I Am Screwed, Aren't I?

Hi there,

First of all I want to say that it's great that a forum like this exists. Reading the situations of others has helped me understand what I have. I am very new to this.

I am Dima and I am 17 years old (almost 18) and 2 days ago I smoked marijuana with some friends (I rarely smoke). When I got home I Skyped with a friend for a while, after we hung up my headset was not making any sound but I heard this EXTREMELY loud static electric sound. I thought there was something wrong with my headset so I took it off. Because of the sound that taking it off made I didn't hear anything for a few seconds, then it returned. I freaked out and thought I was just having a bad trip because of the weed. Hoping it would go away I lied in my bed very dizzy and confused for 15 minutes before realizing it wouldn't, then I put on some music on my earbuds and I could sleep just fine. Yesterday I had already forgotten about it because I didn't hear it in the morning or afternoon. Then at night it came back worse than before. I started reading things on this forum and about what I have and wondering what might be causing it. Even after putting on music the sound of silence was still deafening and I couldn't sleep until 6 AM. This morning when still in bed I heard the sound too for the first time not in the evening. Now that I'm typing this it's gone but that might just be because of my loud computer.

These are the things that I think might have something to do with me getting Tinnitus. I use amphetamines for my ADD, I have anxiety and stress because of the exams I have next week, I never listen to music on full blast and I always avoid clubs that have really loud music.

The sound I hear is a static electric sound like that of an old TV with a little bit of a high tone to it but then extremely loud at times. It differs sometimes in volume, if I concentrate really hard on the sound and try to let it go away the loudness will decrease. When I think in my head with voice about anything (talking in my mind) this same thing happens. Is this normal?

I've heard people say it might be caused by wisdom teethes coming up, the age for them to show up is from 18 - 25 I think so that could be a possibility. I don't feel any pain or things like that in my jaw so I don't know. The clearing of wax out of your ear was a thing I saw someone posted, my father has a syringe like thing that sucks up water and you can clear your ears with that but I saw the guy that did do it had it done by a doctor. Would that be worth a try?

Another thing that crossed my mind is that my mother and aunt had the same. My family owns a house in Southern France and I've gone there with my family every year since my existence. My mother has Tinnitus every time we go there, she says it's because of the water from the mountain we use and my aunt has the exact same thing. It's not always as bad though, I remember from two to three holidays that it was so bad she cried all the time because she wanted to get the sound of overflying piston engine bombers out of her head. Her and my aunts situation is a little similar to mine and I wondered if Tinnitus might be genetic.

I am still a bit hesitant to tell my parents since they will immediately rush me to a doctor knowing them and I read blood-tests aren't uncommon. By the way they don't know I smoke weed

I have all hopes that it will either disappear within the first week(s) or within 10 months since that's what seems to be the most common for the people that do get rid of it. If it does stay for life I am sure that scientists will think of a cure within my lifetime. Hell, they can even make deaf people hear again.

Thanks in advance to anyone that responds!

 

If the house area causes your family tinnitus, why keep going back there?

 

Dima,

You should inform your parents and let them take you to an ENT specialist and audiologist to have your hearing checked. ENT's aren't very knowledgable about T, but can check for wax issues and other symptoms. No worries about blood tests, they don't check that.

You may want to ease off the earbuds and keep yourself away from loud sounds for awhile. Your T may resolve itself and go away completely.

Genetics may play a part in T also. My entire family has it. I'm not certain of this though.

Good luck and welcome.

 

@Dima, I know of no evidence that smoking marijuana causes T. Also, I'm sure it's not a house you're going to that's causing your T. Like @Sailboardman suggested, you should visit an ENT for a full work up. See about getting wax removed from your ear (don't try this yourself at home). Be careful with listening to loud music. There's a good chance that your T will just resolve on it's own. If it doesn't, most people go on to live very full and normal lives, even with T. They simply habituate (get used to) it and move on. Most people who have T aren't even consciously aware of it for most of the day, even though it's just as loud as the first day that they got it. Try not to freak out too much, and definitely go to a doctor.

Eric

 

Hey @Dima

I agree with what previous posters suggested you to do... I would go to the ENT as well, no blood test taken...

I personally would not use the syringe to clean the ears.. ENTs have a little tiny instrument they can pick the wax out if needed... Better no syringe and no earbuds for me..

Best of luck and protect your ears !

Ciao !!

 

It might be because of the travel to get there maybe? If you go by plane of course.

 

Actually, my ex used to smoke a lot of week and he did say that it would make his ears ring!

 

Hi Dima, welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear about your experience with T.
Since it's only been a few days since you've had it, there is a good chance your T may still disappear. Have you been listening to any loud music recently or while smoking?
I doubt very much that your mum and aunt's T is caused by the water from the mountains (probably the purest source of water you can find!) maybe its just because the house is in a very quiet area, which means they hear the T?
Best wishes and stay strong!
Maria

 

Well it's just my mother and aunt. And it stopped for them when we had to use government water because the water source had dried out a summer.

 

Thanks for the advice, I will tell my parents when I wake up.

A question about the earbuds though. I have them on very low volume and play the 10 hour white sound video's on YouTube. It's the only way I can get to sleep. Would headphones be better maybe? I bet I can work out a way to sleep with those on.

 

I almost never smoke weed and I don't smoke regular cigarettes. But it might be that. I don't know if that effect would last several days though...

 

No loud music, no loud anything and not while smoking. Only when I got T the first night, but just to sleep. This was a couple hours after smoking.

Yea I doubt the water story too but there aren't many other explanations. I live in a very quiet town and the difference with here and the house in France isn't that big at all.

 

Thanks for all the kind replies! Hadn't noticed that anyone wrote on this since I thought I would receive an email when someone did, but apparently it didn't.

 

Dima,

I use a Hometics, nature sound machine and place it on my bed. Six different sounds you can chose from. No need for earbuds or headphones.

Don't know if you can buy them in France, but try Amazon.

 

Hi Dima, in that case, maybe it's the trip to get to France? My T gets worse after flying but also after long car journeys. These days I always wear custom made earplugs while travelling and it helps a lot! Are you feeling any better yet?

 

Well yes, I haven't had time to go to an ENT or do anything else because I have to study but it really doesn't seem like that big of a deal anymore. The sound of my computer ratteling at night is enough sound to supress most of the T.

I have my first exam tomorrow and I am kind of worried about that. It's always super quiet during exams so maybe the T will screw me over. I hope the sound of people writing and using their calculators will be enough noise.

 

I'm sure it will be! Good luck and don't worry too much!