Advice Wanted Please on Tinnitus for 6 Days

I saw a band on Friday and ended up being right next to the speaker for about 2 hours. It was incredibly loud in a small venue and I did move outside for a while to give my ears a break.

When I left that night I was virtually deaf and had ringing in my ears. That has happened once or twice before when I much younger and I’ve woken up and my hearing has been fine again. This time though I woke up with very muffled hearing (as though I was underwater) and loud ringing. It has got a little better - my hearing has come back up to what seems to be normal, and the ringing is a little quieter but is still there. I can’t make out which ear it is or if it’s both. I’ve seen the dr who said there’s no damage to my actual ear drum but obviously there may be some inside my ear. One ear is pretty much completely impacted with wax too.

I’m just wondering what people who have experienced similar think the chances of this resolving are? During the day it’s not too bad unless I’m in a quiet office and then it drives me mad. Trying to get to sleep is when I notice it the most.

Would getting the wax removed help in any way or could it be that the wax is causing it/adding to it?

A friend that was with me at the gig on Friday has also had the exact same symptoms as me but hers resolved about two days ago and her hearing is back to normal now. Thanks very much in advance for any replies

 

If you hear it mostly in quiet rooms, you are at a point where many people here get to after more than a year of healing. This means that you might not have hurt your ears as badly as they could be hurt. Chances are that you will continue to recover, albeit very gradually. It ought to fade (possibly to a point where you will hear silence again) within 3-24 months.
For more information, check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

Everyone is different as some have "tough" ears whilst others have "weak" ears. A normal ear drum will not give any indication of whether any harm has been done to the inner ear

In the meantime, avoid all loud noise and use of earphones and keep your fingers crossed

 

HI @Shelly75

Please click on the links below and read my posts. One of the worst things that you can do is to use headphones, please don't not even at low volume.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/

 

Might be worth investigating HBOT - (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy) as this is recommended for those suffering from Acoustic Shock and can help reduce the chances of tinnitus becoming permanent. But prior to that also worth getting the ear wax removed as this can only be worsening your hearing loss. Generally Microsuction is the better option but it pays to shop around in terms of where you get this done.

 

Thank you all so much for your replies and the info you signposted, that would have taken me ages to find all that by myself and has been really helpful so thank you. Keeping my fingers crossed and feeling really annoyed at myself for getting my ears in this state in the first place!
Out of interest is there any way of knowing which ear the sound is coming from? Sometimes it feels like it’s my right then it feels like my left, ina way it would feel slightly better if I could pin it down to just one ear that I’ve messed up !thanks again

 

Greetings Shelly75, Welcome to the Land of the Rings.

Yes, definitely get Your ears cleaned out, warning a head of time, it will feel weird, very weird.

Also, Walmart sells flavoniod cheap but it's better and more if You costco it, and keep close to these forums, if You need support someone is always here.

 

Hi @Shelly75 That’s a good question. Sometimes it’s easy to figure out if it’s coming from one ear or both. You might be experiencing head T since your T is sound coming from the brain, which sometimes makes it hard to tell if it’s one ear or the other. I had head T for a while and it faded. Now I have T in both ears. Since your T is so new you might notice it change tones and even change ears to one or both. The best advice I can give is to not monitor it too much. You don’t want to keep telling your brain that this new noise is a threat. You will get some great advice here on TT. I hope it fades soon and you get better

Dave

 

There is some evidence that steroids this early on would be beneficial. Others may have more experience with it but this is my understanding.

Have faith though its early on for you and hope it just resolves naturally!

 

Hi dayma, I did mention steroids to my dr but he looked at me like I was a bit strange and wouldn’t prescribe them annoyingly! What are/do flavonoids do Dylan?
Thanks for advice.

 

Just another query, my ears seem to be all over the place at the moment, is that normal?! Yesterday afternoon the volume and pitch of the ringing seemed to drop down quite a lot so that I was purposelessly going into quiet rooms to check it was still there (which it was!) but even in quiet rooms it seemed a bit less intrusive. Then in the evening I had some strange things happen like a building up of really loud high pitched ringing in my right ear which lasted about 5 seconds then died right off again. The radio, which was on low, was hurting my ears and I couldn’t work out from which direction the beeper on the oven was coming, it was as though my ears were completely distorting sound. In the night I woke up and had to listen to hear the ringing and thought it had stopped but this morning it’s backwith a vengeance and I can hear it with the telly on low. The ear that has wax in feels really full and I think is ringing the most. I’m hoping this isn’t indicating that it’s getting worse?

 

@Shelly75
I found tinnitus to be quite unpredictable in the early days.
I used to analyse mine all day, checking it in quiet rooms, listening for it no matter what I was doing.
Your ears have suffered an acoustic trauma, and you need to give them time to heal. If the tinnitus is quietening down, then this may be a good sign.
You should get the ear wax cleared, this most certainly can contribute to hearing difficulties and also tinnitus. It is also normal to have some sound sensitivity following noise exposure. This should resolve in time as well.
If you do get your ear wax removed, you might want to avoid syringing due to the noise associated with the procedure. There are a number of cases of tinnitus here from having this procedure done. Loosening the wax with olive oil first, and then having the doctor manually remove any wax would be the safest way to go.
There is some (limited) evidence that prednisolone at high doses can help prevent damage from an acoustic trauma and is indicated in SSNHL. You might want to do a quick Google search on this and print up some information to give to your doctor. Though the jury is out on the effectiveness of prednisolone, it can be tried.
You should have a hearing test though, have you done this yet? This will show if you have any losses as a result of the night out.
Take care, try not to monitor your tinnitus too much. I know it's hard, but I really started to recover when I just let things be. Now I couldn't even tell you what my tinnitus has been doing all day as I just don't care to know.
Sam x

 

In addition to the good advice posted here, try not to pay attention to and monitor your tinnitus @Shelly75 as this will filter it into your attention and make things worse

 

Either science finds a cure for hearing loss (which will in all likelyhood cure tinnitus)
or we are screwed.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/frequency-therapeutics-—-hearing-loss-regeneration.18889/

 

Thank you all for your replies. I’m beginning to find this whole experience really unnerving and am definitely over monitoring it which I will try to stop! It’s so hard though! Just a brief update, I got the audiologist in the clinic I work in to have another look at my ears today. He said the left one is completely full of wax with just a tiny hole in the middle. He felt that this might explain the whistling/high pitch noise and the feeling of fullness and ear pressure in that ear. Also today I can pin point that the noise is coming from the left ear rather than both. I’m putting drops in now to see if I can shift the wax and if that may at least reduce the noise. Sorry to bore you all with every detail of my tinitus woes! But thank you for the support

 

In my opinion, I’d avoid this method. I got it done to remove a small amount of wax and it worsened mine plus left me with hypercausis too. Probably just a very bad procedure which was carried out but I’d read @Blue28 thread on this if you’re thinking about it.

 

Definitely a much safer option!!

 

Thank you Vicki for advice, Ive had it done now though! I went to see an audiologist yesterday and my ear was packed up from the ear drum right through the ear canal and he felt that was amplyfying the ringing and causing the hearing loss. I had it removed with microsuction and it all came away very easily (I’d been using the oil but probably because it’s been so hot lately too!)
Immediately the ringing reduced in volume and tone to a lower pitched noise. Last night I was able to fall asleep without background noise, although I could still hear it in the quiet bedroom it wasn’t so intrusive. The night before I could hear it over white noise. This morning I woke up and didn’t hear it at all for the first 10 minutes I was awake and thought a miracle had happened! It has gradually come back over today but it’s definitely quieter and less high pitched. I can’t hear it now as I’m sat in the kitchen because the background noise of the fridge is covering it which makes me think it has definitely got quieter as before I had the wax removed i could hear it over conversations and even at the beach with the waves breaking!! I’m having a hearing test on Friday to see if there is any hearing loss. I feel like there might be as things are definitely more muffled. I’m trying to keep hopeful that things may resolve or that it just gets quieter. Or failing that, that I can begin to tune out of it and stop listening out for it! I’m taking solace in the fact that I’m having to listen for it now and hoping that’s a sign of improvement. Thank you for messaging me, I’m really grateful for any advice xx

 

I'm glad that your tinnitus levels have now reduced Shelly75. In terms of Microsuction I had it done recently without any problems and didn't really have much of a choice as the earwax was severely affecting my hearing and tinnitus in one ear and drops on their own were simply not shifting it. It's worth shopping around in terms of who does the microsuction - and also explaining any concerns about the procedure and asking them to agree to stop during the procedure if requested. It's not without its risks so I would only advise those whose hearing has been reduced and tinnitus has been heightened to go ahead.

 

Yes, my hearing was really low and muffled in that ear and it felt like it was so packed up it was making the ringing worse. Today has been strange, the T was very low this morning then we had to go to a pub for a family lunch out and the acoustics were really strange there (or maybe it’s my ears!) everything was a bit muffled and damped down and since we’ve been back from there the volume of the T and the pitch has increased again and is really intrusive again now. It’s honestly the most annoying thing I’ve experienced all this! I spoke to a friend today and it came up in conversation that she had tinitus after attending a concert, she said it was horrendous to start and affected her sleeping, her mood, concentration etc for the first few months. She also had wax and had that removed and found it helped. She’s now nearly 2 years past the initial
Start of it and says that to begin with she would have gauged it as 10/10 intrusive and it drove her crazy but now it’s down to about 2/10 and she only occasionally uses pink noise for sleeping. I suppose it’s a watch and wait thing. Did your ear feel a bit uncomfortable the next day after microsuction? Mines not painful as such I’m just aware that it doesn’t feel quite right ?

 

Hi,

From what I remember before the microsuction I had hearing loss and very noisy tinnitus in one ear. After it the hearing loss improved a lot and the tinnitus did also reduce although for the first day or so there was a high pitched sound that was quite unpleasant - but this did fade away over the next couple of days so hopefully yours will settle also. I think it does take some time to adjust after the procedure;

 

My ears do feel all over the place at the moment! Have you got used to the T pretty much now? Thanks for your reply

 

I’m interested to see if I do have some hearing loss when I get checked on Friday. If so I’m guessing the T might be a permanent thing. If there’s no hearing loss I might be a bit more hopeful it will resolve to some degree.

 

There's no way to ascertain that you have no hearing loss unfortunately: even if you ace the hearing test, you could have a compromised hearing apparatus. There is such thing as "hidden hearing loss" (see Lieberman & Schaette studies/research).

But still, it's probably better to ace the hearing test than to reveal poor hearing.

 

What’s hidden hearing loss? Sorry I’m being lazy and not looking it up myself !!

 

Yes I have got used to the tinnitus by now although it's fair to say that it can be a pain during some periods. I hope things work out for you. As I say it might be worth trying the HBOT as there does seem to be some evidence for it for people with noise-induced tinnitus which has only happened in the last month - I haven't tried it myself though so can't testify whether it is effective or not. Hope things get better for you.

 

Where would I go to get that treatment do you know?

 

I think some MS centres provide it as it is also used as a treatment for MS. Probably best if you Google HBOT and your nearest big city or location and see what comes up.

 

I’ve just been to see my dr because I’ve got a lot of pain in my left ear and increased tinitus. I asked about steroids and she was unaware of this as a treatment but did a quick search and was happy to prescribe it for me. The only problem is she wasn’t sure what does to recommend. She has given me 100 x 5mg tablets and recommended taking them in the same dose as for Bells Palsy which is over 3 days and is 60mg, 30 mg then 10mg per day? Any advice would be greatfully received? Thank you