Could Any of These Be Causing My Tinnitus?

This might be long so bear with me please.

Basically I am consumed by my tinnitus for the past week or so. I know it doesn't help to keep thinking about it but I need some peace of mind right now. I've tried to make peace that it could be permanent but I still have hope. I haven't seen an ENT yet but my doctor did send in a referral yesterday, and I do have an appointment with my doctor in about a week (for other reasons but I will bring up the ringing since I'm sure I won't see the ENT before that).

So, I noticed it mid day on 01/7/2021 (I think, might have been the 8th) but didn't think anything of it. Later that night when I was going to sleep, it felt extremely loud and it was very hard to fall asleep. At some point my ears seemed to pop and everything was completely silent for a few seconds but obviously it came right back.

The next day I went into a wormhole of tinnitus research and had a pretty bad breakdown thinking it was permanent. Don't even remember how I slept that night.

The next few days I was all over the place and was filled with thoughts of "why me, this will go away, I can learn to live with it, then again, I can't do this if it continues." Along with multiple sessions of hiding in the bathroom and crying.

I could only sleep with white noise (found some on YouTube that masks the tinnitus). I was almost constantly anxious and I didn't have an appetite at all. Some brief moments of feeling ok but still annoyed.

At first it was more of a constant eeeeee sound but now sounds more like a high pitched hiss or static.

The fact that I don't know what is causing it and if it was permanent or temporary was eating away at me. I have some ideas of what it could be but I honestly don't know. So if anyone has some insight, that would be much appreciated.

1. I'll get the most common one out of the way, loud volume/music with earbuds. I always tried to make sure I didn't play my music too loud because I knew it wasn't good for my ears I just didn't know the exact consequences. I think since middle school I used earbuds but last few years I used them less (I am almost 21 now).

2. I used to use Q-tips alot, and I mean A LOT, almost everyday, sometimes only 2 or 3 times a week. I don't anymore now that I know how terrible it is. I have never had my ears professionally cleaned, so there is probably a whole bunch of earwax in there. And hopefully no damage from the Q-tips. Hoping tinnitus will go away if I get them cleaned out (I heard manually is the best way as the other methods could make it worse.)

3. I was taking Meloxicam 15mg daily for headaches for 8 days but stopped because of chest pain. I also took Tizanidine 2mg daily for 11 days but also stopped taking since it wasn't helping. 2 days later my ears started ringing and haven't stopped since. Is it possible my tinnitus is from the medication and is it likely to go away if caused by that?

4. My neck might be to blame since I have very bad posture, I'm pretty sure this is the cause for my headaches. If I do a chin tuck or push my chin towards my chest while straining, the tinnitus seems more intense. (I've read that this is called somatic tinnitus.)

5. TMJ. I haven't been diagnosed with this but I do have an underbite which can be connected I think. I also hear a kind of whoosh and crackle when I open my mouth all the way.

6. Eustachian Tube Dysfunction. Every time I swallow or yawn I can hear a crackle sound. Not sure if that's connected.

7. Maybe possibly due to loud noise exposure for a few seconds. My dad was using something very loud in the garage (and I mean, like super loud) I walked in for a few seconds to get something. But I'm pretty sure that was over a week or 2 before tinnitus showed up. Can that still be a cause?

I think that's about it. I know this isn't the place to get a diagnosis but some opinions from someone who knows more than me would be nice as I'm very new to this.

Really hoping and praying this is temporary. Reading other stories of it going away for other people is my only hope right now, but those are hard to come by since most people probably don't come to forums like these if it's temporary.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that this came about when I was stressed for a while. For about a month, I was stressing about different things very frequently. And when this started I was very anxious.

I also want to mention that I started taking Valerian root for my anxiety around the same time. (I don't think that would be the cause as I haven't found anything about that.)

 

Hi, I am sorry that you are going through this. Nobody should. In my understanding of this ailment, and from what I have read on this forum, most of the causes that you enumerate might lead to tinnitus. You should get checked by an ENT to exclude impacted earwax and ear(s) infection.

I unfortunately have not much more advice to offer you - I am new too in this, and struggling. Anyway your tinnitus is very fresh and you are young, chances that it will fade on its own soon are high.

 

I have to go with number 1. Anything that is close to the ears is a trigger. How many years did you use earbuds?

 

Probably about 9 or 10 years. I don't think I ever went over 60% volume. Although I don't know if the volume matters if it's been that long.

 

From someone who has had tinnitus for 30 years, time is on your side. I won't lie, the onset is hard. Just hang in there and hopefully it will go away or calm down and stabilize. Also pray for better treatments or cure. G-d bless.

 

Hi, I am currently on day 9 of having tinnitus. I still haven't seen my doctor or ENT (I will as soon as I can).

No matter how loud the tinnitus is, my response is the same. I could barely hear it but still have a feeling of doom because I know it's still there. And it's just ruining everything. And the possibility of it never going away is making me seriously depressed (I've even lost like 9 pounds because I just don't have an appetite). I just feel like if I knew what caused it I would feel a little better, or maybe worse, I don't even know.

Sometimes I feel like it's getting better but then I hear it loud and clear again, when I wake up in the morning it seems a lot quieter but it goes back up throughout the day. I've spent a seriously unhealthy amount of time reading about it (mostly good stuff). Sometimes it makes me feel better, other times it just makes me feel worse and think "that won't be me, why would I get that lucky?"

I just constantly hear and feel it in the back of my head. I don't even know how to describe it, high pitched ringing or hissing? I don't know. At the moment I can barely hear the high pitch on the left side but there's another louder sound on the right side that I don't know how to describe. Maybe like an electronic hum. And I don't know if that's bad or good. And my right ear hurts a little at times, occasionally my left too. My neck and back of my head feel stiff or sore too.

I just want it to stop but it feels like everything would make it worse. I'm scared of going to work because I feel like it would be too loud (my phone decibel meter says it's about at 75 dB on average). I'm just a mess.

Is it bad that I go to sleep with earbuds in at the lowest volume (the sound of rain helps me sleep)? I share a room with 2 other people and I don't want to bother them. Someone said this caused their tinnitus so now I'm paranoid.

And Is there anything that indicates it's going/will go away?

 

@AnyName To be honest nobody can tell if your tinnitus will stop.

If you have hearing loss, there are upcoming treatments and possibly cures for it (check threads about Frequency Therapeutics' FX-322).

The anxiety won't help much.

You described it as a high pitch sound that you barely hear in your left ear and the right ear is a bit different?

I won't tell you more than this: Find a good doctor, and take a step back from tinnitus websites.

 

Removing earwax was what turned my life upside down as it worsened my existing tinnitus. I strongly suggest you do not try to do it if the earwax is not blocking your hearing...

 

How did you have yours removed? And what about olive oil drops, does that do any harm?

 

Softened with baby oil for 3 - 4 nights and then flushed out with water. Trust me, you don’t want to do that.

I think if you don’t have tinnitus to begin with, this procedure is fine. But if you have tinnitus already, I don’t recommend you to do it.

It is only worth the risk if your ears are completely blocked by the impacted ear wax
and you can’t hear anything. Then you would have no choice.

Most of the time, removing ear wax from the ear canal will not reduce tinnitus...

 

Yes, that's the most likely cause. Your earbuds had weakened your ears, and this was the last straw.

Give it time - you might get better.

 

Dang but I'm sure that was at least a week before the onset but I could be wrong. Can there be a delay of that long?

 

Agreed, you quite likely have a delayed spike that can take several days to show up from the loud noise exposure in the garage. You were primed for the damage from the earbuds. Also, there may be a drug induced component with the Meloxicam, but this is a secondary cause.

Throw away the earbuds, and avoid any further noise exposure. Will take months, but at your age likely will improve.

 

I really hope you're right about that, I've been extra careful with my ears since it started.

 

I'm not sure how keen you are to the idea of taking supplements, but there are a few widely regarded as being helpful for protecting your ears here on the forum. If you're interested, I would look into NAC (n-acetylcysteine), magnesium (not oxide), and alpha lipoic acid. They wont replace the need to use earplugs, ear guards, and common sense, but they could possibly help.

 

The delay between exposure and the onset of my tinnitus was 10 days long.

 

So I had my ENT appointment today, and it went exactly as expected. Nothing wrong with my ears, no wax buildup, and I was told there was no problem in the way I perceive sound, so basically everything is fine. I pretty much expected to be told that nothing could be done. He basically implied all tinnitus is permanent. I was told to use masking or try Tinnitus Retraining Therapy.

He also told me to get my thyroid checked. Has anyone else done that and did it have any effect on your tinnitus?

 

Hi @AnyName. Last summer when I got my annual physical done, bloodwork for my thyroid screen indicated that I had abnormally high TSH and low T4 levels. I did a repeat on my thyroid function about a month ago and my levels returned to normal since. Unfortunately, this did not correlate with my tinnitus in any way. If you haven't had yours checked in the past year, it might be worth a try.

 

You mentioned you wake up with your tinnitus being louder. Do you grind your teeth at night?

A lot of people have said they woke up with a louder tinnitus because they grind their teeth. This can cause the ringing to be louder in the morning. Especially a night long of grinding or clenching.

See a dentist as well if you have a history of TMJ or jaw issues. The stress you're undergoing can cause jaw issues to worsen.

The good thing about tinnitus is that once the underlying problem is discovered and resolved, the ringing stops. Do everything you can to find the cause. Rule things out until you get closure. Keep yourself occupied in the meantime. Get rest, take Magnesium and B12. Everything will be ok!