem with either the outer or middle ear. It is ususally treatable. You (probably) need to see an ENT about it; your audiologist should have informed you of that. Probably it is not urgent.

It seems as if you have posted the same question twice (in two different folders).