Hey Guys, New Here. Trying to Figure Out the Cause of the Ringing in My Ears.

So about 2.5 weeks ago I started getting a slight ringing in my right ear. I’m figuring it’s allergies, as I’ve been struggling with intense sinus pressure and stuff like that. I take Zyrtec, but that wasn’t helping.

I went to the ENT and he said that there wasn’t any fluid in my ear, but my adenoids were inflamed from mono that I had two months ago and and that combined with my bad allergies they were messing with my ears. So I started using Nasacort and angling so that it’s getting to my Eustachian tube, then using the Valsalva maneuver. He also put me on prednisone for 12 days to shrink my adenoids.

When I swallow or use the Valsalva, I can hear a lot of clicking and this weird squelching sound in my ears. The ringing has also come and gone, like last week the ringing in my right ear stopped for two days then it came back. However, my left ear has started ringing now this past week, which is really annoying me. It has a different tone than my right ear, and it is a little bit louder. I’ve only been using the steroid spray for a week so I should probably give it more time, but my left ear is really annoying. I’ve also noticed that my ears aren’t popping as easily, especially my left one, where the ringing is fairly new. I feel like it has constant pressure or just some feeling of obstruction. When I Valsalva or pop my ears, the ringing in my right ear changes too, like the tone and volume. My left one doesn’t change when I do this, however.

When I wake up in the morning, my left ear seems like it’s not ringing, but my right is loudly. Then when I do the Valsalva, the right ear volume decreases but the left increases. Sometimes when I do that I can hear like a sticky popping, like a squelch it’s so strange.

This is driving me mad. I'm going to continue using the steroid spray and I also got an antihistamine nasal spray.

Hopefully things will go away soon, as the pollen has been insane this week. Any suggestions?


Edit: Like 5 seconds ago my ear popped out of nowhere and the tone of the ringing in the left ear changed...

 

So for example, if I valsalva, my ear pops then the tone of the tinnitus in both ear changes sometimes. But then, I hear a bunch of pops (like 5) sequentially like something is closing back up and the tinnitus in my let ear gets a lot quieter and returns to a normal pitch, while the one in the right decreases a lot but is the same pitch

 

Before we assume anything about tinnitus and clogged ears, do you have a history of loud noise exposure?
Over exposure to loud music, loud cars, trauma from obsessively loud noise, years of factory work are examples.

These are far more common causes for tinnitus, ear fullness, hyperacusis and noise induced pain then allergies. Your problem could have something to do with allergies but loud noise is the majority of cases.

 

Sure, I go to concerts but I religiously wear etymotic earplugs. I listen to music in earbuds, but nothing too loud. But this really started out of nowhere on a day when I had REALLY bad allergies. This is also the first year I've had allergies, so this might be something that comes with it. I'm not really sure.

I'm also only 20 so it's not like I've been around loud noise for a very long time.

 

it may be a combination of both. Do you experience pain from sound or chronic ear pain?

 

Nope, no pain at all. Really just an uncomfortable feeling like something's off in my ear.

 

sound feels uncomfortable?

 

No actual sound feels fine, it feels like there's a physical pressure inside my ears (my left moreso than my right) I'm also having a really difficult time popping my left ear

 

Were you a frequent concert goer, were you close to the speakers?

Did you experience ringing in your ears, ear fullness and pain after concerts?

I'm just trying to rule or outrule the possibilities of noise injury.

 

Earplugs like you describe depending on the model will stop say 20 decibels. So if the concert is 130 decibels you are dropping it to 110db. Still too loud.

You could also have blocked Eustachian tubes causing the fluid to build up in your ear. Be careful when you pressurize your ears to equalize the pressure. This can also cause problems if you use too much pressure.

 

"When hearing protection is worn, your level of exposure to noise is based on the NRR rating of the protection device being used. Keep in mind, however, that while the NRR is measured in decibels, the hearing protector being used does not reduce the surrounding decibel level by the exact number of decibels associated with that protector’s NRR. For example, if you are at a rock concert where the level of noise exposure is 100 dB and you are wearing earplugs with an NRR 33dB, your level of exposure would not be reduced to 67 dB. Instead, to determine the actual amount of decibel deduction applied (when decibels are measured dBA which is the most common), you take the NRR number (in dB), subtract seven, and then divide by two. Given the previous example, your noise reduction equation would look like the following: (33-7)/2 = 13. This means that if you are at a rock concert with a level of noise exposure at 100 dB and you are wearing a hearing protector with an NRR 33 dB, your new level of noise exposure is 87 dB. If you are wearing a product with an NRR of 27 it would deduct 10 decibels (27-7/2=10)."

https://www.coopersafety.com/earplugs-noise-reduction

Therefore, those musician earplugs only reduce the volume by:

((20-7)/2)= 6.5 db's, which is not much at a loud rock concert.

 

Quick thoughts - Digital Doc, what you're saying isn't actually quite accurate. NRR is an outdated measurement that most people don't use anymore.

And in regards to allergies, last night my allergies were so bad that my left ear was almost burning and involuntarily scrunched up, and ringing so loud.

 

Doc are you saying the people in the band is reduced by 6.5 dB? So if they play many concerts they are destined to harm their hearing?

 

Yes, and many rockers have hearing loss and tinnitus:

http://www.thecavanproject.com/musicians-hearing-loss/

https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2018/musicians-hearing-loss.html

 

I'm talking about the current rockers that use the digital musical ear protection.

 

How do we know it's allergies causing ear burning and not a damaged cochlea? Could an infection inside the cochlea being causing this? You need to find a good doctor to investigate, there's nothing we can do but speculate.

 

It's most likely allergies.