Joining the Club

Good morning everyone.

My name is Mike and I have had tinnitus for 10 weeks now. I'll try to sum up the past 10 weeks...

It just happened one night to be honest. It wasn't after loud noise exposure. What came soon after was sinus congestion that was really nasty. For the first 10 days, the tinnitus was consistent and mainly in my left ear. It caused me to be extremely depressed and I lost 11 pounds from not nourishing myself correctly. I saw the doctor at my college and she said I had labyrinthitis, which I believe was incorrect seeing as I never had any vertigo. Sure, I felt lightheaded at times and had head-rushes but that was most likely because I wasn't hydrating properly. I also wasn't taking it seriously as I still smoked marijuana the first few days and once a week for 3 weeks until I resented pot. Drinking alcohol also made my whole head ring.

Anyways, after the first ten days it has been on and off (or not noticeable). There were many occasions where I thought finally, this is going away and I can do things normally again. It would usually come back though. My ears have been feeling plugged pretty much this entire time, and at one point my tonsils got infected. They still have white spots on them but they are going away very, very slowly.

I've seen an ENT and he gave me prednisone, which definitely helped the ringing, as it has gone down to about a 2/10, whereas before it was probably a 5-6/10. In the last week it seemed like it was on its way out completely because I could hardly hear it at night (the time when it seems like everyone can hear it roaring). It was as low as it's ever been. Yesterday it came back softly in my left ear, oddly enough right after I started to use Afrin to decongest my sinuses. It's hardly there, but it's there.

The ENT seemed confident that the ringing is due to the congestion which has lasted so long. My right ear has opened up significantly, but the left still crackles when I yawn and swallow. I'm praying that this congestion and tinnitus is not chronic. Usually I can deal with it, but when it goes away and comes back it really gets me down.

If I'm slowly feeling better, less congested, and the ringing is subsiding, would that mean that my tinnitus is the result of the sinus infection? And because the infection is taking forever to go away, the tinnitus can rev up every once in a while? It's not unlikely that I have the slightest hearing damage from noise exposure due to a hearing exam, but the ENT said my hearing was phenomenal. I can't help but think that because it has lasted so long and comes and goes, that it has always been there (and is permanent) and I've been able to cope better on some days. I also think that it can't possibly be always there, it has to be going away.

A note on noise exposure. I never thought I listened to music too loudly, in the car, through my earbuds, etc. Over the summer I went to a music festival that was pretty loud, but I didn't have any effects directly from that. Since I've had tinnitus, I have been to one concert (where I wore earplugs) and hosted a small party at my apartment, where the music was not too loud. Afterwards my ears did pop a little louder than normal but that lasted only 30 minutes. In the car I could always hear my voice singing over the music, and on my iphone I listened to music at around 13-14/16 (and have been listening at that volume for a few years). I don't listen that loudly anymore due to paranoia of hurting my ears more. I just don't see how noise exposure could cause the tinnitus. I have heard that sometimes it can present itself from a show one has gone to years ago, rather than immediately after a concert. I'm not sure I believe that. Also, playing and pausing music at any volume would make the T spike for a second and go back to a normal level. It does not do that anymore.

Apologies for making my introduction so long, but I felt like it was finally time to connect and share my story. There is more to it, but I'm looking forward to connecting with you all and joining the mental fight against this incredibly exhausting annoyance.

 

Your case is similar to mine. Let's hope ours goes away.

 

Hey Mike, sorry to hear about your experience. Doctor also prescribed me predonisone but a very large dose made me manically euphorical followed with muscle and joint pain, insomnia, nausea and intense hunger. What dosage were you on?

Mine was 60 mg 3 x day for three days and then it 60 mg 2 x day for 3 days and so on but it made me manically euphorical followed with muscle and joint pain, insomnia, nausea and intense hunger. Guess my nervous system is very sensitive. I've decided to gradually quit the corticosteroids therapy because with consultation with my father and another doctor who finished studies in the UK I've realized it doesn't help much but it's causing me side effects that weren't worth it.

 

I'm hopeful for us both! I believe that the excessive pot smoking really lowered my defenses, and this infection was something new. So it takes the immune system by surprise. I've convinced myself to believe many things throughout this episode of my life, hoping this "diagnosis" is correct and it indeed goes away.

Thank you for your empathy I was prescribed a low dose, 40 MG for 3 days, then 30,20, and 10. The ENT noticed there was inflammation so that's why he gave it to me, it did cause me to have at least 3 vivid dreams a night. I feel it has lowered the inflammation in the back of my sinuses where it connects to the Eustachian tube, but I am still finding myself getting rid of mucus from my throat often.

 

40 mg seems to be standard dose. However, I was given 180 mg for three days, then 120 mg 3 days etc and it didn't feel good at all.

Hope you recover quickly!

 

Just based off of the dreams I was having, I can't even imagine what you were going through. That's wild. Sending many good vibes your way man, things will get better

 

I am so sorry young man, you look like your my sons age and I feel so blessed you felt enough to share. I loved reading your story. I think we need to rest, breathe deep Yoga breathes and we have to learn to live with it and heal ourselves... mind if we are strong, we figure it out.

 

xoxoxoxxo