Feeling Hopeless and Sad — Why Do I Have Tinnitus?

Hello, everyone, I'm 19 and I've had tinnitus since October 2019. I have never suffered from ear infections and never in my life have had problems with my ears until now. The cause of my tinnitus is unknown because it just started out of the blue one day. I've had a hearing test and I'm perfect, I've seen an ENT and everything is fine, Saw an allergist and everything is fine too. I even took out 4 wisdom teeth at once because it was the possible cause of my tinnitus.

However, it's been 2 months since I've taken out my wisdom teeth and there hasn't been a difference. I would get unbearable pain around my ears before the ringing started but all the doctors just look at me and they say they don't know why. I would feel like I had water in my ears that would pop and HURT when I would sneeze. I tell all these doctors my symptoms that aren't just annoying but painful and don't get an answer. After months of different appointments and medications, I don't have an answer or any progress. I feel so hopeless, I have felt myself even become depressed since this has happened to me.

I would just like to know why I have tinnitus because every possible reason doctors could come up with were crossed out because thankfully I'm "healthy" but I'm wondering if anyone has been through something similar with their tinnitus and if ya'll have any tips.

 

Hi!

I'm sorry you go thru this and hope it goes away. Let me ask you, do you listen to headphones? That might be a reason for it. Have you been recently to a concert or somewhere loud?

 

Welcome to the forum

Sadly, there isn't always a cause, or one that might be obvious.

I treat people with tinnitus and have it myself.

With the right help, support, mindset and time, most people stop hearing their tinnitus

 

Did you have any kind of neck trauma before the onset of T?

 

Welcome to the forum. Since you have so much pain also besides tinnitus, did any doctor do a MRI on you?

 

Hello, yes I use headphones and I did go to a concert a month and a half before this started. I was extremely scared thinking that I had caused this because I wasn't being careful but an audiologist and ENT told me my eardrums and everything about my ears appear to be healthy. Which is a relief but also leaves me wondering what is the cause.

 

I was able to convince my doctor to send in a request for me to get an MRI because my family also wants to make sure it isn't because of something extreme. But sadly I've been waiting a month for the radiology department to approve my MRI.

Have you gotten an MRI done due to tinnitus ?

 

This struck a cord with me because I was one year younger than you when I first got tinnitus (same month too). Would you consider yours to be mild?

 

Yes, I had MRI because of tinnitus. Majority of MRI machines are loud. The doctors will give you hearing protection, but please make sure that you are wearing it properly. If in doubt ask the radiologist to help you insert earplugs.

 

I am sorry you are going through this. If you have noise cancelling headphones take them with you. If they say they have them still take your own. Both enclosed and open MRI’s are extremely loud.

 

Headphones can be the root cause of your tinnitus. Hearing damage is cumulative, and it can happen even if your eardrums seem healthy. Your inner ear and the hair cells can be very well damaged unfortunately.

But the earpain and watery feelings suggest that you might have had some ear problem before the tinnitus which was not visible to the doctors later. Ears take forever to heal. How long before the ringing started did you have the pain and popping feeling? I'm asking, because I developed T the same month as you and in August I had problems with my ears. Watery feeling, a bit stuffed, but not much, itchiness, and fluids were leaking out of them. Doctors don't seem to think that there's any kind of connection with my tinnitus...

Is your T unilateral or bilateral? If it's unilateral, there is some slight chance that it can be acoustic neuroma, but that's very, very rare and also, it's noncancerous and usually slow- growing. But the majority of time, MRI does not show anything related to tinnitus. MRI is really, really loud, so if you have a chance, try to find a machine which is on the quieter side and wear earprotection. Quality earfoams is a must, and if it's possible, go for double protection: earplugs and earmuffs. Don't settle for the headphones they give you, because mainly they are just to communicate with you, or music is played through them, but they don't offer any kind of protection. MRI (or my underlying anxiety about it) spiked my tinnitus in spite of wearing plugs, but luckily it went back to baseline.

 

Welcome to the forum! I am so sorry that you now have tinnitus, it does change things quite a bit in our lives. If your tinnitus is chronic then do know that it is very possible to live with it. As someone that has gone through all the intensities of tinnitus I want you to know this. Having perfect hearing is a BLESSING. Not all, but many that have tinnitus or real BAD tinnitus tend to show a good amount of hearing loss. Hearing loss and loud sound exposure are common elements that can possibly cause tinnitus.

It takes time for us to adapt and learn how to live with tinnitus. All of us went through this, so we know how you feel. The key takeaways for living with tinnitus is to not focus or obsess on our ringing. This is the most common issue many newcomers have when it comes to tinnitus.

It's natural to scan or listen for the ringing. We need to be distracted and focus on other things and not our ringing. As I type this message my tinnitus is VERY LOUD and it wants my attention. I can hear it but I have no emotions towards it. I accepted what I hear and treat it like it's a part of me and my life.

It did take me TIME , PATIENCE and just working on my adjustments in life to get this far, but it is possible to live with the tinnitus. Having a support system has been helpful for me and I had to adjust my life to make it easier to live with the tinnitus.

I always protect my ears. I try to remain fit and healthy. I try hard to not get emotional and keep the stress lower. I have severe/LOUD ringing but I am not emotional about it. Exposing yourself and your ears to LOUD noises/spots must be avoided.

This forum is great, but do TALK to people and express how you feel to those that do care about you. Tinnitus is a journey and it will take effort to adjust our lives. All of us have been in your shoes and know EXACTLY how you feel.

Take care....

 

Since I didn't have bad ear pains, just tinnitus and hyperacusis, my ENT and other doctors just said 'live with it' and no one bothered to check me further. LOL. But if you have persistent acute pain, you probably need to make sure it is not coming from something else than your tinnitus. I agree with others you may need some protection for your MRI due to the fact that you have tinnitus and your ears are unstable. Good luck with your MRI. God bless.