Jonathan from Kentucky

Hi, my name is Jonathan, and I have been dealing with tinnitus since August of last year (2012). It started shortly after I went tubing on the river. (I fell off of the tube going at a fairly high rate of speed, and my head hit the water pretty hard.) For months and months now, I have been hoping that the tinnitus would go away, but it hasn't. I am at a point where I am able to "tune it out" about half of the time, but some days I really struggle. (The past three days have been very rough.) I started a new job today, so I am guessing that stress is making it worse than usual. I have browsed this website over the past few months for suggestions and ideas, but it has been a little overwhelming for a "newbie" like me. Can anyone give me some suggestions on where to start? I have not been doing much to address my condition, and I am ready to start. My tinnitus is a combination of a high-pitch ringing and a buzzing sound. Also, my ears both "crackle" almost every time that I swallow? Is that normal with tinnitus? So many questions, but I will stop there for now! Thanks for any and all feedback. I'm having a rough time right now, and it will be nice to talk to people who understand what I am experiencing.

Jonathan
Kentucky

 

Maybe something is wrong with your neck if you hit you head. Have you seen a chiropractor ? Does your neck hurt ?

 

Hitting water hard like that is definitely a known cause of ear problems. I've known several people over the years that have had the exact issues you're describing from cliff diving into lakes. I would use water-ear-plugs for your ears if you go tubing again.

My tinnitus is noise induced but I've definitely done my fair share of cliff jumping over the years. My ears pop and crack all the time. They feel full a lot.

I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing this. It's definitely a shitty time. My tinnitus is high pitched hissing, very similar to what you've described. Take care of your ears and it most likely will not get worse!

If you've made it several months you can make it several more. It seems that time is the greatest healer of all with tinnitus (at least in terms of habituating to the sound if it does not stop).

 

I had the crackling noise you describe for several weeks. It started about 4 weeks after onset of my T. It was accompanied by hypercusis, and as sense of pressure or fullness in my ears. Eventually, it all settled down. I don't have the crackling or pressure at all now, and the hypercusis has diminished greatly, but it still does bother me every now and then. I think others have experienced the same thing early on, and it diminished for them as well. I remember reading an explanation for the fullness feeling and it had something to do with your brain sending signals to your ear (afferent or efferent nerve - I can't remember which is which) as it tries to sort out why it is no longer receiving sound signals at certain frequencies.

Hopefully these symptoms will diminish for you too with time.

 

Hi Jonathan - I've had T for 15 years and my ears pop every time I swallow. This has been going on for about 10 of the 15 years. So I guess u could say it's normal? I dunno!
As for starting - I'd ask to see an audiologist who will hopefully test your hearing and try and get them to identify the pitch of sound and volume. Then perhaps the next step is masking devices/hearing aides? The trouble there is the cost of them...very expensive here in New Zealand...

 

Hi guys I actually haven't had tinnitus but for only about 3 months .. I'm just trying to connect to others that deal with this on a daily basis