Finally My Turn, After 7 Months — Not Habituation, But Tinnitus Is (Almost) Gone

First of all, a big Thank You to this forum, for giving me support, confidence, hope, and a cure... I promised myself that once my tinnitus gets better/is gone, I will not simply leave but to share my story to give my fellow suffers confidence and hope too. So here it goes:

• Onset: 27 November 2019, after a cold
  
  
• Cause: most probably ETD (not diagnosed by a doctor)
  
  
• Symptoms:
• 1. A constant (never changed during the 7 months) 24/7 ringing in my right ear (volume: 4-5/10), together with crackling, popping, and ticking, etc.
• 2. Besides tinnitus, I have also experienced a highly annoying blockage in one side of my nose (the sides usually switch intermittently, it is typically the same as the side of my body when I lie down), so chronic nonallergic rhinitis.
• 3. After flying several times after the onset (with ear plugs), there was aural fullness and pressure in my left ear (good ear without tinnitus).
  
  
• Other things I noticed:
• 1. I could reduce the volume of my tinnitus significantly by doing the Valsalva manoeuvre/blowing air into my ears to the fullest. But once I stop it, tinnitus comes back immediately.
• 2.When having my right ear full of (wax cleaning) liquid, if I lie down/lean my head against my other shoulder so that the liquid touches my ear drum completely, the ringing stops/decreases to a minimum level so that I can't hear it. The difference is huge as the ringing clearly starts again when I raise my head.
  
  
• Treatment:
• 1. Avamys nasal spray (used it for 4 weeks, did not work);
• 2. Anti-histamine pills (one month, did not work);
• 3. EarPopper (it reduced the volume of my tinnitus the first time I used it, but then it has not offered any further help any more);
• 4. Dymista (used it for 6 months, did not help much)
• 5. Pseudoephedrine (behind the counter Sudafe and Duact) helped with aural fullness and pressure
• 6. Neti-pot (used it for 4 times during 2 days, and tinnitus is now almost unnoticeable, maybe at 0,5/10). I was inspired by this thread, and finally picked up my courage to try this two days ago (I was scared to try this as some people's T was caused by using a Neti-pot), and it has worked for me : https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/neti-pot-for-eustachian-tube.16333/#post-191944. I just used it the same way as how a Neti-pot is always used: with boiled water and sea salt, see for example,
  
  Sinus Rinsing With Saline or Medication

Finally, I admit that I have had really dark thoughts during these months (i.e. with a 4-5/10 tinnitus). This is exactly why I think some of you who suffer much worse tinnitus symptoms (e.g. with tinnitus that cannot be masked by a shower) are True Warriors, you have my ultimate respect. And after reading so much from this forum, I certainly will protect my ears much more from now

 

Update: all the crackling, popping and clicking sounds in my ear are gone also

 

Thanks for posting this. I've had the dreaded 'T' for a month now and although it's mostly fading (with the odd spike and anxious moment), I believe that it's down to an ENT issue - Sinuses specifically :/

From reading your post I've ordered a Neti Pot and hope to have the same success and give this fu#!er a final push into touch!

Congratulations on finding some peace and hope it singles an end to this awful affliction.

Cheers,

Danny

 

Congrats,

The nasal spray is the same one that my ENT prescribed... I'm going to try this neti-pot as a starting point.

Do you think the Navage, the auto-suction device is worth getting?

 

Glad that you have fully recovered!

Just a question: I also have the same symptoms as you do, e.g. crackling noise when swallowing, aural fullness in the good ear). Does the crackling noise when swallowing went away immediately? Or it slowly fades?

Thanks a lot and bless you!

 

@JayM The crackling noise went away immediately, then it came back a week later to my tinnitus ear after I attended a video conference with “crackling sounds” due to poor internet connection. I then used the Neti-pot immediately once the conference ended, and the crackling sound went away again immediately, and had not got back ever since.

 

@wocaonima thanks for the reply! Do you also feel like some mucus was stuck in your throat? And does your both ears crack when you swallow?

I already ordered a Neti-pot. I experience sometimes my nose is blocked with mucus, but most of the time there's a slight pressure in my right ear (good ear).

 

@JayM No, I did not feel that some mucus was stuck in my nose. I see that you suspect your tinnitus might be related to ETD, so if you gently do the Valsalva manoeuvre (pinch your nose and blow air into your ears), would your tinnitus disappear? I suspect this is a sign for ETD related tinnitus as my tinnitus would disappear completely every time I do this.

 

Yes it disappers when doing Valsava, but my right ear (good ear) would not seem to pop. Do your ears crack as well when you swallow saliva or water?

 

@JayM yes, my ears (more so for the tinnitus ear) would crack/click every time when I swallow saliva or water, or when I yawn or try to move some muscles in my tinnitus ear. Now all this is resolved by the Neti-pot.

My good ear (the one without tinnitus) also wouldn’t pop/would take longer to pop (a few months ago) when I do the Valsalva, but now both ears pop immediately when I do the Valsalva. I suspect this is due to the use of oral decongestants (behind the counter Sudafed) and EarPopper.

 

I will definitely try the Neti-pot then, as we have the same symptoms. So now you T is totally gone already?
Thanks a lot for your time in replying our questions

 

@MikeAMFM sorry, I have no experience of using the Navage, so can’t comment on that. But I read that nasal rinse bottles work just as well/even better than the Neti-pot, so I ordered one to see if I can get rid of the remaining tinnitus.

 

@JayM my T is almost gone but not 100%, I can still hear it in a completely silent room. The volume is definitely much lower and not intrusive as before. If there is any sound, e.g., me walking or breathing through my nose, then I don’t hear the T. But as the T is not 100% gone, I’m still trying to see if anything (or simply just continue the Neti-pot treatment for a longer period, after all it has only been less than 2 weeks since I started it) would do the trick.

 

Thanks for replying... I just read some stories of neti pot gone wrong and doubt my self administration a bit...

Might buy the Navage and let'er rip.

 

@MikeAMFM great, please let us know how Navage works for you

 

Hello @wocaonima i have the exact symptoms besides the tinitus. the Cracking and popping in my ears, not only when swalowing saliva or taking deep breath, but i could also do it at will in one of my ears, not sure how it works.

I have the exact bottle in the video (NeilMed Sinus Rinse) with the premixed packets but I wanted to ask, at what hours of the day you used the neti pot? was it 4 times at different times of the day or 4 times continued?

I'm glad you resolved your problem with this, i hope i'm next because my tinnitus came months after the crackign and popping stuff in my ears.

Thanks!