Hello There. Reaching Out for Some Clarity.

Hello Everyone. My name is Daniel and I am 28 years old.

Please excuse the wall of text. I'm frantic and I find this is the best way to elaborate my ideas!


On Friday, March 24th I began exhibiting symptoms that I would describe as tinnitus. A loud noise/ringing in my left ear, although it would seem to also happen in the right as well.

Since then, on one day the tinnitus actually went to the other ear (my right ear), and continued in this ear the whole day. My tinnitus since then has not been really focused in a single ear, but seems to perhaps alternate.

Thursday I had to leave work as I began feeling a sudden nauseous feeling. Since that Thursday I have experienced random rushes of sensation that go throughout my body which are most of the time accompanied by temporary nausea. This feeling I can only describe as a ‘wave’ passing throughout my body. In my past I have taken MDMA/ecstasy and would liken this feeling to something I experienced while under the influence of that drug - which leads me to guess that there may be potential for neurological issues but this is just a guess. I have heard people (my doctor, and my sister who is a nurse) remark about how this could be vertigo, but after reading descriptions I don’t think it is. I don’t feel like I lose control of balance at least not significantly.

On that next Friday I went to an urgent care physician to discuss my symptoms. The doctor listened to my ideas on what it was, but did not seem very knowledgeable on ototoxicity and assessed the situation saying I may now have tinnitus and this is something I will learn to deal with. He did remove severely impacted ear wax from my left ear and was unable to fully remove all from the right ear. Upon removing the left ear wax I did feel a relief in the volume of the ringing. I was instructed to use Debrox (peroxide) to loosen the ear wax and have an appointment to remove the rest of my right ear on Friday. Since then though I have noticed that the tinnitus feeling seems to feel more internal than external.

My doctor prescribed me acetic acid drops for my left ear since there was slight bleeding during microsuction. He also prescribed me meclizine for the vertigo he thought I may be experiencing, and ondanestron for nausea that could accompany that.



The beginning
The symptoms began showing themselves on Friday March 24th. On this day I went to a dermatologist and had mole removal with local anesthesia. During this time I was also taking AZO over the counter bladder calmer. I believe I took one more of these that day, as well as 1 each day until Monday with possibly taking 1 before going to sleep on Tuesday.

Throughout the past 4 years or so I have taken AZO over periods of time. I had issues with urinary incontinence and I took this, self medicating without input from a physician. There were periods where I took it for 5 days of the week for maybe 3 months total. I originally took 2 pills at once, and then later took 1 pill at a time. It has been some time since I have taken AZO (months) before I took it on Friday the 24th. I was completely unaware that AZO(pyridium) can be ototoxic as it was near impossible to find this listed as a potential ototoxic medication. I never before exhibited any symptoms like this, and although while I began getting tinnitus that weekend of the 24th I did not stop taking 1 per day as I was completely unaware this was related in any way shape or form. I do not know if these are related but it came up in my search and ties in to when I first experienced the ringing. I have read that it is possible for toxins to build up in the body and I was curious as to whether this impacts the situation at all. I have consulted online with a few doctors, one a neurologist and one an otolaryngologist (although the level of knowledge about this particularly does not mean I should take their word) and they both said they do not believe the AZO has an effect like this - one even going so far as to say it wouldn't really build up like I had described.

In my past I have also taken Ecstasy(MDMA), where there were certain points I took it on a regular basis or in large amounts. I have not ever experienced any negative long term effects from this but that does not mean that damage wasn’t done because of it. I have also smoked marijuana, drank heavily, tried cocaine a handful of times, as well as mushrooms and ketamine less than a handful of times. I only mention these

I would like to note that I have exposed myself to loud music a LOT throughout my life - I like to DJ and produce music. There were no events around this time that would have indicated a cause for the beginning of the T, but I am aware that exposure to loud things over time is definitely of no help. There was no significant point of acoustic trauma that would explain these feelings.


My thoughts
I know it is dangerous to self diagnose because you can create problems out of nothing. My fear is that I will put additional harmful substances in my body exacerbating the symptoms of what I am experiencing. On Friday night I took one Meclizine to help with the uneasiness and I believe that the tinnitus has changed in that it now moves in a kind of cascading change in pitch - although these could be unrelated and the symptoms could be presenting themselves independent of the meclizine. I now hear constant noise, but it changes in sound (high pitched always, sometimes slowly rising and falling in pitch in the higher frequencies or it subsides quickly while another high pitch replaces it). I still experience the waves of tingling sensation that move throughout my body, and it seems more random and the frequency alternates (which could be a balance related issue or something else entirely?). I decided again to try the meclizine this morning (Sunday) and am unsure about how I feel with it - does anyone here have experience with Meclizine?


My guesses so far is that it is either ototoxic, meniere's disease, or some type of neurological issue that has prompted this type of reaction. I think I can live with the T but the part that got me worried most was the sensations throughout my body.

I feel sometimes in a dreamlike state when awake most of the time, and feel a bit out of myself. I wake up a few times during the night so that may be attributed to lack of sleep, but I thought it was worth mentioning. I feel like my body is just kind of overacting and tense because of these sensations. Perhaps my anxiety is getting the best of me.


Next for me
I have a follow up with the urgent care general practitioner to remove the rest of the wax from my right ear this Friday, and I have an appointment with an ENT on the 17th. I am considering also scheduling an appointment with a neurologist.


1) Does anyone else experience sensations like this is conjunction with their Tinnitus?

2) Depending on the type of tinnitus, do many people feel like it is more 'internal' than 'external'?

3) Can anyone give advice if they are familiar with my situation? I am not looking forward to calling in for more work and need to get at least a level head as soon as possible.

4) I guess more than anything I am just scared. I have found myself overwhelmed and crying which does not bode well no matter the outcome. I'm just afraid these symptoms are hiding something more sinister that will change my life even more than it already has.


Thanks for reading. I really enjoyed coming across some threads when looking for help. It is good to know people are here to listen when you want to be heard.

 

Finish getting all the wax removed from your ears for if you have T it seems louder because the wax is cutting the volume of outside sounds that you hear. Then he can check for an ear infection and see what else is going on. Just take it one step at a time and try to not get your self in a nervous state for that can cause all types of problems. After your ears are cleaned hopefully it will go away....

 

@DanielMac do you have a fullness feeling in your ears?

 

No fullness feeling at the moment.

 

DJ
That pretty much sums it up