Well, after months of lurking I figured I should finally make an account and get involved in the tinnitus community, since it's clear my tinnitus isn't planning on going away. I have had tinnitus for just over half a year now, and it is by far the worst medical condition I have ever had to deal with.
Here's my story. I'm 23, male. I've always been a healthy guy, I'd say. Never had any serious health problems in my life...until this year. In February, 2013, myself and a friend of mine went on a spring break trip to Cancun, Mexico. It was a typical all-inclusive trip for students, you go and get drunk all day and party every night. And it was good fun, at least until things went bad. Part of this package includes a 5 night clubbing package, where you get to go to a different nightclub each night. The first thing I noticed when I got to the first club was how ridiculously loud it is. I don't know what the deal is with Mexico, but they really don't give a damn about your ears - they just want to pump out the noise as loud as they possibly can to attract customers. Night after night I went to these clubs, and each one was almost unbearably loud. I still don't understand how the loud noise didn't seem to bother anyone else. At one point, I was so desperate for earplugs (which I couldn't find anywhere in that country), I stuffed kleenex in my ears in an attempt to create makeshift earplugs. It kind of worked, but then ironically the kleenex got stuck deep in my ears and I couldn't get it out. I spent the rest of the trip and the flight back home with throbbing pain in my ears, and unable to hear much of anything. Finally back home in Canada I was able to see a doctor who flushed the kleenex out and told me that the ringing in my ears would go away soon. So I waited, and waited...but it didn't go away. Before this whole incident, I never even knew what tinnitus is, so when I found out that it might be permanent I started to freak out. I went from doctor to doctor to doctor, and each one seemed to give me a different answer. One thought I had an ear infection. One thought I had meniere's disease. When I finally got to the ENT who I waited months to see, he gave me a hearing test and found that instead of having hearing loss like most tinnitus sufferers, I had perfect hearing, and as such there was basically nothing he could do.
That was 6 months ago, and every other medical practitioner I have seen since then has invariably told me the same thing: that there is nothing they can do. And I've gotten tired of hearing that, so I have come here, to see if maybe there is something that I can do. I'm willing to try just about anything at this point: drugs, transcranial magnetic stimulation, neuromodulation, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, you name it. If anyone has any advice on where I should get started, I'd be grateful.
Here's my story. I'm 23, male. I've always been a healthy guy, I'd say. Never had any serious health problems in my life...until this year. In February, 2013, myself and a friend of mine went on a spring break trip to Cancun, Mexico. It was a typical all-inclusive trip for students, you go and get drunk all day and party every night. And it was good fun, at least until things went bad. Part of this package includes a 5 night clubbing package, where you get to go to a different nightclub each night. The first thing I noticed when I got to the first club was how ridiculously loud it is. I don't know what the deal is with Mexico, but they really don't give a damn about your ears - they just want to pump out the noise as loud as they possibly can to attract customers. Night after night I went to these clubs, and each one was almost unbearably loud. I still don't understand how the loud noise didn't seem to bother anyone else. At one point, I was so desperate for earplugs (which I couldn't find anywhere in that country), I stuffed kleenex in my ears in an attempt to create makeshift earplugs. It kind of worked, but then ironically the kleenex got stuck deep in my ears and I couldn't get it out. I spent the rest of the trip and the flight back home with throbbing pain in my ears, and unable to hear much of anything. Finally back home in Canada I was able to see a doctor who flushed the kleenex out and told me that the ringing in my ears would go away soon. So I waited, and waited...but it didn't go away. Before this whole incident, I never even knew what tinnitus is, so when I found out that it might be permanent I started to freak out. I went from doctor to doctor to doctor, and each one seemed to give me a different answer. One thought I had an ear infection. One thought I had meniere's disease. When I finally got to the ENT who I waited months to see, he gave me a hearing test and found that instead of having hearing loss like most tinnitus sufferers, I had perfect hearing, and as such there was basically nothing he could do.
That was 6 months ago, and every other medical practitioner I have seen since then has invariably told me the same thing: that there is nothing they can do. And I've gotten tired of hearing that, so I have come here, to see if maybe there is something that I can do. I'm willing to try just about anything at this point: drugs, transcranial magnetic stimulation, neuromodulation, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, you name it. If anyone has any advice on where I should get started, I'd be grateful.
