Ear Hisses

Hey guys,

Both of my ears ring but my left is far worse. I would describe the ringing in my right ear as "normal" or something that I probably would have never though twice about. My left ear however is annoying and it "hisses." The ringing from my left ear is audible in a quiet room and when trying to sleep. However, it also makes this hissing sound that is audible more often as it is inconsistent and is harder to mask. Funny enough the hissing bothers me less because it's less harsh sounding but I'm curious if anyone has any explanations for it.

 

You say your Tinnitus is from stress/anxiety but I see you playing guitar live (maybe with a band, hard to tell). I assure you that playing music without ear protection means loud noise that will slowly and silently hurt the mechanisms of your hearing over time. Most likely you have ringing from noise. Unless you do protect your ears well when playing?

Questions though:

1) What would you rate your Tinnitus loudness on a scale of 1-10?

2) How does music sound to you with ringing going on? Have you tried listening to some?

3) Have you had any emotional issues attached to this hearing change? Or would you rather say you are just annoyed by the noise?

 

I have played in a rock band the past two years and unfortunately I did not use ear protection...

That being said, it was only for two years and I'm only 18. When my T started I hadn't played music in a month. I have excellent hearing according to the ENT I saw (after an audiologist did my test) and my psychiatrist assures me it is related to my anxiety.

As I said, when T started I hadn't played music in a month and that was due to the fact that I had become a hermit because of extreme anxiety. I was laying in bed in the dark and quiet 75% of the time for that month freaking out about my heart/digestive system and I even visited the ER. Then one night I heard a ringing in my ear when I went to bed in the midst of the worst anxiety attack of my life.

Genetically speaking my dad has been blasting music and playing guitar his whole life with minimal (if any) noticeable hearing loss, my mom has worked in a loud call center for a long time, and even going back to my grandparents my grandfather has been a construction worker without hearing protection his whole life and has exceptional hearing. While my grandmother has only lost hearing late in life from loud concerts the whole way through (she still goes to concerts).

The frequency at which my ears ring is not ultra high pitch. It is closer to 6 or 7kH, where I hear exceptionally well.

My anxiety has fabricated things much worse than T in that month of hell. My anxiety created "heart attacks" and convinced me I had IBS. So I'd say the evidence us heavily in the favor of anxiety over noise-induced.

 

1 or 2. Only hear it in quiet or plugged ears.

Music sounds fine.

Emotions have been terrible. I'm on Lexapro for anxiety and the T has made my anxiety even worse.

 

No hearing loss according to my ENT! He actually says I have great hearing!