Curious Case of My Tinnitus

Hi fellas,

now that topic name got your attention, let me tell about my T and why I find it bit strange compared to general stories around this support forum (which actually helped me a lot, thank you all).

Now, I got my T in very early hours of 30/12/2016, like at 2:00-2:30 am when I was going to sleep and was reading a book. I was exposed to no unusually loud noise, although for months I had thing I called "morning mucus" from nose that had oft also blood lining inside it (diagnosed as weakened, fragile and bloody start of mucus membrane probably due to change of weather combined with my smoking that went untreated and therefore kept). However every ENT I went after onset rulled out sinnuses case as they found no ear infection, nor liquid in ear. The blood eventually subsidued after I started treating it properly (I misunderstood ENT instructions regarding application of medical salve and wasnt instructed that I shouldnt blow my nose so damn hard) within literally week. That aside, I had tension headaches that I thought are result of long after effects of muscle relaxant medications, but all docs assured me that its effects by any standards must be long gone.

That all aside, my T started with sudden onset of high-pitched T in both ears that didnt let me fall asleep until some 5am when I was so dead tired that body simply turned off and got "healthy" 3 hours of sleep (here I should mention that I had telltale sign of high stress, anxiety and hypochondria due to ongoing, nearly nonstop tension headaches, very little sleep up to 5 hours a night and ton of work to do). Perhaps to mention, I had one pill of aspiring few hours before T. But it was one pill and chances of that causing it are comical.

It was loud for next 24 hours after what it seemed to start subsiding and instead just coming and going randomly, even going to point where week later when I was at audiologist I literally couldnt hear it in sound-proof room and headphones on and had to dig in my memory the sound and loudness of it so it can be identified. At same time I had my first strong panic attack when I literally thought I may be having a heart attack (me, with record of nearly perfect blood pressure) and only due to breathing technique I was taught years before that I was able to supress future ones from exploding that were knocking on doors for over a week, each day. Now, I could continue for long time with this and that, but in order to make it short - no hearing loss detected. CT scan of temples, occiput and something else came negative. Couple other tests came negative too with neurologist considering as possibility tettany, but given that I was already taking daily doses of magnesium I was sceptical.

Now to interesting T part. First two-three weeks it was predominant in left ear but also heard in right ear. It generally during day subsieded to some perhaps 15dB. Then it settled in left ear and left right. However late Jan I had some virus and was for a week sick and my ears started cracking and being pressurized. The funny thing is, at that time, T switched to right ear and stayed there for about a week after sickness went away and returned to left after that period of time. More funny things, my T actually has different sounds and I have no idea why. For most part its high-pitched noise, but other times I find out it actually switched sound to sound of old CRT that can stay for hours or days. Sometimes it pitches high but just exposure to different sound at some 30dB makes it go down to minimum. Also, one time in bed I decided to listen to it. What happened was, of course, increase of perception of T, but also suddenly being hit by next high-pitched sound in both ears and telltale sign of coming anxiety attack (cheast muscle contracting and hence creating illusion of pressure, mind starting going into overdrive and so on) when I cut that "exploration". And actually few times happened that I was either going to bed or waking up only to realize after a minute that something is different and when it hit me - complete silence - I was hit within seconds with new T. Eg right now I just realized I hear T in right ear and nothing in left and as I was typing this sentence it got back to left. And few weeks later when I thought that T is decreasing I once went with bed and found that T is very small and CRT sound. I was listening to it for few minutes after which hit with high-pitched noise in both ears came.

And addendum - I admit, for at least a month, but more like 2-3 I was a basketcase. I have habit of digging all negative emotions and expressions deep within me since I was a kid. Last quarter of last year however I guess something started going wrong with me. I was burnout, frustrated with job, I was sleeping next to nothing for months, workload increasing, relationships with family and friends basically nonexistant. When T came, well imagine throwing a fire at mountain of chinese fireworks. I was easily irritated even before that, but after that...hell, at few points tiredness that I generally can just fight away just felt on me. Ever since I was trying to work on my issues, but .... well, its a long road. Frustration with job returned and I just feel for months that I need a month long vacation.

In any case, my question, aside of telling my story to those who sacrifice enough time to read it, is that if anyone had similar experience with T as I did. Especially I am wondering about the shifting and changing nature of it. Most docs I talked suspect anxiety, stress and all those nine yards being behind it and I agree. I have oft in past months problem controlling what I call "black thoughts" (or simply hypochondria), though at least I am finally trying to take back control of that when in past I was letting it running wild. They just basically need few more tests to rule out even remote physical reasons (eg next week I have check of vertebral arteries), but so far nothing. Thanks