Cold and Tinnitus Observation

So last Wednesday I woke up with terrible cold or flu. The worse part was that I had to travel that day. My nose was runny as hell and I lost gallons of water through it. When the flight was over I noticed that my right ear could not adjust to new preassure. It was clicking like hell. Left ear was similar but adjusted quicker. If i would try to blow the air out my ears it would be painful. Later to survive at work I took DayQuil and NightQuil at night. I also was taking some aspirin to fight the temperature. My t spiked and is very loud now. Tonight I came back from my trip and this time after the flight was over I started to have similar clicks and preassure issues and even pain in my ears. I never had that before before t times. So I wonder is this coincidence or t sufferers experience these issues or its cold related although I had cold before and never experience any issues like that. Am i having issues with the eustachian tube and the cold just points where the problem is or everything is a normal behaviour during the cold or flu? The spike is preety big and does not quiet down. I feel worse when t started but at least now i am not trying to panic. The t feels like high pitch air tone. I also have a fridge sound in right ear they incressed in volume.

 

Hey there bwspot, I'm sorry about this big spike you've had but there are a few possible causes and I'm afraid the flying did no favors for your ears.

When you have a cold and a runny nose it's common to have congestion. This is why your ears weren't adjusting on flight. This is also why it's very dangerous to fly when your ears can't regulate the pressure because it can blow out your ear drums. A lot of people get tinnitus this way. It can be quite painful even if it doesn't burst your ear drum. I'd highly suggest not flying with congested ears ever again if you can avoid it.

Now, there are steps you can take to fly with tinnitus. You want your ears to be as open as they can be. Chewing gum helps a ton and there are nasal sprays and allergy meds that will help your ears on flights. I would also mention that blowing out of your ears while holding your nose is not a good maneuver. The Valsalva maneuver does work but its very dangerous... it can push fluid to parts of your ears you don't want it to go or even burst them too. To relieve pressure there are better methods such as yawning or flexing jaw. You can also open your jaw and push up on your palette among other things to make those Eustachian tubes open. Drinking water also helps as the act of swallowing makes the tubes flex open and close.

Anyway, to get back on point the tinnitus spike could quite possibly be from your cold. My tinnitus just spiked to a new level this May so I haven't yet had a winter cold, however back before it was so very mild and unnoticeable having my ears clogged definitely took that away for a few days until I was healed.

All you can really do is give it time. Flying with congested ears most definitely made the situation worse but it doesn't mean the spike is permanent. Drink a lot of water. Go to the store and get Sudafed / a decongestant. Take long hot showers breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Basically, do anything you can to get those tubes open and unclogged! When that happens hopefully you will find your relief.

Also, please don't beat yourself up over flying. Many people aren't aware of the potential dangers of flying when sick or don't consider their ears that bad. It's completely possible still that it's temporary or that most of the spike is from the cold. Take care of yourself, get healthy, and give it a few weeks.

 

That is scary and i hope it will go away.
From 2/10 tinnitus i went to 7/10.
I had to travel for work and i got sick in the morning just before the flight. Such a luck.
Few months ago I got a spray from the doctor for the Eustachian tubes congestion as she though that that was the cause of my tinnitus. Is this something i could use now? (Fluticasone Priopionate 50mcg)
Also, can i continue to take dayquil?

thx

 

There's something to this eustachian tube problem. I went up in the Sears Tower and was screwed up for a week. Two doctors have told me to 'blow' holding my nose, thinking that would help my T. One doctor was telling me she was looking for a 'bulge' on my eardrum which would mean pressure from a blocked tube. Oh, I've used Flonase for about 20 years almost daily. I keeps my hay fever in check but I have nothing to say pro or con on it's effect on my T. That's just me. I've had T for 40 years. Please for your sake check out my thread called Back To Silence.

 

Hey really sorry about your spike mate. Just want to say please be careful with the Valsalva if you are using this method. If you can't clear gently don't do it. This is how my T situation began.

 

I have once flied with a bad cold and the nose all plugged and it was on the return flight. There was difficulty balancing the pressure despite all effort to chew, yawn or move the jaw. It ended up that my ear drums felt painful too and my ears felt like covered by earmuffs for a few days. T shot up of course. I didn't panic though, hoping that things will correct itself soon, and in a week the T did settle down to baseline and hearing was back to normal.

 

thanks all, i hope it will stabilize soon.
Why when I did not have T , I never experienced anything like that.
There must me something that connects T and the eustachian tube.

 

Me too...now with tinnitus, I can barely drive to the mountains, my ears malfunction, plug up. Before T, no issues.

 

same here, got a bad cold, i am still congeted - T is at its worse, a huge set back for my mood. I hope when cold resolves it goes back to previous levels. or just down a little bit...

 

such a nightmare to start the Christmas with, but we all have to cope somehow

 

The cold really affects t. It has been almost two weeks and t does not want to calm down. My cold does not want to go away and t stays elevated. What frustrates me is that additional fridge sound that got elevated. I wonder what caused the spike when you have cold?

 

May be the cold affect the sleep quality due to plugged up nose and congestion. This can also affect the amount of oxygen intake during sleep. Oxygen deprived brain can sure send out loud T. Also, the medications we use for cold can have some effect. The cold can also add stress to the body or affect the blood circulation which are known to affect T loudness. Hope you get better from your cold soon.

 

I also noticed during the cold that my hearing got worse in my left ear. Seems like i lost high frequency sounds and I require more volume to hear it if I can. Can cold and flight be a factor. I am scared that I might be loosing hearing now. It was ok before and now gets worse. Tinnitus melts me down mentally. How you can regain love to live again? My health is falling apart after t happened. I though i had control ober it but i am getting weaker and weaker.

 

It has been over 2 weeks and my left ear screams. Everything was going well and now t screams. I can hear the hi freq tones turning on and off. Why this happens? do the hair cells wake up and then die? It feels like somebody would be playing around with my brain. The t is so reactive to external sounds but it's so hard to find a patterns how it reacts now. At the same time the ear feels full. I though I could just breakup with t before New Years but it loves me so much. It is so hard to be yourself with this piece of crap.