A Run-of-the-Mill Fleeting Tinnitus Episode Turned Out to Stay and Not Go Away

Hello, everyone! I've been lurking around the research news forums on this site ever since I got my tinnitus back in 2017, but I think it's time to drop by and introduce myself!

My name is Anastasia. I'm 22 years old, recent college graduate, and I've been able to hear a barely audible wavering tone in my ears ever since I was 12. The real evil started two years ago though. How it happened: early August, 2017, I was sitting on the couch, talking to my family, when I hear this high-pitched sound in my right ear. I thought it would just be one of those moments where your ears ring for a couple of seconds then go away. Not this time. Pretty much the same story afterwards. I ended up going to see my GP, who gave me a nasal spray for it (not surprising). Went to see an ENT and Audiologist too, told me they couldn't find anything (yeah, we get it). Everyone thought it was congestion, as I do not have any hearing loss, they thought it would go away soon, blah blah blah. It never did.

I remember I felt so anxious and panicked when I got it! I've been musically inclined my whole life, so I was increasingly afraid of getting tinnitus. When I did, I was so dramatic, I felt like my life was over, haha. Well, I won't lie - it does suck having it, especially when it's considered uncommon for people my age, and no doc I've seen can figure out what is causing that ringing! I've tried going on those diets avoiding salt and caffeine, didn't work. I've tried every possible thing. My best guess is that it might be stress related (or maybe even might have something to do with the weather since it spikes around the same time of the year, that August-September period as the air gets drier/colder, I don't even know at this point!) But I've managed to cope with it this far.

The sound that I hear started as a high pitched wavering ring in just my right ear. My left ear started to ring at a different, steady pitch about a midway point from when I first got it and now. Both seem to calm down when I'm calm funnily enough, and my left ear really likes to act up when I don't get sleep. I also hear a distorted little morse-code like ring when I hear particular breezy sounds, like an air vent or my laptop, so that's fun. Everything is easily masked with my fan when I sleep at night (you guys have no idea how thankful I am that I can at least sleep), though my right ear in the past few weeks has become very reactive with that morse-cody sound, and I have no clue what may have set it off. Masking is a little troublesome at night, but I've been getting by! I've been doing a hearing test annually just to monitor my ears and make sure everything is in check.

So, that's me! I actually think I'm tolerating the crazy stuff my ears are going through a lot better now. If I do get a spike (I think in my entire experience with tinnitus, I've had about three now), instead of getting anxious about it, I actually just suck it up and try to relax. I've had a more positive outlook towards life and I've recently applied to nursing school, which I'm very excited about! I'm not so much afraid of my tinnitus anymore, and I'm 100% positive there will be a breakthrough with a cure soon. I'm also more than happy in learning about anything I could do to promote awareness for tinnitus and offer any sort of help that I can. This site actually has a lot of interesting information on it, including research studies and treatment news, and reading stuff like that gives me hope that one day we'll figure out a way to make that ringing stop. I got my undergrad in Psychology, so I get excited about studies and findings. Anyways, I will stop myself here because I think I've rambled enough. It's a pleasure to meet you all!

 

Welcome Anastasia, you are a remarkable person. Very strong and you’ll do great at nursing school. It would be great to find out what is causing your tinnitus, perhaps a few members could weigh in here on that. There’s some devices, like Lenire and stuff being developed at the University of Michigan that may help you. You could try turmeric in the mean time, lots of members swear by it. Magnesium is also very popular. In the mean time protect your ears, get your sleep in, and stay healthy. You're doing great.

 

Hi @arcanesystem -- Thanks for sharing some of your positive energy--despite the ..... Just to mention, I have a home mHBOT chamber, and use it almost daily. So I've been able to monitor how my ears do with it at various junctures. The changes in pressure are like being on a plane, or going up in elevation. What I've noticed is that when the pressure starts building in my ears, it can cause a morse code type sound. But when I do the valsalva technique, it stops immediately.

I've come to think many who experience morse-code type sound(s) may be have a problem with pressure stabilization (of some sort) in their ears or eustachian tubes. There's an ongoing thread that touches on Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, and how some are realizing it's affecting their tinnitus. Just in case you missed it, there's a new post today (link below) that I think you'd be very interested in. One of the more remarkable posts I've seen on this forum in the past year+.

The Eustachi Device for Treating Tinnitus — Reviews? Experiences?

 

Hey, nice to meet you! Thank you very much! I looked into the Lenire device. It seems promising. It's a shame that it's limited outside of the US thus far. But, like you said, Michigan University is working on something similar, so I have my hopes up. I could really use myself some tinnitus relief, but don't we all. I read your post earlier during work but couldn't get a chance to reply. You mentioned turmeric as something that can help, so I bought myself some from the store. I took one pill this afternoon, so I'll see how things go tomorrow. I think I did take Magnesium when my tinnitus started. It did help alleviate my anxiety and calm me down. I agree that the process of finding what alleviates my tinnitus could be sped up if I knew what caused it. That's the most frustrating thing.

 

Hi, nice to meet you! My usual morse code sounds are set off by particular external sounds I hear, but with the recent addition, I noticed that when I plug my right ear and press on it, the morse code turns into this horrible, metallic echoing ring that lasts for a few seconds before it fades back into reactive morse code ring. Even weirder, if I rub my right eye, that terrible ring starts up as well. I guess we went somatic to an extent. Ughhh. Now that you mention it, it makes me wonder if it really is a Eustachian issue since all of these parts compose this intricate system related to our ear. At the moment, I don't feel sick or congested, so it makes me even more puzzled. I have an annual physical this Monday with my GP. Maybe I could ask what's up with this new sound since it's definitely distinguishable from what I've habituated to. I looked at the thread you posted. That Eustachi device looks very intriguing. I'm really happy that some are realizing that this is what's causing their T and that they are getting relief! Good on them! I'm hoping that one day I'm in the same shoes!

 

Other than somatic buzzing the only true sound I have in the ear now is a morse code which at times seem to echo out of the ear... Really weird, I really feel like it's a mechanical problem in the ear itself rather than any deeper than that. Interesting about the Eustachian tube talk.. I have very good muscular control over the right side of my Eustachian tubes but the left side has always felt.. defective to me and both when I got pulsitile tinnitus and this morse code tinnitus it's been the left side that has given me problems. The right side has always just drained any infection or problem away.

 

You need to get to the bottom of the source of your tinnitus. Is it hearing loss? Hidden hearing loss? An audiogram can help discern that. Is it mechanical, originating from your jaw, neck, mouth. Do you grind your teeth? How’s your posture? Slowly make a check list and figure it out. Is it a vitamin deficiency, try vitamin D and A. That sometimes works miracles on people. Keep researching and experimenting and don’t lose hope. Help really is on the way. Try steam baths, you can even do steams at home over a hot pot of water and see if that relaxes some pressure and clears your tubes out. Don’t try any crazy things to clear your tubes, try gentle things like steam baths at first. An ENT does have a scope to look up your tubes and can diagnose if you have a problem real fast.

Just a few ideas. I really am an idiot and have profound hearing loss, but I hope maybe something I mentioned may help. Remember to stay fit and eat well for your mental health. I am sorry you suffer from this condition and hope you get some answers and relief soon. Have a great weekend and be good to yourself.

 

Nice to meet you! With my ears, it's strange because sine I was a kid, I could make this thunder/storm sound with my ears by tensing the muscles. Not sure what exactly I'm doing there. I can still do it, and it does nothing for the metallic echo in my right ear. The only time I can voluntarily make it louder (assuming the morse-code ringing is the same as the metal echo) is when I plug my ear and press on it, or if I rub my eye (I find this REALLY strange, so I'm definitely bringing it up with my GP this Monday), so I know from this that particular aspect of it is somatic. The problem is that I have no idea what may have caused this new horrid sound since it started up last Sunday while I was eating breakfast. It's like Daniel said, at this rate I must use process of elimination to figure what's going on.

 

So, I've been getting audiogram tests done sine 2017. My first two were pristine perfect. My latest one was pretty much the same, although I didn't do well on the mid-low range, thought it was still within normal hearing range. I wonder if this could be indicative of mild hearing loss, though the 500 hz category was lower than before. I had my T before the latest audiogram, so I doubt this could be the founding reason. I also think it's worth mentioning that I work at an animal hospital, a relatively loud workplace with dogs constantly barking, however, I do wear hearing protection.
I'll take your advice and start going through the causal factors again. I wonder if T can be genetic. I recently found out my grandfather and father have tinnitus.