Is It Possible I Have Permanent Tinnitus?

Hello, so two days ago (4/20/18) there was a fire alarm at my school. The school has a new policy that we are required to stay inside the classrooms during a fire alarm. The room I was in had two fire alarms that were unsynchronized and they went off for 15 minutes straight.

Ever since I have not been able to hear as well as I used to and I now have a constant 24 hours high pitched "eeeeeeeeeeeee" about equal in both ears. It is pretty quiet but can be heard over driving the car and over the sound of a fan or the television. I have about scared myself to death reading things online that it will never go away. I have never had ringing in my ears before this. Also I know that my tinnitus was caused by the fire alarm.

Do you think it could be permanent? If it is how should I go about life (I'm only 16)? Should I see a doctor about this or an ENT?

 

What you should do is go to a doctor asap.

 

Schedule an appointment with an ENT asap and also Audiologist. Those two should work together normally. You may hear people tell you to get on steroids also ASAP. I am not sure there is data/proof behind taking steroids that fast though...

 

@Eddie Simmons
I am so sorry to hear about your tinnitus.
I think that you should go to an ENT straight away. In cases of noise exposure, they may prescribe prednisolone.
There is not consensus about whether this is helpful or not, but in my opinion it is worth a try.
Go about your life as normally as you can, but be careful to protect your ears. Avoid exposure to loud noises wherever possible.

 

It Could end up being permanent, but there is still a good chance that you will end up being ok, especially since you are so young.

You might consider getting HBOT treatments (for more information, search this forum). Make sure to not go to any loud concerts.

Check out the thread below where I summarize everything (27 tips) I learned about managing tinnitus after reading the posts on this forum for the past year.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

And then a lawyer. The school is liable for the trauma he experienced.

 

At your age the chance of recovery should be pretty high...unless you have some other underlying issues.