Hello My Name is Erlend

I'm a 19 year old dude from Norway who managed to get tinnitus after one ride on a "partybus" during what we call "russetiden", post graduation party time...

I don't really know what to write here other than it seems like a really nice forum, and whenever I'm really down I always get kind of cheered up reading this. People seem nice and you don't have the "freaks" that tend to pop up in other more obscure forums.

I guess I can write my situation, maybe someone relates or can cheer me up with positive experiences.

The bus was REALLY loud, like, ridicoulously loud. The first thing my buddy said was "you don't have ear buds?" I said "No, wtf, you didn't mention that in the phone!" and he said "oh well" or something, I don't remember. I was so obsesseb with drinking and having fun. I've always been so carefull. I figured, this ONE time during this ONE month where we're told to have fun, I guess I'll just let go and party hard. And I did, I hooked up with a chick and motorboated her tits it was AWESOME.

But when I left that bus me ears were so "full" and they were ringing really bad. My hearing was so muffled. I remember barely being able to hear what the taxy driver said during the ride home.

The ringing stayed for 3 days untill I got REALLY sick, I've never been this sick. I had like 42 fever, and threw up and my throat was filled with these white spots. Seemed like strep.

One week of this illness and I started crying because I was scared the T might be permanent. This made me blow my nose, and POOF, my Tinnitus was reduced with like 70%. I was so relieved and was sure I would be fine.

But the tinnitus was still there though, but I figured it would go away. Three days later or something, time for examns. A week of examns where I had to do my best, and I found it so hard to concentrate with this tinnitus.

But I nailed them all and got top grade on all three of them as the only guy in school. Shit was sweet yo.

But man, this tinnitus, it's still there, it's been 2 weeks!

So I went back, nono, it's normal when you've been sick. My doctor ignored the party bus part... What the fuck.


And so, 3 months went where I OBSESSED over these ears. I was convinced it was my eustachain tubes that were clogged (and I'm pretty sure they were, and this amplified the underlying tinnitus) so I kept trying vasalva maneuver, inhaling steam from a kettle with a towel over my head etc.

Then, when university started, a depression hit me REALLY hard. Because my whole life was at pause with tinnitus during the summer break, but when society started again, and my ears were the same.. It hit me so hard, and I "realized" what I had feared, this T was here to stay.

I have never been so sad. My whole body was just numb from hopelessness and crying, I didn't know what to do. I've quit university becaues of this.

Mentally I've sort of recovered from this depression.

But lately, hyperacusis has developed. I'm okay downtown in the city or listening to music, but being in a small room with 3 other people talking, it's SO uncomfortable..

So I'm afraid this will be my new source of depression now.. I hope not. Erik on this forum just wrote that he had never heared of anyone with permanent Hyperacusis. That's a relief. And if it can just sneak up on me like that, surely there is a huge possibility it might go away just as easy?


This turned out to be longer than I had planned.
Sorry.

 

Hi Erlend,

Welcome to the forums, loved the motorboat part.

Hope your hyperacusis will get better, apparently, you shouldn't wear earplugs all day long when you have that because you need to get used to it, train your ears, etc

 

Hi there,
I'm a newbie too and just wanted to say hi. I'm sorry you have landed here but you are not alone

And i had to look up what "motorboating" was - seems I'm quite a nana at 30 but I giggled too.

 

Hey Erlend,

Love motorboating- didn't know what it was called though before you mentioned it and I googled it. LOL

Anywho, I know it must be really tough at 19- I mean I am 44 and I have been depressed as hell. I am the only breadwinner in the family and my life was kinda on hold with this T and the associated depression. I had to remind myself every moment to just keep going for my little kids and be strong for them.

I just realized after I got the T that I have had hyperacusis since a long time. I live in New Delhi which is the noisiest place I have ever been to and I just don't feel like going anywhere in the 2 years I have been here mainly because of the noise. I used to live in the suburbs of Chicago and just going to the city was problematic for me because of the noise and my freinds always jokingly asked me as to how I would survive when I go to India.

The best I can say Erlend is to hang in there, buddy. I know it's easier said than done but let's just treat this noise like we treat most background noise like an airconditioner, a fan or a machine running in a factory nearby. Go to school, study your ass off and do some motorboating with the right one. If this ringing doesn't go away, at least it won't bother us and if it does- hey the stupid neighbor with the loud ac finally switched it off!

And we all need to start taking better care of ourselves. Eat right, exercise, no booze or smoke- you know the drill.

I have dealt with Eustachian tube blockage since I was 18 years of age and just recently discovered neti with probiotics help a lot. I just mix some fermented cabbage juice or young coconut water kefir or just some probiotic capsules with saline water in neti pot.

My ENT used to give me a lot of long term drugs- Flonase, regular antibiotics but I stopped taking those and have decided to take drugs when absolutely needed and that to for not more than a week. Oh, my regular ENT advised Xanax or Valium and I decided not to take them or even go to a "trigger happy" doctor anymore as I know all too well the side effects of these drugs.

Peace,
Observer

 

Thanks for the replies.

@observer Wait, no drinking or smoking? My ENT said that wouldn't affect it at all?

My experience with alcohol and T is that it get's worse that night when I'm going to bed, and then the T is a lot more quiet the next day.

 

Dude, from what I have read, alcohol, nicotine and caffeine always make the Tinnitus worse. Try to avoid at least for a few months and hope this stupid ringing will go away.

I used to smoke pack a day and drink every weekend. I stopped about 7 years ago and speak from experience when I say life is a whole lot more fun sober.

Good luck (to all of us).

Peace,
Observer