Cold and Hydrops and Tinnitus

In early February I came here for the first time because my T (which I'd had for a loooong time) got really LOUD and SHRILL due to a cold after an episode of sudden hearing loss (this one triggered by stress) and I really thought I'd die. I was told that I would habituate eventually and even though I didn't believe it (who does?) it did work somewhat.

I found a way to mask the noise during the nights (it's a 12+ khz sound) and then I got help from a psychotherapist who has T himself. I was doing, well, not great but OK, with the usual ups and downs we all know.

Then two weeks ago my right ear (I have T in both ears but the right one is usually louder) got stuffy, with an amplification of deep sounds etc. I didn't sleep that night because my self-made noiser didn't work and it was so awful that I needed to go to the nearest emergency ENT and the doc on duty tested my hearing, said it was not sudden hearing loss because I could hear just fine and prescribed me some eucalyptus pills to clear the sinuses. My ear opened later that day and I was fine again. Or so I thought.

Fast forward a week. Again on Sunday, the same thing, just worse. My Dad drove me to the ENT on emergency duty and she made a lot of tests, detected slight hearing loss in the right ear and gave me a shot of cortisone and a prescribtion of betahistine and told me to come back the next day. My ear opened on the evening of that day. When I came back the next day she made the hearing test again (and I was told I could hear like a kid and I'm 38) and tested the hair cells and told me everything was looking great. She also said that I possibly had Hydrops and that there was little I could do but take the betahistine tablets and watch my sodium intake.

Also, on that day my T had almost disappeared! I think it was the happiest day ever!

However, needless to say, it returned the very next day but just knowing that I was OK and there was the slight chance that I could finally go on with my life made me keep my calm.

However, yesterday I got the first symptoms of a cold again and I didn't sleep much last night, not because of the T but because, no matter, how I tried to lie down, it was either my nose being stuffy or running or my throat being scratchy or my head hurting, etc. And, of course, now I'm just so freaking scared! It was a cold that, essentially, caused my T (however, according to my ENT it wasn't a normal cold but a pretty bad one)! So what if this one makes it even worse than it already is?! What if I wake up tomorrow to 90 db of 13 khz instead of my usual 20-ish db?! I couldn't stand that. I really couldn't.

I try to tell myself that it most likely won't come that far, that it might spike the T a bit but not that much and only for a few days. Back when it was quiet, a cold never did anything to it. Right now it isn't particularly loud either. But my thoughts are just running in circles and I don't even know how I should sleep tonight when there is the possibility that I wake up to the nightmare of nightmares!

So, um, did anyone experience something like this and did not wake up to a screaming nightmare? And if you did, did it go down again?

 

Hello @TalkingCat, try not to worry so much. My tinnitus sounds just the same as yours and is also probably due to hydrops. It is worse at night but I have simple ways of dealing with it. If I wake up and it's loud I get up and make a drink and read for a bit, breathing along to my Oasis sound machine on the ocean waves setting. It sounds nothing like my tinnitus and does not mask it but is very soothing all the same. I run it all night. The important thing is to keep calm. I've been taking Betahistine for a year now and I think it helps. I hope you feel better soon.

 

Thank you for your kind words, @Redhen! I woke up this morning and while my ears are stuffed and it's really uncomfortable, particularly the problematic right ear, the T hasn't spiked. It's even pretty calm. However, I just called the emergency service ENT on duty and she told me to buy Mometasone nasal spray and Fenistil (Dimetindene) because she thinks it's not a cold but hay fever and I need to keep the airflow between nose and ears working. Also, the Mometasone (Nasonex) should help either way, whether it's a cold or an allergy. I keep my fingers crossed.

Also, good to know that Betahistine works for you. I've read and heard that it's useless but I'll keep taking it anyway. So far it's not made anything worse at least. Also, I read that it takes some time to build up enough of the active component in the bloodstream so maybe that's why many people say it doesn't work.