I Went to the ENT, and He Told Me That My Ears Were Fine and That I Should Just Live with It

3 weeks ago I noticed ringing in my ears that gradually grew louder and higher pitched. At first I thought it was due to the fluid that was in my ears (I HATE loud music/other loud environments), but the issue remained even after the fluid had drained. I had never listened to music at loud volumes, but I did use headphones at a low volume a few hours day while studying in college (I thought it was safe as long as I kept it below mid volume).

I went to the ent, and not only did I not have fluid in my ear, he said that my hearing and my ears are perfect. He said it hadn’t been caused by noise exposure since I’d kept my headphones down. He said there is nothing he can do/recommend to solve it, and that I should just get used to it.

I’m at a loss. How has this happened when I have no hearing loss or other complications? How could the ENT have NO suggestions? Ive never been susceptible to illness or other issues. I listened to earbuds a lot, but so does pretty much everyone I know (especially at my college, since the campus is so wide we end up walking a country mile to every class).

I’ve been experiencing a lot of anxiety over the past few months but that can’t cause tinnitus on its own, can it?

In short, I’m at a loss. I thought I’d get answers at the ENT, but he basically told me there’s nothing you can do to solve it. What do I DO? Is there a chance of this going away if there’s no hearing damage? I’ve stopped listening to earbuds completely (which saddens me because earbuds were my biggest source of calm in public/anxiety-inducing situations, and while running) and I’ve stopped drinking caffeine and have cut down on my salt. Lately I’ve been playing white noise through my speaker at one bar of volume to help me sleep.

 

IMHO
Even at mid volume, erabuds can cause T. Everybody knows noise exposure can cause loss of hearing, but people don't know noise exposure can cause T, and I think T is far worse that hearing loss.
Your T is very new, and if you protect your ears from anymore earbuds/noise trauma, you have a good chance of having your T fade, maybe even to zero. This fading process may, unfortunately, take up to 2 years.
Protect your ears , no clubbing, concerts or earbuds

 

Others here will give you a lot of help and suggestions to help you cope.

My suggestion would be to find another ENT. While my ENT wasn’t able to do anything for my tinnitus, he agreed that the hearing aids with maskers from my audiologist are helpful, that the meds prescribed by my doctor for anxiety/depression due to my long term tinnitus was appropriate, that CBT from my psychologist is helpful, and he added his suggestions on how to protect my hearing along with suggestions on supplements that he thought would be helpful. But, most of all, he was sympathetic and hopeful to my plight. I think you have an ENT who doesn’t care about your feelings and, when it comes to tinnitus, we would like our support system to be empathetic to our suffering.

 

Your ENT is an incompetent, non caring sack of shit.
Sounds like he didn't even pretend to try to find the cause.
I wish I had the power to give these people a taste of loud crippling tinnitus and tell them to "get used to it".

You can have hidden hearing loss in higher frequencies, but I doubt this idiot even thought about getting you tested beyond the standard 8000 khz test.
There could be many different causes, but sounds like he didn't give you the time of the day aside from telling you to "get used to it" and shouting "next!"
Find someone else if you can and don't forget to give this guy a bad review online.

 

I came back to you because, while we told you to find another ENT, we didn’t tell you why. @Wolfears recommended you get tested beyond the standard hearing test and I wholeheartedly agree. While my post may seem like my ENT did nothing, I did not describe what was done the first time. When I first saw my ENT, he believed I was suffering from severe tinnitus and made it his goal to find out the cause. He did various tests to find out if there were physical reasons with my ears. He checked for tumors. He checked to see if my sinuses or my jaw was causing the issues. It took him a little while to rule out any physical cause that he could fix. Based on extensive hearing tests as @Wolfears described, he determined I had high frequency loss and, based on my history, likely caused by acoustical trauma. He sent me to an audiologist and they have been working with me since.

My ENT never told me there was nothing he could do. He did explain that, in my case, there was no cure but he could refer me to others who could help my particular cause for my tinnitus. SOMETHING caused your tinnitus and a great ENT can find the cause by ruling out those things they are trained to find. @Wolfears succinctly described your ENT and I described mine. Find one who will believe in you and work till he/she finds the cause.

Depending on the cause, you’ll begin developing your support system to help you recover and/or cope. In my case, I have a doctor and a psychologist to help me cope. Mine is severe and Ive suffered a little over 50 years with this. I have an audiologist to keeps working with hearing aids and masker programs. I have just been given a new type of hearing aid with Notch Therapy built into them. Will they help? I hope so. The literature says 3 weeks I should start to perceive a change. My audiologist will see me in a month to re-evaluate the program. I see the ENT as it gets worse to check if something else isn’t contributing to my tinnitus. I’ve been sent to a trial and have tried various things suggested by my support team.

There may not be a cure or a pill today but there is ALWAYS something you and your support can do to help you. I hope you find a better ENT.

Take care,
Bobby