Constantly Plugged Ears

Hi there,

So, after the past few weeks of stressing incessantly about my hearing I finally plucked up the courage to visit the audiologist to get an audiogram done.

Over the past few weeks my ears have felt particularly plugged, tingly, irritable, sensitive to noise and it was really stressing me out.

My audiogram results were pretty much perfect - comfortably within the normal bounds of hearing but I'm not totally relieved. I had been half expecting to see a notch which typically occurs as a result of noise induced damage.

This pluggy feeling just won't go away - I try to pop my ears and it is physically impossible - I feel like my ears have been plugged slightly over the past while or so but not in a bothersome way but now it's just such an uncomfortable sensation - every time I speak my voice sounds weird I feel like I have cotton wool in my ears....I'm really worried that it's a permanent threshold shift and that's me with muffled hearing for the rest of my life.

Also, I'm not sure if it's just me being paranoid and anxious but I sort of feel that when people talk I sometimes am slow to like process the words they have said. I'm only 20 years, I'm pretty scared tbh...surely this is only going to get worse. Of course I'm not going to expose myself to loud noise any longer and have my ear plugs handy at all times to try and lessen the chances of any further damage but ugh I am kicking myself for not doing so sooner.

 

If you read this forum thoroughly, the underlining theme is fear and anxiety. Fear and anxiety are bad for the body...they really inhibit normalcy...change your brain chemistry and hormone balance and basically degrade health.
So you have to ask yourself and good question for everybody here including a question I ask myself, which came first...fear then health problems aka tinnitus or tinnitus paying a visit causing fear. I would say for many including me, a heighten state of anxiety promotes poor health and tinnitus. Anxiety seems to be a companion of tinnitus and maybe even generally exist for many before tinnitus occurs.

In the case of your ears...a good probability as with mine...your ears are internally swollen due to liberation of an allergic reaction to not only your environment...but histamine liberated into your body due to your fearful reaction...perhaps to life which scares all of us at times. You think your ears are about to explode when there isn't much wrong with them. I suggest with what you have written, to consider taking an antihistamine to see if it clears up your ear blockage and symptoms. Or seek consultation with a doctor and/or allergist to see if your ear issue is possibly allergy related. Meanwhile, try to address your anxiety and acceptance of yourself and the future whatever it brings. In the absence of not knowing the future and any sort of dark scenario, choose hopefulness and good health over fear. Learn to habituate to your tinnitus and live life normally. Find things you are passionate about and do them.

 

I got it checked out at the audiologist and there didn't seem to be anything conductive blocking the ears and I keep on worrying about 'hidden hearing loss' etc but he did advise me to go the doctor's too. Ugh anxiety sucks!

 

Consider seeing a therapist or life style coach to address your anxiety...which can be done by making changes to your life style....balance in your life based upon diet, exercise, amount of sleep, how much alcohol you consume etc...or threating your anxiety through medication if you are going over the edge so to speak as many including me have been there. There is help and don't needlessly suffer. Nobody has free will to overcome difficulty when their brain chemistry is deprived of the balance it needs to be rational essentially. I am convinced its the rational people that freak out over life's travails and not crazy people who are too unbalanced naturally to notice.
Good luck.