2 Months In, Concert Tinnitus

Hi everyone. First time poster here.

The situation is: Just before Halloween this year, I went to a concert with a friend of mine. I'm 24 and I've been to several concerts ever since I was 19, including a couple festivals which lasted a few days. After shows I would notice my ears ringing but I never worried about it since it went right away and I considered it to be normal. I don't know if this concert was just extra loud or what, but I've had tinnitus ever since. I do remember my hears hurting during it, and afterward they were ringing extra loud. My friend complained about her ears hurting too, but at the time I just figured it was normal. However half an hour later when I got home, I noticed my ears were still ringing, which I didn't remember happening before. From that point I didn't notice it again until the next night when I laid down to go to sleep.

My tinnitus: Basically it's a steady, high pitched ringing, in both ears though it seems more noticeable in my left. I only ever really hear it in near silence or when I listen for it. But it's most noticeable at night when I'm in bed. When I lay on my side it seems very noticeable in whichever ear I'm laying on. I've slept with a fan on for noise ever since I was a little kid so I'm still able to sleep but it's still very annoying sometimes. After having it for about a week, I did a little research on tinnitus and went to a clinic to see if there was anything I could do. There I was told I had no blockage, infections, or visible damage to my eardrums. I was also told a little about tinnitus, probably the same thing a lot of you will tell me. Basically that it might go away over time or it might not. I asked how long I should wait until seeing a specialist and was told at least two months.

The problems: I know my tinnitus isn't as bad as it could be and I'm very thankful, but still very worried about it, especially with the two month mark coming up. After going to the clinic a family friend told me they had it for about a month and it went away so I stopped worrying about it and hardly noticed it for a while. But since it hasn't gone away I've started to stress out again, which I know is potentially making it worse. It's just that music has always been a big part of my life and I'm afraid of this ruining that. I'm afraid I will never be able to go to another concert again for fear of making it worse. The doctor told me I should avoid loud music for a while since my ears are potentially healing, and while I have tried I'll admit it has been difficult. I know it sounds trivial but music has been my way of dealing with stress ever since I was a young teenager. Nearly every day I de-stress by hooking up some speakers to my laptop and blasting it for a while. I've always known it was loud but I never considered it too loud. It's not rattle-the-windows loud and I can usually hear if someone knocks on my door or something. But I don't know if this could have contributed to my current problem or could be prohibiting me from healing now. I used to listen with headphones quite often, but not at a level I would consider deafening and usually with only one in (my right one, which is odd considering my left ear now seems worse).

I'm sorry if this is a monster of a post, I'm just stressed out over this potentially being a problem for the rest of my life and I thought it would be good to get some feedback from other people who have dealt with this too.

 

@BonesyMcBones
I am sorry to hear about the discomfort that you’re in. I believe your tinnitus will improve with time but there are a few things I’d suggest that you do in order for that to happen. Your ENT Dr is correct, your ears need a rest and you should stay away from loud sounds. The tinnitus that you’re experiencing didn’t just suddenly come on, you have been subjecting your ears to noise trauma for a period of time and that’s why you heard the ringing then it would go by the next morning. If one persists as you did they will eventually end up with tinnitus.

I advise you not to listen to music through headphones even at low volume. If I were you and this is only a suggestion, I wouldn’t ever use headphones again even if the volume was kept low.
You probably notice that your tinntius sounds louder in quiet surroundings especially at night. Using the fan is good but a sound machine that plays nature sound would be much better. The fan will mask the tinnitus and that’s something that you don’t want to do. The purpose here to supply your brain and auditory system with sound enrichment. If you click on the link below and read the post, there’s more information on sound machines.

You will get better it just takes some time.
Best of luck

Michael
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/search/member?user_id=3134&content=thread