1 Month In

Hi All!

First noticed my ear ringing on January 17, 2016 while watching a TV show. I could hear it on both ears but more prominent on the right. I immediately thought it was a brain tumor as I'm a bit of a hypochondriac. I panicked and was anxious about it. I finally saw an ENT specialist on February 5th after I had a mini breakdown. The Doctor did an ordinary hearing test and my hearing was perfect. He said my tinnitus was caused by inflamed eustachian tubes and some fluid in my middle ear from my allergies and prescribed nasal spray (2 weeks) and steroids (6 days) to drain the fluid. He assured me the ringing will go away. (It hasn't. Yet?)

I can only hear my T when it is quiet and I focus on it. (Of course, I am currently always focused on it as I’m constantly trying to determine if it’s still there or not.) Whenever I am genuinely busy at work, I do not notice/hear it. I had a great morning this past Saturday, February 13th, where I did not hear it at all and was in an amazing mood. Then, something flipped in me and my mood turned. Surely enough, the ringing was back that afternoon which bummed me out.

Today marks a month since this whole ordeal started and I’m getting tired of always monitoring my ears. Last night, I used a ‘relaxing’ app at night to help mask the noise for me to get some sleep but I find that whenever I do that, my T is really loud after I wake up. I wonder if it’s because the app reminds me of the T. For about 30 minutes today, I sat in silence and let it roar in my head. During that time, there were moments when I couldn’t hear the T. Huh. I’m going to try and not use masking for a few nights and see if that helps my mornings.

I have a follow-up appointment with the ENT on March 4th. I’m hoping by that time I can tell him the ringing is gone or is no longer noticeable and he was right.

 

Welcome to the forum. It is important to stay positive and calm living with T. Do the best you can. If you already have days that you can't hear T when your T is so new, count that as a positive. It is very encouraging. Give it time and use some helpful strategies to help you cope. Masking normally don't aggravate T if your volume is normal and that it is set slightly below the T, unless you have some element of hyperacusis. When we wake up, the brain is going through an 'Awakening Response' to check out our vital signals. Thus it seems that T is louder at that moment. There is a more detail explanation by a doctor about this phenomenon here. Take care & God bless.


“I have always felt it to be due to the role of the reticular formation in tinnitus perception. The reticular formation is a primitive structure in the brain stem. It's a "vital sign monitor." When you wake up, the RF checks to see whether or not you are alive! It looks for heartbeat, respirations, blood pressure, temperature - basic bodily signs. It does not care whether or not these signs are good or bad - just that they are present. And as far as the RF is concerned, tinnitus is part of "expected" body function in an individual suffering from severe intrusive tinnitus. So when you wake, your RF checks to see whether or not tinnitus is present. And if it doesn't immediately find the tinnitus, the RF seeks it with a vengeance - - especially in the post-nap state, when there has been inadequate REM sleep and when, therefore, the RF is on already "high alert" that something might not be quite right. Theoretically - very theoretically - this RF hyperactivity in seeking tinnitus, which in a person with severe intrusive tinnitus it equates with life, results in temporarily markedly augmented tinnitus perception.”

 

Just wanted to write an update of my T. It's been a little over 10 weeks and, unfortunately, still an on going thing for me. I went to my follow-up appointment with the ENT and he checked my ears, apparently there's still some fluid in my middle ear so he told me to continue using the nasal spray for 2 months. He also gave me a big bottle or Lipoflavonoid--he said it's not proven to treat tinnitus but to give it a shot (and I am currently taking them as it was free!).

My panic and anxiety over this is starting to subside. Though, I still constantly check if it's getting better or worse and, of course, get nervous when I think it's getting worse or if I hear a new sound I've not heard before. Weirdly (or maybe it's normal) but tones have come and gone for me. I hear buzzing in both ears. But over the weekend, a new constant lower pitched tone with some air (?) has replaced a previously higher pitched morse code-type sound in my right ear. It's evolving! Luckily, the tones I've had are not so hard to mask and only hear them clearly in quiet rooms (or in my car before I turn it on). I know some folks have it far worse so I try to not be so down--some days are better than others.

Other improvements: I've recently regained my appetite (yikes!) which was gone for about 3 weeks. Chewing food used to make my T louder but that seems to have resolved now, thankfully! It still gets louder in my left ear with certain neck movements so I become nervous when I work out or play tennis but I know exercise helps so I'll keep at it anyway.

Gonna keep fighting and hoping I'll get better soon!

Billie, thanks for the information. I've read your story and it's given me hope that I'll eventually get used to this noise. Sometimes I still hold out that it'll go away but I know that it may not.