Help. Newbie Here

I am only 3 weeks in and having a really hard time dealing with this. I have an ear infection and the ENT RX'd special drops that has made the liquid in my ear much better but I still have a bit of hearing loss and worse...the ringing. Non stop.

At night I put an ear bud in that ear and put on tinnitus masking white noise in that one year. It helps but if I'm not outside or driving or socializing out and about I hear that ringing.

I'm so upset. I don't know how I can live with this. I have an appointment with the ENT tomorrow about the infection but he isn't much help with the ringing. He wants to treat the infection before helping with the ringing.

Question: If I make an appointment with a tinnitus specialist is there anything they can even do? I keep reading on the internet there is no cure other than maybe therapy. Is there anything these tinnitus ear places can do? Do the hearing aides work?

 

He's right.
If there is a treatable cause of the tinnitus, then be glad you have a treatable cause.
It holds out good and reasonable hope that when the infection is cleared, the tinnitus will be as well.
It would be silly for a doctor to try hearing aids at this point. It's expensive and pointless at this stage.
The infection causes inflammation which causes the ringing.
You can get some MSM crystals; it reduces general inflammation, nerve inflammation, and nerve pain...
But really, you will just have to live with this until the infection clears.
I'd recommend Klonopin(Clonazepam) for your mania/fear to help you through this time, lower your blood pressure, and help you sleep. It will calm you down and help you get control of you fears. Your mind is capable of considering the tinnitus as irrelevant as it really is. But right now it thinks it is a threat.

 

Thank you. I hope it's treatable and I don't have long term damage. If it does last forever can you just give me some hope and tell me the hearing aides do ANYTHING? I keep reading there is no cure.

 

Sadly, the majority of ENT's are a waste of time, all they'll do is tell you some kind of combination of " learn to live with it/it may go away ", and who knows, it probably will for you since it was due to an infection.

If you're in Los Angeles, try seeing Rick Friedman at USC, he's supposed to be one of the best in the state. I was going to see him but felt the wait was too long.

Unfortunately things like the AM 101 trial are the only somewhat real options for us for the time being.

 

First of all you are getting ahead of yourself. It is reasonable to believe that this will be over when the infection clears. You need to calm down.
What do yo mean by hearing loss? Do you just mean that you can't hear things as well during the infection? Of course you can't hear things as well during an infection.
You aren't thinking proportionally. Get some benzodiazepines; Klonopin is a great one. You can take it until the infection is gone, then taper-off as per doc recommendation.

 

Is it ok that I am using an ear bud in that ear at night to mask the noise? I just ordered a speaker pillow but is the ear bud ok in the mean time?

 

Speakers or clock-radio would be better than earbuds, but I'm guessing you sleep next to someone else and thus can't have music on?
I don't like earbuds, but as long as the music isn't loud you should be okay. Also It's probably best if you load up a playlist that is only an hour and half long or something, that way it will stop after you are asleep(also make sure "repeat" is off); It's good to give the ears a rest. But if not, you're probably okay anyway; I'm just a pretty cautious person.

 

Hi Marie,

I hope that treating the infection will be enough.

If it's not, try not to worry too much. In the early stages of tinnitus it is always extremely difficult. You can't stand it, you worry about living like this forever and get upset about it. These are completely normal things to happen at this stage. The good news is that almost everyone that has permanent tinnitus habituates to it. After time, you stop reacting to it as an intrusive sound. Sometimes you may not even notice it's there at all, but if you do notice it you won't be upset by it.

For now you must try to stay positive, however difficult that is. Don't read too much into the horror stories of tinnitus, remember that all the posts from people being frustrated are the unlucky few compared to the many who are ok with their tinnitus, and therefore don't seek help or post about it.

If you don't hear it when outside, socialising or driving then you have it quite mild, just like me. You should be able to somewhat distract your mind from it, keep yourself busy with whichever activies you like to do. Don't try to listen for your sound and try not to spend too much time in situations where you are able to hear it and think about it. Take it a day at a time.

 

Thank you all this is so helpful

 

Hi, Ive had t for a year now, I just want to say the best thing you can do is dont worry about it, carry on with your life. If you dont think about it, you wont hear it. Itll filter out of your life. Use this masking album I guarantee it will help for this early time. Its Sounds to soothe by steve harrison. I don't use masking anymore, and joke about my t now. You'll get through it and think this is no big deal.

Brian

 

Dear Marie .. Just a quick message as have to go out but This time last year I was just the same as you ,. I was in a highly anxious state !!! I had never ever felt the level of panic I was experiencing .. It was the most horrible feeling ever !!! But reading up about it and looking at loads and loads of tinnitus success stories .. And certain things stuck out .. Like give it time you're brain is the most incredible thing and when the anxiety goes .. Which it will , you stop holding on to the noise and so stop listening !! The recovery has taken about 10 months and I've had a few bumps in the rd but hold on tight and know for sure that soon you're brain will turn off and you won't have any reaction to it at all !! It will become a non thing !!! Good luck just hold on tight and take a few breaths and know that you will return to being the person you were before !!! But better xxxx Fran