Advice for Sudden Tinnitus Spike and Ear Fullness / Clogged Feeling: Could It Be Allergy Related?

Hello,

I have been dealing with tinnitus for about 3 years now.

I've never posted before so I'll give a condensed history---

CHAPTER ONE - CLOGGING
About 3-4 years ago in July/August I developed a serious problem with terrible fullness in the ears. It was mostly in my left ear, but would sometimes switch sides or be in both ears simultaneously. There were times when my whole head would fill with so much pressure I would be in pain. It felt like someone was pumping up my head with a bicycle pump. Sometimes it would feel like the inside of my ear had water inside. This went on for over a month almost non-stop. It was so depressing and distressing that I moved in with my father for several months because it gave me so much anxiety. There were some times when it literally felt like the inside of my ear was almost vibrating. If I used a hairdryer it would sound completely different on the left vs right side when it was at its worst. When it was really bad any type of music with things like pianos felt horribly distorted. The only good thing about this period was there was no ringing involved.

Went to an ENT and got on a course of prednisone. Did several hearing tests and all showed minor high frequency loss in the left ear, but nothing profound and nothing I notice in my daily life except during the times when the pressure was so bad. After about a month things FINALLY subsided. The constant fullness abated. I would have some times when it would start to get pressure again but it never lasted that long--usually sudafed (the real kind from behind the counter) would help.

CHAPTER TWO - HISSING TINNITUS
Fast forward about a year and the hissing noise started. I went through several months of learning to live with the sound of air escaping from my ear. It usually came in three day spurts where it would start pretty loud and slowly get lower over the next 2-3 days before it would go away for a few days. However when it first started it was much louder and the volume would change throughout the day. However after several months it very gradually improved. I'm sure part of it was me getting used to it, but the volume definitely got better and I would go several days with no hissing whatsoever. There were points were I went several weeks without hearing anything. For the last 2-3 years I have really had no serious problems. The days when I could hear it, it was very low and almost ignorable. Only very rarely did it bother me at all.

CHAPTER THREE - SPIKE AFTER SEVERAL GREAT YEARS?
Exactly a week ago, I noticed the fullness feeling had reappeared in my left ear. It was not too bad and this does happen a couple times a year but always went away. After 2 days of this, I came home from work and fell asleep. I woke up in the middle of the night with VERY LOUD hissing and a new tone that I never really had before. Luckily the tone went away after a few minutes but the hissing was louder than it had been in years. I had to listen to rain sounds softly with headphones to fall back asleep. The next day was not too bad but this hissing never went away completely. This has now been going on without any real relief for about 5-6 days now. The weird thing is how the strength and loudness will change throughout the day. It used to pretty much stay at the same level all day. A couple days ago it had almost gone away, but simply using a handheld electric vacuum set it off and caused the new tone on top of the hissing. I have not had any quiet days during this spike like I always had in the past. I recall when the tinnitus first started a few years ago the longest stretch I went without a quiet day was 9 straight days, and I am approaching that again.

I have always believed allergies plays a part in my problems, as it seems like any time things get bad it has always been the same time of the year, around July / August. I live in S. Louisiana where it is extremely hot and humid. Going from inside the house into the heat will sometimes make my ear clog now.

Anyway looking for advice and encouragement. I used to thank God every day that I was able to come to a point where the initially life altering hissing became totally manageable. I have no idea why out of the blue after several years of no problem this would all of a sudden get bad again. I can't recall being exposed to anything particularly loud lately. Haven't really been anywhere in months other than the store and work anyway with COVID-19. My thought it there is an allergy component that has flared up that is making the existing tinnitus much worse and I hope and pray it will go back down soon.

I made an appointment with an ENT in 2 days. Hoping maybe a course of prednisone can reduce the inflammation and make the hissing go away!

 

HI @JohnL99

Something usually causes tinnitus to spike and the most common cause is sound, particularly loud sound or using headphones, earbuds, headsets or listening to loud music at clubs, concerts or home music system. If the spike or increase in your tinnitus isn't related to sound then it is either an underlying medical problem within your ear, stress, medication or TMJ.

Are you a regular user of headphones even at low volume? Listen to loud music in the car or work in a noisy environment?

Michael

 

Michael,

Pretty much no to all of those things. I work in a finance department at an office, and I've been working from home most of the time the last several months. I don't go to clubs or listen to loud music. I do use headphones rarely but I usually take the speaker completely off of my left ear (the bad ear) for fear of damaging it. When I do use headphones it is usually youtube videos or TV shows and nothing very loud. Don't listen to loud music in the car and haven't really even been in the car much the last several months for obvious reasons.
Not taking any new medication. The only real difference I can think of is the possible allergy issue that I referenced in my original post.

 

@JohnL99

Okay John, the increase or spike may not be related to noise/sound but think carefully, how often do you use the headphones even at low volume? If you use them 3, 4 times a week for 30mins or so then it could be due to headphone use. If it's less than this then probably not.

Take care
Michael

 

Michael, the only time I really ever use headphones is very rarely like I said. I have been using them maybe once a week while working from home early in the morning so as not to wake up my roommate. It is not an everyday thing. They are the 'studio style' over the ear headphones. In fact I really have used them maybe 3 times in the last several weeks.

 

There's your problem.

Temporary spikes can last over three months. However, if you expose yourself to loud noises (yes, those noises aren't considered loud by the healthy, but as you can see they are too loud for you), it will take longer, or even get a temporary spike to turn into a permanent one.

It never turns off and stays off. When it fades it takes a long time with many "retracements". So the above is a great sign that eventually it will go away (assuming you won't torture yourself with noises because you Assume the noises are safe, despite the signals from your body that they aren't).

 

If possible John try and not use headphones again. I correspond with a lot of people with tinnitus especially those with noise induced tinnitus. This is the most common cause of the condition. More often than not it is using headphones that causes an increase in the tinnitus or spike. Even though a person has used them previously without any problems unfortunately, the risk is always there of the tinnitus spiking.

A member of this forum told me she hadn't used headphones for 6 years and thought she was safe. Her tinnitus was originally caused by headphones. She began using them at a low volume and not for too long a duration according to her. Within one week the tinnitus spiked and it prevented her from going back to work.

Just be careful, your tinnitus spike is probably not caused by headphones but my advice is not to use them for now.

Hope you start to feel better soon.
Michael

 

Bill,

My tinnitus actually does completely disappear for days at a time... at least it has pretty much the entire time I've had it over the last 3 years or so. There was a time when I couldn't detect anything for over a month.

I just don't understand why all of a sudden it has gotten worse and I have become sensitive to noises that previously didn't bother me.

My 'regular' tinnitus would go like this... wake up in the morning with very faint hissing. It would gradually get louder throughout the day, but 99% of the time stay at very tolerable levels. The next day it would still be there but slightly lower, the third day it would be completely gone or almost undetectable. I would have 2 or 3 day 'nothing 'days and the cycle would start all over again. Sometimes the good days significantly outnumbered the 'bad' days. But even the 'bad' days were not really much of a bother. And normal household sounds really didn't bother me.

All of a sudden the ear fullness thing has returned, the volume has gone up, and Im more sensitive to noises that never bothered me before.

 

Some possible causes: ear infection, exposure to noises, use of headphones, ototoxic medication, a recent MRI or a hearing test.

It's a classic tinnitus spike. Something hurt your ears. But at least it is showing signs of fading...

 

I sure hope so because it has been worse the last 2 days and putting headphones on is really the only thing that brings any relief and allows me to sleep. But I guess I can't do that.

The other weird thing that hasn't really happened since the very beginning when I first got tinnitus---hearing other sounds outside ramps up the 'speed' of the hissing to where it becomes a ringing. I went for a walk this afternoon because i find walking outside provides a nice distraction to being outside. The regular outdoor noises and looking at different things outside distracts me. But even the sound from a quiet neighborhood ramped it up to a ringing tone. This neighborhood is so quiet maybe 4 cars passed me in an hour. And I even covered my ears when they passed.

When I woke up this morning I had to take my grandmother to a doctor's appointment. The hissing was pretty quiet all morning but then I noticed the sound of the air conditioner in the doctor's office set it off into a ringing tone.

The ringing tone is also something that I have noticed upon waking a few times, and it almost makes me afraid to go to sleep. The only good thing is that the ringing will 'dial' back down to the hissing when I'm back in a quieter environment.

I don't really remember having this phenomenon too much even when the ringing first started several years ago.

 

@JohnL99

I too have ear fullness and pain and the same fluctuating hiss. I do not have high frequency hearing loss that has at least been measured. But I do understand that most hearing tests don’t test for the higher frequencies. That said, I do have hearing mild loss at 30 dB at one tone in my left ear. The doctor thinks I got a virus in my left ear and it impacted my hearing. But by and large my hearing is considered very good and with the exception of that one tone, well within normal range.

I don’t use headphones at all or had any acoustic assault.

My ENT says that ears rarely cause fullness and pain unless there is an issue with ETD, fluid in the ears or infection. The doctor cannot see your Eustachian tubes on exam so they can’t tell whether or not they are blocked. Allergies can play a role by causing your eustachian tube to become swollen and impact the pressure in your ears. I started a nasal steroid spray and I have to say that I think mine has gotten a little bit better. I also take a nasal antihistamine. Mine has been going on for months. Almost 4 months now. I really noticed it when I started to become more active outside, but I am also allergic to dust mites so I have to be mindful of that in my house. TMJ can also cause these symptoms.

Good luck at the ENT and I hope you get some really relief.

 

Well now I am in total distress. Since last night the hissing has settled into a loud beep tone of a dentist drill that is very loud. I somehow fell asleep to that last night. When I woke up it was pretty quiet this morning but within 15 minutes the tone returned.

I cannot live like this. Why after years would this all of a sudden happen? A completely new tone I've never heard before that is so much worse than anything I've ever experienced? There was absolutely no bad acoustic trauma I can think of that set this off. Please what can I do? I am petrified and already having suicidal thoughts.

What first set off the loud beeping was listening to a white noise video on youtube of all things of a waterfall. Got it to calm down somewhat. Fell asleep for a few hours and woke up to the loud ringing. After about half an hour, the beep tone settled back into very loud hissing and was able to fall asleep until this morning.

Ears were very quiet although I could definitely hear something very low, almost like a pot of water slowly coming to a boil. Within 15 minutes a being awake went straight into the beep tone totally bypassing the usual hissing.

 

Reading through your previous posts, it's my belief the increase or spike in your tinnitus is related to sound. As I have mentioned many times in this forum, the sound doesn't have to be loud to cause irritation. People with Noise induced tinnitus, are never truly out of the woods. I know this from personal experience and paid a very heavy price in learning this. Prior to 2008 my tinnitus was low the my hyperacusis completely cured. Late one evening I was listening a Haydn symphony on the HI-FI and turned up the volume everything was fine. The next morning my tinnitus increased and got louder over the following weeks. My post titled: My experience with tinnitus, on my "started threads" click on my Avatar and choose started threads, it's in the list. Explains the nightmare I went through for 4 years. My tinnitus changed dramatically to fluctuating tinnitus.

Hope you start to feel better soon.
Michael

 

Your ears are showing all the symptoms of a classic acoustic trauma. It may well have been listening to headphones that triggered it, or it may have been some other noise you weren't particularly aware of at the time. What it means is that for the time being you have to treat your ears with the utmost caution. Avoid any exposure to loud noise. Stay away from headphones and moderate any other listening you do to very low volumes.

 

Michael, thanks for your answers. After awaking this morning the tinnitus was almost totally gone although like I said in my previous message I could hear it 'bubbling up' (? best way I can describe it) and it gradually got louder over 15 minutes until it was roaring with the new tone. It seems like any even moderately loud outside noise is causing the tinnitus to increase in intensity. So what I've been doing all day is wearing a foam earplug plus an over the ear headphone (with nothing playing) to protect the ear, and after taking an hour long walk the tinnitus has subsided all the way back down to the very low hissing from when I awoke this morning. Not ideal but at least i don't feel like suicide!

I know you have said you shouldn't totally protect your ears forever or they become even more sensitive to sound, but I wonder if I should do so at least for the next few days to try to avoid these 'mini spikes'? I feel perhaps that will allow whatever is causing this to at least have a chance to heal? I called in sick from work today and I am off the next several days, so I wonder if I should at least see what happens if I'm ultra vigilant the next 5 days or so.

Believe it or not, what really set it off last night was playing a YouTube video of white noise of a waterfall specifically indicated for tinnitus.

 

Just to update, went to ENT today that was very sympathetic and gave me all the time I needed to share my history which I appreciated. I felt like the first one I went to didn't care. Found out the ENT himself actually has tinnitus from playing in bands when he was younger. He told me he pretty much doesn't even think about it his tinnitus now except he could hear it today specifically from talking to me about it.

Anyway of course he found nothing physically wrong. Hearing test showed about the same results as 3 years ago... mild high frequency loss. He did say at 8000 Hz it dropped some but he also said that is variable in a lot of ppl and can change every time you take the test. Personally I get very nervous when I take those tests. I watch the lady pressing the buttons outside the little window and sometimes that distracts me from really just paying attention to the sounds.

Anyway, today has been MUCH better than yesterday. I woke up with nothing except way in the background very low. Of course it turned up some a couple hours after I got up but it went back down. It has actually disappeared completely twice today. It went away for about 10 minutes at 2PM and then returned as a clear ringing tone. Much better than the jagged insistent hissing yesterday. It went way again within 10 minutes while I was in the doctor's office waiting room. It stayed gone for almost 2 hours. I can hearing ramping up again now, but it is not jagged and as insistent and loud as yesterday.

He prescribed a course of Prednisone - 60mg for 4 days, then 40 for 4 days, 30 for 4 days, 20 for 4 days and 10 for 4 days.

He also prescribed 30 x 5mg Valium for anxiety and sleep.

I can only believe the fact that it completely disappeared twice today as an encouraging sign. My pre-spike tinnitus never did that. If I had it for the day it pretty much stayed that way all day. I am also hoping the much less harsh tone than yesterday is an encouraging sign that whatever stressed out my ear in the first place is sorting itself out and healing.

Any thoughts?

 

Hi.

I am back on this forum after not having an ear problem for a 3 blissful months. I have mostly the same symptoms as you had when your tinnitus reoccurred. It starts with what seems like ear fullness for no darn reason and then the tinnitus started. I had it from Jan-march. went to a doc in Jan. no hearing loss detected.
after a few months of it, the hissing with a very faint very high ring died down.
But the second I used my white noise machine due to loud nights and use it even closer to my head a few weeks ago it spiked again. I put that "effer" in the trash but still am dealing with the high-frequency hiss that is worse some days than others.
Now I am worried it may not die down. Those damn white noise machines are a killer. They are destroying our hearing even though they are said to be a good way to mask tinnitus. that is not true I am finding.

Are you better now, john?

Anyone else have advice. Will this go away again? I am trying to not stress as stress is the problem.
Ugh ugh and more ugh.

 

There is a right way and a wrong way to use sound enrichment @JohnL99 Using hearing protection too often might seem like a solution to your over sensitivity to sound which could be hyperacusis but I assure you it isn't long term, as you risk making your symptoms worse.

All the best
Michael

 

Where to do I go to find the right sound enrichment equipment? If my spike doesn't go down I am going to need something to mask while I'm trying to work, as I have a job in Finance that requires staring at a computer all day and concentrating. Times like this I would really prefer a job outside where ambient noises mask naturally and I could move around which helps with anxiety. Is there something on this site where people have referenced doctors/audiologists in their area which are helpful?

As a side question, has anyone else had tinnitus that disappears multiple times a day like mine seems to be doing? If so, is that a good sign?

 

Well in case anyone is still reading, went through the entire day today with very low, much less insistent ringing. It's almost back to the air escaping noise I had for years before. It only got revved up for a little while earlier this morning when I got stuck in a line of a bunch of noisy people talking over each other and I had no escape.

It seemed to completely disappear again for at least an hour earlier and was SO much more tolerable. That's the second day in a row of improvement. Don't want to jinx it but maybe I got lucky and this is a 'mini spike' that will be a valuable lesson in being even more careful with headphones (don't use them anymore I guess) and loud noises.

 

Wow the joy of being able to lay down and watch tv without it droning in my ear making it hard for me to even sit still is magnificent!!!

 

Think I will use this thread as my daily diary of my tinnitus spike. Hopefully it might help someone.

Yesterday it did get a little worse. The air hissing was more jagged and 'dirty' sounding for lack of a better term. Usually it is more of a smooth air hissing. However, it stayed relatively low the entire day until a car ride around 5PM finally set it off to a more insistent and louder state. That lasted maybe 2-3 hours and it calmed down again. Only once did I ever hear the higher frequency electric tone ever start to appear, but luckily it never developed and stayed away. That is what distresses me more than anything.

I was able to sleep comfortably with a masking YouTube video on at relatively low volume. Honestly I could have probably slept without it. I have to say that the Valium the ENT prescribed makes a huge difference. Obviously it helps with sleep, but I took a half of a pill when my volume got louder and it made me forget it for the most part.

This morning it is still here, but it has returned to my pre-spike air hissing sound. It is about equivalent to one of my bad days during the time I had totally habituated. However, I can pretty much easily ignore this and it is really nothing more than a minor bother.

All in all I am ecstatic with the progress. Day 4 of marked improvement. This is day 3 of 60mg of Prednisone also.

 

Day 5 and still on the upswing. Woke up with some 'jagged' hissing but very low. It has actually settled way down, can barely hear it now. I vacuumed and mopped the floors for the first time in almost 2 weeks. I am usually a very clean person so having a messy house on top of the loud tinnitus was making me even more depressed. I nice neat clean, fresh smelling orderly house is one of my greatest pleasures in life. It always sets my mind at ease. I took precautions this time. I stuffed my bad ear with a foam ear plug and then put on over the ear style headphones (turned off) over both ears on as well. Also turned the vacuum down to a lower level that's not as loud. Actually I found that the sound of the vacuum almost pushed the tinnitus down further.

Not sure if I should keep posting anything for fear of getting overconfident. But if it continues this way I will certainly be SO THANKFUL to God or whatever atmospheric or auditory force that caused my spike to be of such a short duration.

 

Day 6:

Last night got a little scared because I felt I could just barely hear that high pitched electronic noise creeping up that started this whole nightmare. Thankfully I was able to fall asleep. This morning I can hear the absolute faintest air escaping noise. Any ambient noise basically drowns it completely. Been up for 4 hours now and it hasn't gotten louder. SO THANKFUL!!!! Taking Michael Leigh's advice... no headphones!

 

Day 7: It's still here, about the same as yesterday. About equivalent with one of my 'bad' days from the habituated past. I will take this 'bad' day any time over what was happening a week ago. So I guess this is about a week now of sort of back to baseline, or maybe a little worse than baseline. It's still slightly annoying, but livable and somewhat ignorable. Compared to what some others describe on this site, I consider myself blessed!

Last day of the full 60mg prednisone dose. I notice that I have felt really really tired and run down the last 3 days. I wonder if that is the prednisone? It's never really done that to me in the past. Have not needed a valium in 3 days... saving them for when it's truly needed.

 

Day 8: still there... very faint air hissing today. Quieter than yesterday. Actually calmed down after I got up and started moving around. Noticed it got louder for a while reacting to the sound of the filling bathtub and bathroom air vent fan while I took a bath this morning, but settled back down.

I think I have calculated this is actually day 16 of continual tinnitus. The longest stretch I ever had before was 9 days. I would always have blocks of completely silent days. Maybe it will get back to that pattern again eventually. Whatever the case, I would be content to live with it the way it is right now for the rest of my life, so I am not going to complain.

First day tapering down on prednisone after a week at 60mg.

Still kind of confused what caused the change in the first place. With all the crazy things that go on with tinnitus, I guess I may never know and it probably doesn't matter anyway. As long as it continues to heal, I'll be very happy and thankful.

 

Day 9: very very faint... almost would say it's totally gone today although in a totally quiet room I can barely hear it. SO THANKFUL it has worked out this way! Just pray it continues on this path!

 

Hi, thanks for the daily updates. Would you say the prednisone helped relieve the fullness? I had a tinnitus spike a few weeks ago with fullness in my left ear. The spike's gone down a bit to more reasonable levels but the fullness is there whenever I tilt or shake my head. I guess I want to know if the fullness resolved itself, with prednisone, or with the Sudafed? Thanks.

 

Hi wwtsai, glad someone is reading and getting some help from my daily diary.

I have had issues with the fullness the last 4 years when this whole ordeal started. Originally I had horrible, anxiety creating extreme fullness that lasted for a solid month. The ringing didn't start until a year later. The fullness has thankfully never gotten that bad again, although since then I would go through maybe a handful of occurrences a year of acute fullness that usually don't last more than a few hours or at worst a few days. Odd things that will give me fullness---(1) working out in the yard especially when it's hot, even when I am not using any loud tools; and (2) using the vacuum cleaner inside (will be using plugs from now on when I vacuum). I really think my allergies play a part in the fullness and there is a ETD component. I always seem to have the worst time of it around August. I live in S. Louisiana and this is the hottest and wettest part of the year. Sometimes even going from the dry cool air conditioned air into the intense humidity outside can give me the fullness sensation. I have found the behind the counter Sudafed will generally help with an acute fullness 'attack' although I like to avoid using it because it gives me the jitters.

So to your question about the prednisone--

I wasn't able to get to the ENT until about a week after this spike started. It began with 2 days of moderate fullness. I then woke up one night with a new high pitched tone and went through several days of the worst tinnitus I ever had. The fullness actually abated somewhat on its own before I began the prednisone. It continued to get better with Prednisone but I can't honestly say if Prednisone caused it although I know for sure it didn't hurt things. The fullness has mostly stayed very low or hasn't been there. Actually today I feel it a tiny bit for the first time in several days, although I've been out doing errands and in the heat today so that could have something to do with it. The most important thing is my tinnitus is at a whisper today, so I'll take it!

 

Thanks for the response John. It's great to hear that the fullness and T have settled. I'm not sure what exactly is causing my fullness; on a online consultation, my doctor suggested a regimen of Sudafed and Flonase. I've been doing that for a week but it hasn't done anything for the fullness. I met with my audiologist today who looked into my ears and noted that my eardrums were sort of refracted and the canals were slightly pink. Hoping to meet with an ENT next week to see if we can hammer down the actual cause.