Just Started Last Week: Headstands, Causes, and Questions

Hi,

Last week I woke up one morning with a ringing in my right ear. It hasn't gone away really. I jumped on the internet and found some sites talking about ringing in your ears.

I had a hearing test done last week and my results were normal. I had a slight decrease in response at 2000hz which the person giving the test said was normal for someone who had been around loud sounds, but it was still normal. The other tests she gave me were a speech recognition test and a test that checks for something in the inner ear, each of which was normal.

She told me to go see an ENT.

I saw an ENT the next day and he said that my results were pretty normal but he said I was 5db away from being recommended a steroid treatment. I'm not sure what he was talking about as I don't think my hearing was recently damaged and I don't know what a steroid treatment would do. He said having it on one side is uncommon and wants me to get an MRI.

I am trying to figure out what caused this. These are the things that have come to mind:

- About two weeks before it started I was at a jam night at a local music store and I happened to walk in front of an amp right as a guy was setting up and played something. It must've hit my right ear right in the center because I jumped back, but after the initial pain, it didn't hurt. It was a relatively small amp and I was 8-10 feet away, but I was lined up with it.

- That same night when I got home, my girlfriend had a bottle of beer that was closed with a cork and she couldn't open it so she asked me to open it. I grabbed it and turned my head to the left as I opened it and right as it opened, it popped and seemed to be right at right ear level, and it actually made me really sensitive to sound for about 10 seconds.

- For a week or so prior to the ringing starting, I had been doing a lot of stretches. I'm talking about sitting in a splits type position for an hour or more each day, which is actually a good way to help your body get used to the sensation of stretching. Basically, you start with a little stretch and every so often you pull your legs a little further apart. Slowly, it shouldn't hurt. Anyway, I read that having your head lifted up like when riding a bike can be bad for ringing ears, so I wonder if maybe I was in some position that was putting pressure on a nerve or something.

The two things that happened on the same night, meaning the the guitar and the cork, happened about two weeks before the ringing. It seems unlikely to me that trauma would cause ringing two weeks later, and the ENT agreed. I only mentioned them because I thought about them after I realized my ear was ringing.

I also have a little wound on my right ear, kind of like a pimple, that has been there for a few months. It's one of those things that I find myself picking at and then I realize I'm doing it and I stop. But then I start doing it again a bit later. It is a little swollen and has been irritated to the point of bleeding a couple times.

My right ear is ringing with a constant tone that sounds like an electronic hum or water running through a pipe. It's a pretty high pitched note. It also sometimes feels full, or like there is pressure in it.

Theories:

I hurt my ear that night and it's healing, which is causing inflammation, and that's causing the ringing.

I somehow have an infection from that little scab thing on it that is causing the ringing.

Questions:

What are your opinions on Lipo-Flavanoids? The ENT recommended them as something to try. Most of what I've read about them online makes it look like something kind of shady.

What are your opinions on doing headstands? I have seen them recommended and not recommended for ear problems, the idea being that they get more blood into your ears which facilitates healing.

Is there any truth to the idea that if treated early there is a better chance of recovery?

Thanks.

 

That ENT doc is probably right on. I wouldn't doubt his perspective. I bet he knows whats going on.
I've read Lipo-Flavanoids increases blood flow to the ears. It does what it does, which may not be a good thing.
I'd guess standing on your head also increases blood flow and pressure to the head like intracranial pressure.

I wouldn't do that. I believe increasing blood flow makes my pulsing-T worse (Louder), that's the last thing I need. You want to stop, what ever is going on - the inner ear stimulation has to quiet down. I'd rest (sleep) and hope the body could heal itself. Just my 2 cents. I 'd follow the ENT doctor's advise.