Where should I start. I'm a 19 year old guy from California and I am completely new to this. Earlier in May of this year I was sitting in the kitchen in the early afternoon and I heard an ambulance go by. The sound of the siren, I noticed, sounded a bit distorted in my right ear. It sounded a bit like an echo in my right ear. I give it too much importance and I shrugged it off. Then I made a few phone calls and I noticed people's voices sounded different in my right ear and when I moved the phone over to my left ear they sounded normal. Again I didn't really care much. I went to work a few hours later and that's when I noticed a ringing noise in my right ear. It got progressively worse in a matter of an hour or so until I couldn't really hear out of my right ear. I figured it was just any old ear infection and I would shake it off in a week or so. I lost most of my hearing at that point in my right ear and I had a weird ringing or buzzing in that same ear. When I got home, as I got out of the car and started walking towards the door of my home, I noticed that I started walking funny. I was off balance almost as if I was drunk. I even remember laughing about the experience as I thought that it wasn't serious. Then I felt a bit nauseous and I fell asleep. The following day I went to the doctor and they washed my ears and prescribed some antibiotics. I didn't buy the medicine because it was pretty expensive and I figured that I would recover without it soon. Then that night I had a serious episode of vertigo, nausea, dizziness, and the tinnitus. I also felt a bit of pressure or fullness in the affected ear. I went to the hospital where they told me I could have a viral infection and it would take a few days to go away. The nurse also said that it could be Ménière's disease, but that I would have to see an ENT specialist and have testing done to diagnose it. I felt terrible both physically and emotionally. I was constantly worried for the next few days about it being a chronic issue such as is the case with Ménière's and it was and still is a traumatic experience for me. I was constantly looking stuff up online and yeah it was a nightmare. My friends and family said it was probably laberynthitis and that I shouldn't worry much. On Monday I had a trip to Mexico planned and I had to postpone it a week. The schedule with the ENT specialist wasn't given to me until about a month later so when I got to Mexico I took the opportunity to visit ENT specialists there and in total I saw six different ENT doctors. They all agreed that it was a viral infection aka laberynthitis and that I should recover completely. Although to this day I still am worried that it could be Ménière's. I had a hearing test done and I lost a little tiny bit of hearing on my right ear and they told me that I could recover it perhaps and as for the tinnitus that it could also go away. Although, two or three of the doctors that I saw said that the hearing loss and the tinnitus could be permanent. They said the tinnitus could go away and come back or that it could lower in volume over time or that it could go away completely. I was prescribed prednisone, vitamin B supplement, thiotic acid, cinarizine, and some other stuff. When I got back to the states and saw the ENT Doctor here he agreed that it was a viral infection and that I should continue taking the prednisone. He ordered a new hearing test which I still haven't gone to take as well as some blood tests. Right now the tinnitus isn't that bad. I've gotten used to it, it's only in one ear, and it's not loud. It's very minor, but sometimes I do have feelings of depression that I'll never be the same again. I still worry about Ménière's disease and yeah it hasn't been pleasant. The hearing loss is also very minor and I feel like I've recovered a bit more as of yesterday. The only way I can tell the difference in my hearing is by rubbing my fingers lightly against my ear. Hopefully the tinnitus can eventually go away. However, I would just like to feel at ease again. I hate worrying about it being Ménière's disease even though all of the doctors have said that it's laberynthitis. The dizziness and nausea and vertigo only lasted those first two days followed by a week of slight unsteadiness. Now I can move around normally again and even fast head movements don't make me dizzy. Is there hope that the tinnitus will become even less noticeable? It's only been less than two months since I first started. I don't know. How does everyone cope with tinnitus? Sorry if I give negative vibes and thank you for reading.
Welcome to Tinnitus talk. I have just read your story and I think it's labyrinthitis also. Menieres usually creeps up on you over time and progresses further. Try not to worry and for now out it down to a nasty virus and hope your tinnitus settles soon ....lots of love glynis
