Is It "Normal" to Have Ear Pain/Pressure with Tinnitus Spikes?

Hi there!

I have tinnitus caused (most likely) by a past medication. It fluctuates week to week between being quiet enough that I can mostly ignore it and so loud that it completely interferes with my life and I lose sleep and have suicidal thoughts.

When the tinnitus is bad, it is almost always accompanied by pain and pressure in the ears as well. I am currently waiting to get tested for Meniere's as I have a history of dizziness and vertigo, but my main question is: if I DON'T have Meniere's, is tinnitus with pain/pressure a common thing? I don't think I have hyperacusis (though I may be misunderstanding it since I'm new to this!) because it isn't triggered by noise and I don't feel sensitive to noise, it's just constantly there. Also, my hearing is normal. I just wasn't sure if there were people out there with tinnitus that consistently is paired with pain & pressure without an underlying illness behind it.

Thank you!
Caroline

 

Hi Caroline,

Personally I don't have ear pain/pressure but there are quite a few threads of other members talking about it on here. In the main menu, search ear pain and you will see there a few to take a look at.

It seems to be a normal thing that comes with the tinnitus. As for hyperacusis, that's more if sounds cause pain or if they sound louder than they should. If the tinnitus is getting in response to sounds, that is called reactive tinnitus.

Since you are new, you should check out the treatments thread. We have quite a few things to look forward to. Lately, Neuromod Lenire has been the talk of the town. The first patients are getting their treatment devices within two weeks from now.

 

Thanks for your reply! Yeah, most of the ear pain stories I've seen tend to be associated with hyperacusis but I'll browse around some more! I know everyone's different. I managed to schedule testing for Meniere's within the month so at least I'll have that answer one way or another.

I remember hearing about Lenire, that's really exciting news!

 

I had ear pain and fullness from acoustic injury. The word Hyperacusis is not just one problem, it's a loose term to describe several unclassified poorly understood hearing problems. Different problems all get merged together under the word hyperacusis.

 

Oh I see, thanks for the clarification. Yeah, it seems the more I look into everything the more I realize how little I really know about all this.

 

Yes, but not constant pain. I just get shooting pains every now and then if my ears have got over tired. Maybe happens 3 or 4 times a day for me. I have T, H and a constant fullness/ pressure sensation.