Hi, my name is Al. It's nice to meet you. And it's comforting to meet people who are having similar issues.
I don't know how long I've had tinnitus and I've never been diagnosed. Things have gotten worse since the year started, however. I seem to recall having a ringing in my ears rarely a couple years ago but now it's every night before I sleep (in a quiet room) and it's especially bad when I first wake up in the morning. Almost to the point where I feel dazed. It is a wake-up call for sure. I have anxiety problems so I kinda chalked it up to that being a major cause because I become hyper aware of the T if I am left to think about it more. Sometimes my left ear will hurt inside but that's not every day or every hour either. I am very sensitive to loud noises because I am used to being around loud people. I do like my environment to be quiet but that's kind of hard to have when your brain is firing off these signals.
Is it worth going to an ENT? I see a lot of people here having doctors just shrug them off. I've been there before with other symptoms and doctors not taking me seriously. With it being a specialist, how much does it cost to see one? Can they typically perform the necessary tests on the first visit or will it be a series of visits? I likely can't even go somewhere until summer because of work. I have a fear of losing my hearing now even though I am only 26..
Thank you for reading and I look forward to talking to you!
I don't know how long I've had tinnitus and I've never been diagnosed. Things have gotten worse since the year started, however. I seem to recall having a ringing in my ears rarely a couple years ago but now it's every night before I sleep (in a quiet room) and it's especially bad when I first wake up in the morning. Almost to the point where I feel dazed. It is a wake-up call for sure. I have anxiety problems so I kinda chalked it up to that being a major cause because I become hyper aware of the T if I am left to think about it more. Sometimes my left ear will hurt inside but that's not every day or every hour either. I am very sensitive to loud noises because I am used to being around loud people. I do like my environment to be quiet but that's kind of hard to have when your brain is firing off these signals.
Is it worth going to an ENT? I see a lot of people here having doctors just shrug them off. I've been there before with other symptoms and doctors not taking me seriously. With it being a specialist, how much does it cost to see one? Can they typically perform the necessary tests on the first visit or will it be a series of visits? I likely can't even go somewhere until summer because of work. I have a fear of losing my hearing now even though I am only 26..
Thank you for reading and I look forward to talking to you!
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