Introduction

Hi,

I am a male in my early 20's. I ve had tinnitus since 2009, it started out of the blue. I had multiple hearing tests and they all came back normal and back in '09 I had an MRI done which didn't show any abnormalities.

Over time I honestly got used to the ringing, which was louder in my right ear. It was always there but it was not that loud and I could easily ignore it with the slightest background noise. I could easily go to the library and study. I was able to sleep and go on with my life.

The reason because I created this account is because I don't know what else to do now.

Here's why:

It all started sometime in october 2013. I noticed my right ear would feel like there was some pressure issue and I experienced muffled hearing. The clogged feeling then transitioned to both ears and at times it would be so bad I would feel like I was fainting and the whole room were spinning.

Shortly after I started having pulsatile tinnitus in my right ear which lasted about 3 weeks and is now an occasional occurrence.

I decided to consult an ENT. I got a resident ENT and he asked me to do a hearing test, which didn't show any hearing loss( that was in december 2013).

A few days after that consultation and in the middle of my final exams everything turned to pure horror for me…

I remember studying for ma stats final for hours without a break and sitting at my desk with my head bend down. then when I sat upright, I noticed my T was much louder but went back to normal when I bend my head again or moved my head to the left or to the right. i didn't think that was the begining of hell.

That night I went to bed and noticed my T was loud but I thought it was because of the extreme stress and that it will go away once I was done with my exams.

The next day in the night before my next final the T was even louder and on the following morning, I woke up and I instantly had the urge to throw up. My head was hurting, my neck was sore and I never felt that lightheaded/dizzy in my entire life. The symptoms didn't go away over the day and persisted for at least 4 days. and since then my T has been so loud it is unbearable. I can't function. TV wont mask the noise, even wind blowing in my ear doesn't mask the noise. I cannot concentrate during lectures, I cannot relax.. I can t do anything…

This has roughly been the past month of my life..with no sign of getting better.
I did a CT scan ordered by my GP and he said my sinuses are blocked (one side) and one the other side I have a polyp, so now I m stuck with nasal spray (avamys) but I knew that before..

He said I should consult a chiropractor since my T got even louder with neck movements. I went to the chiropractor twice and I don t see any improvement, maybe even got worse…

Now I m here, tomorrow is my 23rd birthday and I am really hopeless…

Additional info:

-T gets louder with head movements to the left or right.
-T gets louder with jaw movements , especially when I grind my teeth.
-No idea whatsoever WHY it got so much louder. I know it s not psychological or stress because it s been over 4 weeks now.
-Nothing makes the noise better.
-I stopped eating meat october 1st
-is gingko biloba, b12 supplement, zinc, tmj specialist, any help?

Please if you have any advice, experienced the same to some extend, maybe a solution let me know!
I am desperate..

 

Sounds like you have some TMJ issues as well which can cause tinnitus. I second the the chiropractor but it will definitely take more than two visits to get benefits. You may also have a lot of tension in your neck. Even though you don't have exams... you're now clearly stressing about your tinnitus. A vicious cycle has started.

Have you tried white noise or other sounds to mask?

I'd put meat back in your diet and eliminate wheat/sugar and dairy. Wheat causes systematic inflammation. Sugar has been known to spike T in many people (myself included) and eliminating dairy will help your sinuses.

 

Hello@whysoloud

Great advice from Edna and Karen. I have terrible piercing ringing as I type this myself so my advice could be questionable. Maybe a upper cervical chiropractor would benefit you along with some type of short term sleep aid as poor sleep could exasperate your ringing and cause a vicious cycle as Edna stated.

A mouth guard to keep you from clenching your teeth when you sleep would probably be a good idea. I use one from a TMJ specialist with bands on it to pull my lower jaw ahead. It is called a elastic mandibular advancer and is used for TMD and also for sleep apnea.

Another thing that could possibly help you is a cervical pillow. Other than that would be some meds to take the edge off your tinnitus and/or the supplements that Karen talked about. I am leary about suggesting prescription meds due to the possible addiction that can happen. Best to talk this over with your GP, or possibly a psychiatrist.

Some type of background sound would probably help with your sleep. I mentioned a sound machine that I use on another thread ( the best of 3 that I have) or something played off a computer would work good too.

 

Thank you all for your kind words!

I think TMJ certainly has something to do with it and neck/problems as well since it it precisely since I had that specific posture during my finals that I noticed my T getting much much louder!
I know about the vicious cycle since I already broke it when i first had T in '09. This makes it so much worse because I know now that it is even worse then back in 09.

usually the refrigerator in my flat (studio) was enough to mask it. The TV and the radio cannot mask the sound at this point

I tend to drink a lot of coffee, but I still eat dairy so B12 shouldn't be an issue eh?

Did the Magnesium make your T sound less annoying? Where do I find systemic enzymes.
I will try to schedule an appointment with a TMJ specialist.
Do you think my sinus issues can be the root of the pressure/fullness in my ears? I keep thinking that maybe the fullness makes my already existing T sound much louder since it masks the background noises more…I hope that if I maybe get my polyps removed and my right sinus passage cleared(completely blocked) the T symptoms will reduce.

 

Hi!

Did your splint reduce your T sound at all so far? I notice myself clenching my teeth on numerous occasions during the day and almost every morning I have a really hard time opening my mouth and my throat is all dry. When pressing my jaw down the T gets MUCH louder.

I know for a fact that I am paying too much attention on my new aggravated T, I always monitor it and I know it's now helping me. I had some psychological issues in november/december and the new louder T is making everything worse. I read somewhere that antidepressants may make the noise less loud and bearable. I really didn't want to go down this road but at this point I am willing to try anything in order to function like a normal human being

 

Hello@whysoloud

Did your splint reduce your T sound at all so far?
I don't actually know what a splint is. I have a 2 piece molded plastic mouthpiece with bands on it.
I did use it last night and my noise is less and is a different sound today. It is very hard to determine where the noise is coming from. One ENT said there was a 99.9% chance my ringing was from my inner ear. The TMJ specialist said I had TMD on my left side and that could cause tinnitus. I had a lot of noise exposure also and left ear infections so it becomes confusing as to the best course of action to take. More later...... Maybe you seen this video already, but anyway this is the doc I seen and he talks about tinnitus from TMD part 1 of 3. If it's your cervical causing the T then a NUCCA chiropractor is probably your best bet.

If your tinnitus is inner ear or brain based, it becomes very difficult to know what to do. That's when some people (myself included) try the anti-convulsant drugs like Gabapentin,Trileptal, & Mysoline. I don't think you wanted to go down that road though. Anti-depressants are another way to go but probably not as effective as anti-convulsants. The conservative option would be using OTC supplements that Karen mentioned. I may try them myself.

Knowledge For Wellness- TMJ Disorder with...

 

@whysoloud - Just wanted to mention the possible link with Zolpidem & tinnitus. Remeron is probably a lot better choice for sleep, unless melatonin works. I heard Zolpidem was a "Z" version of a benzo, which have been known to cause tinnitus (esp. with withdrawal). I am currently tapering off of Zolpidem and switching to Remeron (mirtazapine).