I Don't Want to Live Anymore

Hello,

About two months ago I woke up and went to shower and immediately left to school with wet hair,.. because I was late (I'm 16 years old by the way).

When I got into school, I noticed my ear was not hearing normal, like I felt I had water in my ears. That lasted a few days and my ears were normal again. But then, a few weeks later, I started hearing a high pitch noise in my right ear and crackling in my both ears.

I decided to make an appointment with an ear specialist. A week later or so, I went to the ear specialist. He did a few tests for my hearing and the doctor told me that my hearing was perfect. Then he also looked in my ears and said that everything looked perfect. Then he said let me have a look in your nose, he noticed that i have a askew septum and also have sinusitis and a lot of mucus (don't know what that is). He said that it's chronic sinusitis.

On the 29th of march, I will have a allergy test and a scan of my nose to see how bad my sinusitis is. I asked the doctor if there's something wrong with my Eustachian tube and he said that the crackling noise i'm hearing is normal.

But I just can't accept that, I know that the crackling noise is not normal, it just doesn't make sense because I never had it before, that's why I started noticing it. My parents talked with another doctor and he recommended me to take anti-histamine pills and Ibuprofen.

So a few days ago I went buying it and took it for about 3-4 days.

Then, yesterday, my tinnitus got worse on the right ear and I hear a ringing in my left ear too! Now it's both, I'm not taking the ibuprofen anymore because I read on the internet it can make Tinnitus worse.

I also listened a lot to music with earphones the past few years, and the volume was always on maximum. I listened to it almost every day.

But when I heard I had no hearing loss and that my hearing was perfect, I understood that it's not caused by the music I was listening to, right? I stopped listening to music with earphones because i'm scared it will be worse.

I just don't know what to do, I can't concentrate on school and I have a lot of anxiety now. I just need some help, but nobody can help me out.

Please someone help me out here. How long will this damn thing last for? I steam a lot and also take ginkgo biloba pills. I also got an steroid spray for my nose from the doctor.

If someone can help me out with a few of my questions, it will be very appreciated.

1. Can a sinusitis cause tinnitus?
2. Can I have no hearing loss, but still have tinnitus because I listened to loud music with earphones?
3. Do I really have no Eustachian tube dysfunction?
4. Should I listen to music with headphones on low volume?

 

1. Can a sinusitis cause tinnitus?

In all honestly, the research is inconclusive and you'll find pretty much everything is linked to T. In my personal opinion, anything linked to the ear, nose and throat can effect T, since they are interlinked.

2. Can I have no hearing loss, but still have tinnitus because I listened to loud music with earphones?

I have T and also have very good hearing. Mine is likely stress-induced. On the flip side, there are deaf people without T. It's linked to but not exclusive to hearing loss. My hearing was said to be excellent, and I'm a young man.

3. Do I really have no Eustachian tube dysfunction?

You should run it by your doctor and discuss Dymista nasal spray with him. It can take several months of usage before your ET's are cleared with this, and it's a steroid spray so you really need to discuss it with your doctor. And remember - being a doctor doesn't mean they know everything. If you are unhappy with your doctor, ask your parents to arrange to see a different one. No big deal.

4. Should I listen to music with headphones on low volume?

I avoid headphones and I'm no expert, but I would say volume is what's important, not source.

Take comfort in knowing that you're T is changing (a good sign), you have a medical condition which may be causing your T, you are young like myself so you won't live the rest of your life with it (hearing and T research came a long way in 2016), and remember T does either go away or improve in the vast majority of cases.

 

Sorry to hear what you are going through at such a young age. I cant answer all the questions you have but I will say that having perfect hearing does not mean that you shouldn't have tinnitus. I have perfect hearing and have it. The hearing exams that these doctors perform only test a certain range of sounds (the range to hear regular sounds and speech) and are not very extensive. You could possibly have hearing loss at higher ranges that they are not testing. With that being said I would recommend staying away from headphones for an indefinite amount of time. I personally wont go near them because sound travels in waves and when you wear ear plugs those waves can only travel through the ear canal. Now there is nothing scientifically out there that says low volumes will still cause damage but to me its not worth adding anymore damage to an area that already is. I have no idea of knowing if I am or am not causing more harm so to me its best to just stay away.

Now on a positive note you are very young and with that being said time is on your side. All I can tell you is to hang in there and I promise you that at 16 you have so much life to live. It does get better and for you it may even go away. Good luck and if you have any questions message me.

 

I'm very sorry you must go through this horrible condition at your young age. For what's it worth I was 24 when the high pitched T began.

I'm just like you, I love music, with earphones, always loud music in the car.

Always after A party when i got home my ears were ringing, when I woke up the ringing was always gone.

06 december 2014, the blackest day of my life I went to A party and the noise was hurting my ears. The day after I woke up and the hissing never left anymore.

Because you got it at such A young age and not after A hearing damage you have A good chance it wil dissapear or get much less, so please don't stress about it and live your life and let it be for what it is now. If you give it too much attention then it only will get worse (I can talk about it).

1:
Sinusitis can cause tinnitus. Give it some time to heal. Good chance your tinnitus will go away.

2:
The standard audiogram test goes up to 8000 hz. In that frequency the most people don't get the damage. In the most cases it's in the higher frequency's. My tinnitus sounds like 16000 hertz, so I think my hearing loss is there. But that don't effect my hearing.
So yes you can have tinnitus and A perfect hearing.

3:
About this condition : please don't worry. I had this for years, sometimes it got away and sometimes it began. It sounds like clicking in your ears, especially with swallowing you hear the sound. It began at my childhood and it ended by the age of 22 in my case. I thought it never got away, but maybe now for 5 years never came back.
It can be some slime in your eustachian tube, you can try nasal spray to see if it goes away. But not longer than A week, because you get addicted to it.

4:
In my case I would say you can use your headphones but not at 100% volume, 50% to A maximum of 60% is safe. You must go further with your life like it is the same without T. Only be aware of your hearing and stay in the safe zone.

I'm sorry if my English isn't 100%, I live in the Netherlands, so it's not my native language.

Don't worry about it, you have A whole life up ahead.

 

I'll tell you this much, you have great hearing and the beginning stages of tinnitus. Cut out all the loud music and be careful with your ears. Your tinnitus CAN get worst if you abuse your ears and the ringing CAN get much louder and you CAN develop hypercusis (however you spell it). I wish i could go back in time and someone typed this to me and educated me.

Your tinnitus is brand new and not at destructive levels, keep your ears healthy and avoid LOUD music.......

 

So you like to listen to lots of music with the volume at maximum every day and you're asking if you should lower the volume?

Do you want "jet engine" tinnitus along with a large power plant transformer attached to your head?

 

An ENT doing that camera down the nose thing can tell you 100% if you have any problems with your Eustachian tubes.

Also I got my T the same way with loud headphones on max for years then one day it got T and it stayed

 

That's why you have tinnitus. Not because of the other stuff you mention.

 

Hello,

Thanks everyone for your responds, especially Paul10, mojo and loneranger, thanks for all your support, really appreciate it. The problem that caused my tinnitus, is not the earphones, not the Eustachian tube, but it's the iron deficiency (anemia). About a month ago, I had a blood test and the doctor told me that I had very low iron and vitamin B12 in my body and that I should start eat a lot of fish and meat each day. However, I did not listen to him, and that's what I got for not listening. Yesterday, my friend directly called me after she heard what I had, and she said she had the same problem and iron deficiency (lack of vitamin B12) was the problem. I also noticed that I have a lot of hair loss, diarrhea and sometimes, I feel that I'm passing out because I only see a black screen in front of my eyes. I will eat liver, eggs, milk each day from now and hope it will slowly fade away. All by all, thanks for all the support, but I can gladly say that I found my problem. I will inform you guys when my tinnitus is changing or getting less. One thing that I don't understand is that no one doctor told me to do a blood test or that it's maybe because of a lack of B12 and iron. Really don't understand why these doctors didn't tell me that. Again, thanks for all the support. I'll definitely inform you guys when it's gone. Also, see the picture for more information about tinnitus and iron deficiency.

Thank you all

 

Your English is excellent, I understood everything. By the way, I live in Belgium Bedankt voor alles.

 

Really glad to hear this; please keep us updated, and leave your success story when you overcome your T. Doctors unfortunately don't follow a universal protocol when it comes to T, you really are at the mercy of the person checking you over. Think I need another blood test personally also.

 

I hope you are right, but I wouldn't bet on it as you have a very common predictor (loud noise exposure). If I were in your shoes, I would definitely take it easy on those ears, even if it ends up being iron deficiency as the cause for your T. I don't have to remind you how dire it can get (look at the title of your thread).

 

Yes, definitely. As I already said I threw my earphones previous week away. And I avoid loud noises at all times. But one thing I forgot to tell you guys is that is the use of my earphones:

1. This year, I used my earphones to play a game on my computer (called: CSGO, a first-person shooter game). I only played this game on friday, saturday and sunday. I played around 2-5 hours a day. But remember, when I had my earphones on and my mom called me from downstairs, I directly recognized it. Also, in the shooter game, there is not 24/7 noise. My earphones volume was also not on maximum when I played this game.
2. On school days, I used the earphones everyday on maximum volume for 10 min. when I ride my bike to school and when I was coming back.

So yes, it could be of noise expoisure, but I think my situation is closer to amenia. All by all, thanks for your respond.

 

Yes, I definitely will. And who knows, maybe a lot of people are suffering from T because they just don't have enough vitamins and iron in their body.

 

I hope it goes away. I've also been one to listen to loud music, but only about 75% volume at max most of the time, usually lower. That was for ASMR. I doubt the ASMR was the reason I got T, but it would sure be wierd if it did.

I can't use headphones anymore. I do use earbuds to talk on the phone (only in one ear and I adjust the volume based on how loud the voice of the person I'm speaking to is) but not to listen to music. I usually use my soundbar or computer speakers for music, and try to keep it at a decent level.

My hearing apparently is perfect as well. Noone told me I had anything wrong with me, but I have been stuffed up over the past few weeks, and I have seasonal allergies, so I'm thinking thats what caused it. My T is high pitch low volume, but honestly in the days prior to the onset of T, there were no ridiculously loud or sharp noises that would have brought it on. If anything, the panic attack I had the night before probably had more to do with it than anything.

It's been getting better though. This week has been good. Only loud sometimes. The first week was the worst. So I seem to progressively be getting better, but sometimes it gets loud and I start thinking about suicide. Just don't let it get to you. Once it gets loud, play a video game or turn on some upbeat music or anything to take your mind off it, and I bet it'll go down or atleast be less annoying to you.

 

Damn, man. I have exact same feeling. I think a lot about suicide, but i'm just too scared to die. I'm in a 50/50 situation. Sometimes I think, is it worth it to live my whole life with these sounds in my head? Even though i'm that young and have such a long life in front of me, I don't want to take this long road. May God be with us all.

 

I mean same here. On the one hand I'm scared for the future and I've always had issues with depression and anxiety... Half the time I feel like I can survive anything, the other half I just lay there and think "why me" and how fucked up my life is otherwise and how much this noise just isnt what I need on top of all the other bs. For me... I refuse to accept it'll be here for the rest of my life. Maybe another week, maybe a month, maybe a few months. But not my whole life. I do accept it for what it is, and most days it doesnt bother me much at all, but when I get down and anxious, it certainly adds more fuel to the fire. I just feel like if you accept it will be there forever then your brain will tell itself that and you'll have it indefinitely until your life gets so busy that you can't notice it anymore. But if you accept it as a temporary thing and cope with it the best you can during that time, it'll eventually fade away. Again, I've only had it for 3 weeks now. But I just woke up with it and so far No one knows what the problem with it is. I've yet to see an ENT but I'm sorting through the sea of doctors to try and find even one who will take me sooner. I have an appointment on July 18th and I'm going to keep that just in case the others don't work out. But I'll be damned if I just say I'm crazy xD. Hopefully the doctors will tell me something good or it'll just go away on its own. But it still is annoying that its there , mainly when I try to sleep. Then again if I'm tired enough, I just pass out regardless. My advice... Don't accept it as something that will be here forever. Even if the doctors give you bad news. Or if they don't know what's wrong, take some slow deep breaths and carry on with the coping. Keep yourself busy, don't think about it too much, and it won't bother you that much. It can only bother you if you see it as a threat. If you see it as like some annoying little thing that will be here for a bit, youre bettet off.

Also, regardless of why this has happened... Don't blast music anymore. Keep it at a decent level. No more head phones. If you use ear buds to talk on the phone, just keep them to where you can just hear the person. If you game and you need to talk to your team, just get a headset with one earpiece that doesn't go over your ear completely, and only use it to talk (thats why I've been doing) and most of all... Minus the loud noises, do what you did before all of this happened. If you let it destroy your life, it will. If you live your life like normal, it will either go away or become a minor nuisance rather than a big bully.

 

Because you went into shower and got tinnitus. I go to swimming and put pressure on ear in the water. That means going under the water. You might get lucky. I hope you do. I read a case like this.

 

Based on personal stories I read on this forum - yes.

At least there is hope that once you cure your sinusitis, T will Eventually go away or at least get quieter. You are young, and this increases the chances that you will recover.