I'm writing this in the hope that it helps someone. During my worst moments, I read the entire Tinnitus Talk forum. Ear problems are truly awful. You cannot explain to a healthy person how deeply this kind of condition can affect you. I wish everyone going through ear problems all the strength in the world.
How it all started
During a workout, I accidentally yanked out sealed in-ear headphones with rubber tips after catching the cord with my arm. Because they created a tight seal, the sudden removal caused a strong vacuum in my ear canal.
That led to:
Then came the symptoms
But I was not fine.
At first, I thought I had a perilymphatic fistula, which is a tear inside the ear. I started traveling in search of answers. I had an MRI in Heidelberg, which showed nothing. I flew to Belgium to visit the BRAI3N Clinic. The outcome was vague signs of central nervous system dysfunction. They prescribed Deanxit, which did not help. Worse, it caused side effects like involuntary muscle contractions.
A year in — still crippled by fullness
I was desperate. I would soak in the bathtub for two hours just to cope. I played Diablo II from start to finish multiple times. I binged Gilmore Girls. Anything to distract myself.
Then came my wedding, a major social event that lasted an entire day. I tried to stay positive and not give up on life completely. But right after the wedding, my symptoms got dramatically worse. I was bedridden for two weeks. All the old symptoms came back, along with a new one: a constant sensation of motion, like being on a boat. Unsteadiness and dizziness returned, and the fullness became even more intense.
This relapse moved things forward
I started searching for answers again. At that point, I was convinced it was Tensor Tympani Syndrome (TTS), where a tiny middle ear muscle becomes hyperactive. I even contacted a surgeon in the United Kingdom to discuss a tenotomy, a procedure that cuts the muscle.
I could not take the suffering anymore, so I went into a kind of all-in mindset. I paid £10,000 out of pocket to have the muscle in my left ear cut.
To my surprise, and also to the doctor's, things got even worse. I woke up from anesthesia and the dizziness hit instantly. I spent the next month in bed with fullness, dizziness, and now also a cut muscle — and still no relief.
At that point, 14 months in, I hit the wall
I started therapy — not for my ears, but to try to accept my situation. I had been fighting non-stop, and the constant resistance only made things worse.
But ironically, the worsening symptoms, especially the dizziness, opened a new door: neurologists.
Thanks to some connections, I got in to see a very good one. Strangely enough, his office was right next to the emergency room I had visited when this all began.
I brought everything: test results, travel history, full symptom list. He took one look and said, "Your case is real. We are going to experiment." Then he asked, "Have you heard of PPPD?"
I had, but I had dismissed it because PPPD is never described with fullness, and that was my main symptom.
He said we could try steroids or antidepressants. I asked which one he would choose. He said antidepressants, so I agreed.
He prescribed 25 mg of Sertraline.
I will remember the third night on that pill for the rest of my life
For 18 months, I had dreamt of taking something that would just switch the suffering off. It did not work instantly, but something shifted. The fullness dropped by about 30 percent.
Imagine a muscle in spasm for 18 months suddenly relaxing. I cried.
Two months later, we increased the dose to 50 mg. Over the next six to eight months, I got my life back. The fullness, dizziness, and tinnitus — all gone.
I still do not fully understand what happened
The simple explanation is that when the acoustic shock happened, I was already under major stress. My nervous system was on high alert, and the trauma pushed me over the edge. My system locked into a persistent threat mode.
Yes, we can call it PPPD, even if the classic symptoms did not appear until a year after the injury. For me, it was never about spinning vertigo. It was about a crippling, constant sense of fullness that made daily life impossible.
In the end, I saw about 15 different doctors. Most thought I was imagining it. Then one finally said, "Let's experiment."
That man saved my life.
How it all started
During a workout, I accidentally yanked out sealed in-ear headphones with rubber tips after catching the cord with my arm. Because they created a tight seal, the sudden removal caused a strong vacuum in my ear canal.
That led to:
- The eardrum being pulled outward, overstretching it
- A snap-back motion, pushing on the ossicles (the middle ear bones)
- A shock transmitted to the inner ear through the stapes and the oval window, essentially an acoustic shock
Then came the symptoms
- Tinnitus
- Ear pressure, pain, and fullness. This was the worst part by far. It became constant and chronic, and completely ruined my ability to focus. I had to quit full-time work.
- Sensation of fluid or wetness deep in both ears
- Mild vestibular issues
- Hyperacusis (sound sensitivity)
- Unsteadiness and balance problems. Fortunately, this faded after about a month.
- Reactive tinnitus. Instead of the usual low hum, I started hearing high-pitched sounds. The oven fan, for example, sounded like a whistle.
But I was not fine.
At first, I thought I had a perilymphatic fistula, which is a tear inside the ear. I started traveling in search of answers. I had an MRI in Heidelberg, which showed nothing. I flew to Belgium to visit the BRAI3N Clinic. The outcome was vague signs of central nervous system dysfunction. They prescribed Deanxit, which did not help. Worse, it caused side effects like involuntary muscle contractions.
A year in — still crippled by fullness
I was desperate. I would soak in the bathtub for two hours just to cope. I played Diablo II from start to finish multiple times. I binged Gilmore Girls. Anything to distract myself.
Then came my wedding, a major social event that lasted an entire day. I tried to stay positive and not give up on life completely. But right after the wedding, my symptoms got dramatically worse. I was bedridden for two weeks. All the old symptoms came back, along with a new one: a constant sensation of motion, like being on a boat. Unsteadiness and dizziness returned, and the fullness became even more intense.
This relapse moved things forward
I started searching for answers again. At that point, I was convinced it was Tensor Tympani Syndrome (TTS), where a tiny middle ear muscle becomes hyperactive. I even contacted a surgeon in the United Kingdom to discuss a tenotomy, a procedure that cuts the muscle.
I could not take the suffering anymore, so I went into a kind of all-in mindset. I paid £10,000 out of pocket to have the muscle in my left ear cut.
To my surprise, and also to the doctor's, things got even worse. I woke up from anesthesia and the dizziness hit instantly. I spent the next month in bed with fullness, dizziness, and now also a cut muscle — and still no relief.
At that point, 14 months in, I hit the wall
I started therapy — not for my ears, but to try to accept my situation. I had been fighting non-stop, and the constant resistance only made things worse.
But ironically, the worsening symptoms, especially the dizziness, opened a new door: neurologists.
Thanks to some connections, I got in to see a very good one. Strangely enough, his office was right next to the emergency room I had visited when this all began.
I brought everything: test results, travel history, full symptom list. He took one look and said, "Your case is real. We are going to experiment." Then he asked, "Have you heard of PPPD?"
I had, but I had dismissed it because PPPD is never described with fullness, and that was my main symptom.
He said we could try steroids or antidepressants. I asked which one he would choose. He said antidepressants, so I agreed.
He prescribed 25 mg of Sertraline.
I will remember the third night on that pill for the rest of my life
For 18 months, I had dreamt of taking something that would just switch the suffering off. It did not work instantly, but something shifted. The fullness dropped by about 30 percent.
Imagine a muscle in spasm for 18 months suddenly relaxing. I cried.
Two months later, we increased the dose to 50 mg. Over the next six to eight months, I got my life back. The fullness, dizziness, and tinnitus — all gone.
I still do not fully understand what happened
The simple explanation is that when the acoustic shock happened, I was already under major stress. My nervous system was on high alert, and the trauma pushed me over the edge. My system locked into a persistent threat mode.
Yes, we can call it PPPD, even if the classic symptoms did not appear until a year after the injury. For me, it was never about spinning vertigo. It was about a crippling, constant sense of fullness that made daily life impossible.
In the end, I saw about 15 different doctors. Most thought I was imagining it. Then one finally said, "Let's experiment."
That man saved my life.
