I Can't Believe I'm Here...

I'm 18 years old, and I never thought this would happen to me. I noticed my ears starting to ring a few months back, but that's also the time that I began to feel my allergies (which are new as of this year) coming on. It was quiet then, only happening when I was trying to sleep. I went to the doctor and they confirmed the allergies yesterday and now I'm on a decongestant (which I hopes resolves my symptoms) but I have a ringing in my ears that started really becoming apparent two days ago. My ears feel like they're clogged and I'd say ringing is taking up 25-30% of my hearing capacity. I play in a band, but I wear earplugs when I'm around loud noises. I want to protect my ears, and I don't want to have tinnitus, but I'm scared that it's already too late.

I am praying, though. I think I can get better, and I know with the help of god I will get through this. I ask those of you that believe to keep me in your prayers. I am hopeful that my hearing will get better, and this is just a small fling.

 

I've known a lot of people who developed some amount of tinnitus in their late teens / early 20s, and most of them are leading normal lives at the moment and have never searched for this forum or made accounts here. In fact I was one of them for ~10 years until I did something stupid that further compromised my hearing

That said, playing amped music right now is probably a bad idea. If I were you, I'd put the band on hold for a while, and basically focus on trying to ignore this as much as possible but going out of your way to avoid loud sounds. To the extent that your sinuses are clogged, this could definitely contribute to the severity of what you're experiencing.

Tinnitus sucks in general but when it happens at the age of 18, it's often sort of a wake-up call about life in general that can lead to an existential crisis. Meaning, your body is going to degrade over time and eventually fail you in some crucial way, so you'll experience increasing amounts of pain and disability and then eventually death. That's harsh, and not fun, but it's true for everyone that's ever been born.

 

Such us?

 

Gang Gang Dance at probably ~120db in a venue that was basically a small concrete box. Should have bailed the second I realized I had no earplugs. Oops!

 

Welcome to the forum. That kind of positive attitude to think you can get better will help you definitely, as it will keep stress at bay and stress and anxiety are bad for T. Having faith in God also help ease your burden of suffering, knowing that the loving God will keep an eye on you and your well being. I will pray for you. You bet.Take good care, God bless.

 

Maybe its your eustachian tubes thats clogged up.
Goto an ENT and have do a Nasal endoscopy and they can check.
It likes like less then a minute.

Also quit the band. Its just going to be adding fuel to the fire.