It's Been a Full Week Living with Tinnitus

Still hoping it will go away. ENT doctor said hearing is fine. I haven't been to a concert in a year. Not sure how it came about.

 

If you have T, even if your hearing test is "fine", still means you probably have hearing loss. It just may be at freq above 8K which is never measured in audiology tests. You better seek another ENT. You might need a course of corticosteriods before it is too late like in my case. And you might also want to check many threads on this board for supplements that are otoprotective. Take my advice, be very suspicious of ENTs that are not experienced with T. It can be a waste of time and your precious health.

 

You could have a possible ETD that may cause your head noise. I just talked to a ENT nurse and she said to try Flonase or Nasonex, but you have to use it every day for about a month. You must be patient and give it time (tough I know) as it may not resolve your noise right away. Nothing guaranteed though, as it could be caused by inner ear damage or something somatic.

My left ear noise was practically unbearable yesterday, as that is why I messaged the nurse.

 

I will look into this. . Thank you both

 

Hi Joey, so what did the ENT have to say other than that your hearing was fine.

 

That's exactly what I was diagnosed with yesterday, ETD and fluid in my middle ear. He was quite emphatic about it. I guess they call that Otitis Media. Is that true that you can ringing in your ear from that, and that it can more or less go away completely, if the fluid all drains out? Because that would be great. I'm taking something called phenylephrine.

I just don't know what to really believe, even from official medical websites. And definitely take doctors' word for things with sort of a grain of salt. My ears are definitely not right, as they've been acting strangely and crinkling and doing odd things for months before my tinnitus started up last week. And so far it's quite mild. I can hear it, but it's faint and largely inoffensive and blends in effortlessly with the ambient noise of outdoors. It took me a few hours to even realize what it was. It does get quite a bit noticeable at night when in bed, with your ear on the pillow for example. But other than that you have to kind of search for the sound and can easily forget all about it.

But can tinnitus actually be temporary, and only caused due to fluid or mucus buildup in the ears somehow interfering with the whole cochlear process, and then when it's all removed or drained out, and the cochlear is fine again, then the tinnitus stops? I just want to know if I'm even right in thinking that.

 

@Littlebailey

You may want to try the original formula Pseudoephedrine (behind the counter) instead of the OTC phenylephrine as it is a stronger version I believe. You will need your ID for the pharmacist to see to get that version. That plus steroid nasal sprays such as Flonase or Nasonex could work quite well. That is the combination I'm using right now and it seems to be working well.

 

@just1morething Hello!

From your post, I see the Sudafed didn't spike you. I'm still getting over a bad cold and I've been afraid to try Sudafed. So many things make my tinnitus louder, but I'm getting fullness in my ears so I need to do more than just cough syrup.

 

Yes, it's very possible your tinnitus is curable! Just work on getting your ETD under control.

 

Hello @jazz

I hope you get over your cold soon! @Louise told me last year about the original Sudafed being behind the counter as I had forgot. She knew a pharmacist that said that was the better one to take. Tinnitus is so debilitating that you don't know what to take really and I am constantly changing my thoughts on what is causing it, as it may be multiple things.

 

@Littlebailey

You may have to take my advice with a "grain of salt" also as I have been known to be wrong. Your noise could be from ETD or it could be from something else. Taking both Pseudoephedrine & Nasonex could be the wrong thing to do. I did ask a pharmacist if it was OK and they said yes. Remember my advice is free for a reason, as what works for me may be wrong for you! I just had a spike in my left ear after dozing off, so I am confused now.

 

At this point, there are two main tinnitus/Eustachian abnormalities that can occur here:

1. If the Eustachian tube stays closed, as during inhalant allergy, head cold, or middle ear infection, the oxygen trapped in the middle ear cavity is soon absorbed into the mucosa, creating a vacuum. The ensuring vacuum causes the cavity to fill with mucous. If uninterrupted, it will continue to do so until the pressure can cause tympanic membrane perforation. It is that in-between state that presents varying types of possible objective tinnitus: roaring, buzzing, humming, heartbeat, and in some cases, spasm of the tensor tympani and/or venous hum (when the pressure on vascular structures and surrounding tissues become too great). All of this, of course, can be ascertained through tympanometry, otoscopy, and other diagnostic measures.
2. If the Eustachian stays open (Patulous) as from physical abnormality, one will likely experience another type of objective tinnitus: described as an ocean roar or hollow effect, like a sea shell. In some cases, other palatal and middle ear structures may be involved, bringing even more complex descriptions of tinnitus

 

@just1morething

Thanks a lot for the reply. I guess I've read that, about the audible tinitius with ETD. I definitely have the ocean roar/sea shell sound. I've also got some sort of crickets/buzzing sound as well. I think I might have experienced the heartbeat infrequently, though don't quote me on that. And since I've been taking this nose/throat clearing medicine the last couple days, it does seem as if perhaps there is some abatement in conjunction with the status of my passages from hour to hour, as well as the sound seeming to fluctuate with movements of my mouth and jaw.

This sounds like something I need vigorously pursue, just on the off chance. Do I see ENT guys, or an Audiologist? And how is it possible to fast-track treatment, and not got stymied by sort of indifferent doctors? After reading through some of other people's stories, I'm definitely getting the sense that tinnitus is not always the area of greatest priority and expertise with your random ENT doctor, and that time is of the essence. I suppose tomorrow I should be on the horn with the best tinnitus guy I can find in the state of Oregon. I guess that would be probably be in Portland, though I'm Bend. They do have an HBOT chamber here in town though, which I found remarkable. Only one in Oregon.

In any event, I wonder what is the solution that I need achieve, not so much for the tinnitus per se, but for the ETD and fluid in the ear? Get the fluid out? Something else? I feel like as far as pursuing this goes, I know in a general ignorant layman's way what I would want to do, thanks to you and the internet as a whole, but would be worried there'd be too much indecision, and just general waiting on the part of whatever random doctor/specialist I might be dealing with.

It's been not quite two weeks yet. Just how much is time of the essence?

Also, when you say it's audible, you mean with the help of some special device, and not just to the naked ear?

 

Not sure, I guess I would get a script for Nasonex and also get Pseudoephedrine (behind the counter) and see if your tinnitus symptoms go away (use them every day) I haven't heard a lot of positive results with using a HBOT chamber. I just did a C+P on the article I found about a month ago.

 

I don't think I'm going to be signing up for HBOT. I was just googling, and I see that there's one right here in town. What are the odds!

 

@Littlebailey - It could also be your neck nerves crosstalking with your auditory nerves. The Sudafed + Nasonex is not working for me today....fooled once again!!

 

Yeah? What are you saying about the neck nerves and auditory nerves? Are you serious? You'll have to forgive me, I've only given myself the brief once-over about tinnitus and all the possible causes and such. In any case it doesn't seem like the decongestant is doing anything. Not for the tinnitus or my sinuses.

 

@Littlebailey

Yeah, well sometimes I come to a premature conclusion that certain things are the answer to are head noise, only to be proven wrong. I have to have a series of good days to really evaluate that this or that might help. Like I said in a previous post I am wrong a lot, and sometimes get too euphoric with a seemingly "normal" day and don't wait for a track record. I think that is a common problem a lot of us have that are desperate for a "cure" or lessening of are noise.

I was looking into a cervical connection to my tinnitus as discussed in the thread Cervical Spondylosis & Tinnitus. I don't really know if you have neck issues and this idea could prove to be inaccurate also. I "jump the gun" much too often and will try to learn from my past debacles.I'm mainly trying to be hopeful before resorting to other options like TRT. Gabapentin + Klonopin could work for some people and I still use them occasionally.

Courtesy from @jazz
Pain Physician. 2014 Jan-Feb;17(1):E95-8
Resolution of long standing tinnitus following radiofrequency ablation of C2-C3 medial branches--a case report.
Gritsenko K1, Caldwell W, Shaparin N, Vydyanathan A, Kosharskyy B.
Author information

• 1Department of Anesthesiology Division of Pain Medicine Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.

Abstract
Tinnitus is described as an auditory phantom perception analogous to central neuropathic pain. Despite the high prevalence of this debilitating symptom, no intervention is recognized that reliably eliminates tinnitus symptoms; a cause has yet to be determined. A 65-year-old healthy man presented with a 3 year history of left-sided tinnitus. Full workup performed by the primary care physician including blood tests for electrolyte imbalance, consultations by 2 independent otholaryngologists, and imaging did not reveal abnormalities to provide etiology of the tinnitus. No other complaints were noted except for occasional minimal left sided neck pain. Cervical spine x-ray showed degenerative changes with facet hypertrophy more pronounced on the left side. Subsequently, the patient underwent diagnostic left-sided C2-C3 medial branch block, resulting in complete resolution of tinnitus for more than 6 hours. After successful radiofrequency ablation of left C2-C3 medial branches, the patient became asymptomatic. At one year follow-up, he continued to be symptom free. Sparce studies have shown interaction between the somatosensory and auditory system at dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN), inferior colliculus, and parietal association areas. Upper cervical nerve (C2) electrical stimulation evokes potentials in the DCN, eliciting strong patterns of inhibition and weak excitation of the DCN principal cells. New evidence demonstrated successful transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) of upper cervical nerve (C2) for treatment of somatic tinnitus in 240 patients. This case indicates that C2-C3 facet arthropathy may cause tinnitus and radiofrequency ablation of C2-C3 medial branches can provide an effective approach not previously considered.

 

Have you tried a allergy pill such as Zyrtec? I just tried that in addition to Sudafed and Nasonex and my noise went way down. Just a idea before you try antidepressants such as Lexapro. I am still experimenting with some things, but may try TRT if all else fails. Just want to rule out some somatic causes of tinnitus, even if they are a remote chance.