Gandalf

My tinnitus (apparently) began with an intermittent ticking in my right ear. I used Debrox for about 5-days, at the end of which a clump of wax came out of the ear (gross, I know) and the ticking stopped. Around the same time I had 2 molars extracted from my lower jaw and subsequently had got implant abutments.

About 4 months after the ticking had stopped, it began again in the same ear. Once again I tried Debrox, to no avail. I went to an otolaryngologist, who removed what he said was a significant amount of ear wax from the right ear (with a curette); I also had a hearing test, which revealed mild sensorineural hearing loss in the high frequencies, though not severe enough to affect the day-to-day.

About 4 days after the otolaryngologist visit, I started hearing a ringing – or more accurately, "acoustic hum" – in both ears. It's been 6 weeks since the tinnitus began and it hasn't changed. I also sense a lower tolerance for loud sounds when I'm out in the street, though this could be fed by my overall hypervigilance.

My PCP prescribed Klonopin to help me sleep, which I've been using for a couple of weeks now and want to taper off of ASAP. I've also signed up for an online course on mindfulness-based tinnitus stress reduction, and started seeing (through Zoom) a psychotherapist once weekly who specializes in CBT.