Hi, My Name Is Amanda, and I'm New to Tinnitus :(

Hello all,

Sorry that you all are, and have been, suffering with this horrendous curse that is Tinnitus.

Allow me to preface by saying that I NOTICED a ringing in my ears after a loud noise exposure, but my obsessive research since onset has raised suspicion of other ear issues I might have neglected to notice before my noise exposure...

Please excuse any typing errors as I am typing this all on my phone...so I will try to keep it short and sweet.

Four days ago, I went to a concert without ear protection (stupid, stupid, stupid) because I honestly did not even consider bringing them. I believe I neglected to consider bringing them because this was only the third major concert I've ever attended, and the last two times, I sat in the nosebleeds, so volume was not an issue....not this time! I was right in front!

I had a great time at the concert with one of my best friends, but after it was over, I noticed the dreaded ring....it was a low frequency which I would describe as the tone you hear preceding the emergency Alert System here in the US. I expected to be gone by the next day, but when I woke up the next morning....it remained.

By the second day after the concert, I was in full on freak out mode, going crazy with all of this ringing in my ear. The pitch was becoming higher as well... I noticed a fulness in my right ear, so I made an appointment with the Nurse Practitioner on campus (since I had class that day) to see if she could see any wax build-up....sure enough, there was a lot of wax in my right ear (the one that has the ring..)

I was so relieved! I thought "ah good, it's just a wax build-up. As soon as she flushes it out, the ringing will stop!"

WRONG.

It remained....and seemed louder.

HERE IS THE WEIRD THING!!!!!!

A she was flushing out my ear, I swear to you, I COULD TASTE THE SOLUTION THAT SHE WAS PUTTING IN MY EAR. it tasted sort of like hydrogen peroxide. I even mentioned it to her and she laughed and said that I must be imagining things. Could this mean that my eustachian tube might be stuck open? Or is that normal? Why would I be able to taste the fluid ahe was washing my ears out with?

Anyway, I went home extremely letdown. The next day, I had an appointment with my GP who did a quick exam and concluded that my ears seemed to be fine, and if the tinnitus remained in a weeks time, to call him so he could refer me to an ENT.

Today is day four, and without talking your ear off about how depressed an anxious I am (as I know you all have been there) I will just say that I am a MESS I am a full time college student with two young kids, who already struggles deeply with anxiety, OCD, and C-PTSD, so this high pitched ringing (which currently sounds like a chain being dragged across rough concrete...I swear I can "HEAR" it in my spine....) is absolutely wreaking havoc on my life!

I know its still VERY early since my onset...I guess I am just looking to belong to this wonderful community of people who are knowledgeable about T and have tamed this beast.

Thanks to everyone for hearing me out,
Amanda.

 

First off welcome to the forum. We have all been in the mode you are in now and I still am to a degree. At this point I would suggest some deep breathing and try to relax a bit. Stress is known to aggravate T so someone like "us" with anxiety/depression just makes it harder. If you cant control the anxiety / depression I would highly suggest talking with a therapist to learn from coping methods.

Like you said. You are very early into this so use that as a positive. Try to use some white noise and keep yourself BUSY doing something other than focusing on the T. I know it's hard and seems impossible but keep trying and give it some time.

 

Dayma,

Thank you for your advice. It really does seem impossible but I am trying very hard to remain calm. I have made an appointment to see a therapist next Wednesday. I really hope I don't lose my mind by then. My kids and boyfriend are really suffering because of the anxiety and irritability this is causing me. To then, I must seem crazy. My boyfruend says to "just stop thinking about it" But ummmmm...... "IT" is screaming into my right ear. Kind of hard to ignore

 

The only way I can imagine this happening is if your ear drum was perforated somehow, and the solution used to flush made its way into your middle ear, and then into your mouth.

 

It not easy when you first get this , I think we all go thru that stage of anxiety, depression , crying being afraid. I went thru it myself. Hopefully in due time it will fade. Hang in there , very difficult thing . May need some medication at first like Valium . I was on it just to cope.God blessings!

 

That would be pretty crazy. I think I am going to try to get the ENT referral to investigate further.

 

Rajin,

Thank you for your kind words, I am hoping that I might be able to get a little something to take the edge off when I see my new therapist on Wednesday. It's so far away. It feels like the week in between is going to kill me!

 

TT forum - read, due to you will read different thoughts. And that's good it's not all one sided. The beginning is awful and that could be up to four months, for me anyway. Then I started to get better every month after, and you will be able to forward with your body and mind. Keep your focus, and make time for yourself...

 

You need to begin taking prednisone (search this site for more details)!

 

Yeap, prednisone. Asap.

 

I can't afford an ER or urgent care bill.

On top of that, I had a terrible reaction to prednisone last time I took it!

I'm terrified of taking it again.

 

Hi Amanda and welcome to the forum

In the short term, you need to stay away from noise and the wearing of earphones. In the immediate term, you need to reduce your anxiety (easier said than done....) But once you reduce your anxiety, the tinnitus will die down and you can start to think calmly of how best to manage your T.

It is likely that you have caused some temporary damage - hence the reason to stay away from noise and let the ears rest and recover. Try and keep busy or do something something in order to take your mind of it a bit. It will be hard, but the more you freak out, the louder your T can be.