- Nov 1, 2018
- 283
- Tinnitus Since
- 2018
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Possibly from problems with blood flow
Hello everyone,
I'm sorry that this post is so long, I'm just freaking out, because audiologists didn't offer any help and neurologists keep insisting that my c1 and c2 vertebrae are causing problems with blood flow to the brain and it might be causing my tinnitus. My pulsatile tinnitus is somatic and only in my right ear (I have spasms in my right neck artery) and absent 90% of the day. Also I don't have vertigo, just some black pulsating spots in my eyes, fatigue, problems with concentration. I received IV injections addressing this symptoms early November and felt really good for a while, but now they are coming back.
Do I have super fragile ears after getting tinnitus or is it something else? Is it just a temporary threshold shift? Should I take another steroid treatment? I'm going to have at least 5 more HBOT sessions next week.
Can neck problems or ETD cause such symptoms and this dip on audiogram?
My audiogram on November 23 showed 15 db at 10000 and 10 db at 16000 hz in my left ear.
On December 7 it showed 30 db at 10000 and 30 db at 16000 hz in my left ear through the air and 10-20 db through the bone. So it seems that I've lost ~15 db of hearing in my left ear in less than a month. I was at the same clinic and the same doctor did the test.
Audiogram of my right ear is fine without changes at 5db through the bone and 10 db through the air.
How could I manage to lose so much hearing without any excessive noise exposure? Doctors keep on insisting that my tinnitus is caused by either unconfirmed ETD or c1 and c2 vertebrae misalignment and arterial spasms, but I also had an aggravation after a brain MRI which leads me to believe that my tinnitus might be from ototoxic antibiotics/accumulated noise exposure.
Between November 23 and December 7 I had several unprotected noise incidents:
~20 minute cafe visit at ~65-70 db
2 supermarket visits at ~80 db about 20 minutes each
2 car rides at ~80-85 db (with the heater on) 15-20 minutes each
9 HBOT sessions
1 train ride at 80-88 db ~15 minutes (December 5)
Obviously all of these "incidents" are quite safe for the general population and I didn't feel any discomfort myself. After each exposure I experienced a temporary spikes that went down within a day.
Unfortunately after HBOT session I was feeling a bit confused/drunk and I forgot my earmuffs at the clinic and only remembered about them when I was already riding back home on the train. I didn't feel any discomfort while I was on the train and I didn't feel it was too loud, but after I came home I realized I felt some ear fullness (like a pressure on the eardrum) for ~30 minutes and following that day I noticed that my TTTS has worsened and my Morse code in the left ear went from 2/10 to 4/10 along with the spasms. I have also developed a faint tone in my right ear that's only noticeable in complete silence. I think I had it after an MRI, but it faded since then. I'm not sure.
I actually had an significant improvement in TTTS from HBOT, but it came back up after this train ride although it's still better than it was before.
1 day later I injected myself with 90 mg Prednisolone, because my allergies flared up (probably from vitamins). I had to stop taking all medication and supplements.
2 days later I went to the audiology clinic to do a new audiogram, OAE, DPOAE.
AOE and DPOAE up 8000 hz came back normal and didn't show any damage. I noticed "aural fullness" in my right ear after these tests and within 20 minutes I started my HBOT session. The fullness didn't resolve until the morning. Additionally I had developed another additional tone in my right ear that evening. It was moderately loud and not too high pitch. It went away in the morning. Also my blood pressure was elevated to 140/80, this is not normal for me.
Now it's been 3 days and today I woke up with just "head tinnitus" (mostly on my left side of the head) and a slight ringing in my right ear, but immediately after I went to bathroom spasms in my left ear from TTTS came back along with Morse code. A few hours later I started feeling aural fullness (like pressure) and burning sensation on my ears. I've had this burning sensation before, when my TTTS was really bad, I think it's just a symptom. It also seems that I have acoustic shock disorder that almost faded down to zero, before this train ride. I get a bit freaked out by the sound of my phone vibrating from SMS and I get anxious in anticipation of some sounds (like video loading on my phone).
Right now my blood pressure is 140/80 again and my tinnitus is more aggressive and intrusive than it was 3 days ago. At this point I think I'll try wearing earplugs everywhere except my bedroom to see if it makes any difference.
Could this train ride cause damage to my ears? I find it strange that hearing dropped only in my left ear.
Could the audiogram, OAE and DPOAE aggravate my tinnitus and TTTS? I refused to do tympanometry and acoustic reflex tests. I only experienced ear fullness in my right ear 3 times in my life. Once after power tool incident (before tinnitus, 10 minutes at ~90 db), after this train ride and after these new tests.
My mother has mild tinnitus (2 hernias in her neck) and she frequently gets ear fullness when her blood pressure rises or weather outside changes.
I'm sorry for rambling, I don't know what to do, at this point I'm afraid to do any more tests or medical interventions aside from HBOT and medicine for brain blood flow.
I think I have started to develop phonophobia. I don't want to leave my apartment anymore. I'm severely psychologically traumatized by the MRI incident and this experiences with a train ride and ear tests are just adding fuel into the fire.
At this point I've read so many horror stories that I don't know what to believe anymore.
I'm sorry that this post is so long, I'm just freaking out, because audiologists didn't offer any help and neurologists keep insisting that my c1 and c2 vertebrae are causing problems with blood flow to the brain and it might be causing my tinnitus. My pulsatile tinnitus is somatic and only in my right ear (I have spasms in my right neck artery) and absent 90% of the day. Also I don't have vertigo, just some black pulsating spots in my eyes, fatigue, problems with concentration. I received IV injections addressing this symptoms early November and felt really good for a while, but now they are coming back.
Do I have super fragile ears after getting tinnitus or is it something else? Is it just a temporary threshold shift? Should I take another steroid treatment? I'm going to have at least 5 more HBOT sessions next week.
Can neck problems or ETD cause such symptoms and this dip on audiogram?
My audiogram on November 23 showed 15 db at 10000 and 10 db at 16000 hz in my left ear.
On December 7 it showed 30 db at 10000 and 30 db at 16000 hz in my left ear through the air and 10-20 db through the bone. So it seems that I've lost ~15 db of hearing in my left ear in less than a month. I was at the same clinic and the same doctor did the test.
Audiogram of my right ear is fine without changes at 5db through the bone and 10 db through the air.
How could I manage to lose so much hearing without any excessive noise exposure? Doctors keep on insisting that my tinnitus is caused by either unconfirmed ETD or c1 and c2 vertebrae misalignment and arterial spasms, but I also had an aggravation after a brain MRI which leads me to believe that my tinnitus might be from ototoxic antibiotics/accumulated noise exposure.
Between November 23 and December 7 I had several unprotected noise incidents:
~20 minute cafe visit at ~65-70 db
2 supermarket visits at ~80 db about 20 minutes each
2 car rides at ~80-85 db (with the heater on) 15-20 minutes each
9 HBOT sessions
1 train ride at 80-88 db ~15 minutes (December 5)
Obviously all of these "incidents" are quite safe for the general population and I didn't feel any discomfort myself. After each exposure I experienced a temporary spikes that went down within a day.
Unfortunately after HBOT session I was feeling a bit confused/drunk and I forgot my earmuffs at the clinic and only remembered about them when I was already riding back home on the train. I didn't feel any discomfort while I was on the train and I didn't feel it was too loud, but after I came home I realized I felt some ear fullness (like a pressure on the eardrum) for ~30 minutes and following that day I noticed that my TTTS has worsened and my Morse code in the left ear went from 2/10 to 4/10 along with the spasms. I have also developed a faint tone in my right ear that's only noticeable in complete silence. I think I had it after an MRI, but it faded since then. I'm not sure.
I actually had an significant improvement in TTTS from HBOT, but it came back up after this train ride although it's still better than it was before.
1 day later I injected myself with 90 mg Prednisolone, because my allergies flared up (probably from vitamins). I had to stop taking all medication and supplements.
2 days later I went to the audiology clinic to do a new audiogram, OAE, DPOAE.
AOE and DPOAE up 8000 hz came back normal and didn't show any damage. I noticed "aural fullness" in my right ear after these tests and within 20 minutes I started my HBOT session. The fullness didn't resolve until the morning. Additionally I had developed another additional tone in my right ear that evening. It was moderately loud and not too high pitch. It went away in the morning. Also my blood pressure was elevated to 140/80, this is not normal for me.
Now it's been 3 days and today I woke up with just "head tinnitus" (mostly on my left side of the head) and a slight ringing in my right ear, but immediately after I went to bathroom spasms in my left ear from TTTS came back along with Morse code. A few hours later I started feeling aural fullness (like pressure) and burning sensation on my ears. I've had this burning sensation before, when my TTTS was really bad, I think it's just a symptom. It also seems that I have acoustic shock disorder that almost faded down to zero, before this train ride. I get a bit freaked out by the sound of my phone vibrating from SMS and I get anxious in anticipation of some sounds (like video loading on my phone).
Right now my blood pressure is 140/80 again and my tinnitus is more aggressive and intrusive than it was 3 days ago. At this point I think I'll try wearing earplugs everywhere except my bedroom to see if it makes any difference.
Could this train ride cause damage to my ears? I find it strange that hearing dropped only in my left ear.
Could the audiogram, OAE and DPOAE aggravate my tinnitus and TTTS? I refused to do tympanometry and acoustic reflex tests. I only experienced ear fullness in my right ear 3 times in my life. Once after power tool incident (before tinnitus, 10 minutes at ~90 db), after this train ride and after these new tests.
My mother has mild tinnitus (2 hernias in her neck) and she frequently gets ear fullness when her blood pressure rises or weather outside changes.
I'm sorry for rambling, I don't know what to do, at this point I'm afraid to do any more tests or medical interventions aside from HBOT and medicine for brain blood flow.
I think I have started to develop phonophobia. I don't want to leave my apartment anymore. I'm severely psychologically traumatized by the MRI incident and this experiences with a train ride and ear tests are just adding fuel into the fire.
At this point I've read so many horror stories that I don't know what to believe anymore.
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