High Frequency (12kHz) Tinnitus After Middle Ear Infection

I am 39, male.

30 days ago I had a sudden sharp pain in my right ear. I went to the ER and was sent home to take decongestants. I went to the urgent care again the next morning and they diagnoses otitis media. I was treated with antibiotics, but the pressure persisted for the rest of the week. They started steroids (6-pack of MethylPREDNISolone), and then another one until the fluid drained. The ear is now fluid free again.

In parallel, the morning after the sharp pain I woke up with a loud tinnitus. Its around 12khz. It has gotten a bit worse since that day. I also noticed that I have very substantial hearing loss in the right ear above 10khz. The left ear is perfect to 13khz, the right one I barely can hear anything at 13khz. Thats where I hear the tinnitus. I had to self-measure this. Hearing tests at the ENT go to 8kHz only.

I am completely desperate at this point. The tinnitus is utterly debilitating for me. I haven't slept more than 2-3 hours a night the last 30 days. I used to sleep like a rock. I fall asleep, wake up rested 8-9 hours later. Now I have a hard time falling asleep, and I wake up multiple times a night, and have a hard time falling asleep again. Nothing helps. I tried noise generators. I have always been sensitive to noise. I can't even sleep with a humming charger in the room. Now the noise is in my head and its literally driving me mad

I don't know what to do. I don't know what to expect. Whats causing this? Did I permanently lose hearing thats causing this? Is there after 30 days still inflammation that may temporarily cause this? Will this ever go away? Will I never sleep again?

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated. I don't know what to do.

 

Welcome to the forum. It is often said that the 1st phase of T suffering is the worst, because besides the mad ringing, its victims usually don't know what hit them and don't know what to do. Nothing seems to be able to remove the ringing. So there are added worries and uncertainties which weigh in heavily on the suffering. Please don't despair. Your reaction is quite normal though for a new sufferer being overwhelmed by T. We understand. We have been there where you are. Don't despair and panic. Better days will come.

There are many great threads on TT which can help a new T sufferer. Here is an excellent thread started by a member on what to do when you are new with tinnitus and stressed out. I added some comments to the OP’s thread, but you can scroll up to post #1 to read up on the excellent suggestions by the original poster.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-and-stressed-with-tinnitus-read-this-first.3978/#post-40275

TT also has this excellent support thread which besides giving you some excellent masking sounds with an audio player, it also contains tips and step by step instructions for newer sufferers. It contains link to the Positivity Thread, a sleep thread, as well as links to ATA & BTA for more useful info. The more you learn about T, the less you will be fearful of it and the easier for the brain to stay calm. Here is the link for it: ((the icons on the left side give you step-by-step instructions what to do and the audio player is highlighted by the hypertext ‘our player’)

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/panic/

A few years back I was overwhelmed by my ultra high pitch T plus severe hyperacusis. I went through hell with them. I thought I would never see good life again. But never say never. I am back to living a normal and absolutely enjoyable life. I wrote my success story like others do. I list many helpful points and strategies which have helped me turned around. If you like to know them, for brevity, here is the link to my success story:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

So, relax. There are many things one can do to get better. Instead of wasting energy on worry and panicking, perhaps follow some of these steps and suggestions to see if they can help you feel better. As the thread suggests, read up as many success stories as you can to give you hope and to learn the proven insights, strategies or approaches. Just copy success and just do it. Don't panic and despair. You will get better. Good life can be back. Believe it and be positive about the future. This will reduce your stress level and T will be easier to handle. Take good care and God bless.

Just in case you need some masking suggestions, I have a few here:
TT’s own excellent masking sounds:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/
If you need more masking sounds, here is free ‘aire freshener’:
http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html
You can mix your own rain sounds with this rain generator:
http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/rainNoiseGenerator.php

 

HEY, same here man, i will recommend you to search 'tinnitus relief' on youtube and click on the video that is 30 minutes long, watch it everyday, my tinnitus is 60% gone just by watching it for a week

 

Try out a hearing aid like the Signia/Siemens Primax 7px. Have them program it up to 12khz after getting an extended audiogram. Hopefully, correcting the hearing loss will get rid of the noticability of tinnitus. I would recommend that first. Supplements such as melatonin, valerian root, and passion flower may help you calm down some and possibly reduce the T a little but you shouldn't take them long term. I have a friend who cycles them for a few weeks on/off.