Hello all, I'm new here.
I started to have problems with prolonged tinnitus earlier this year in March not long after a bad flu (don't know if there's a connection). The underlying noise is a hissing which is just about always amplified when I clench my teeth or chew food. So chewing essentially sounds like a leaky balloon or tire being squeezed repeatedly. At its mildest it sounds like sizzling or leaves rustling. It often becomes much more intense and disturbing when it gets louder and becomes more like a high-pitched almost piercing ringing intermixed with the hissing. It has occurred in either ear or in the middle (or floated around). At the same time I usually felt a headache or pressure around the nose or sinuses when this is present. I tried an antibiotic in hopes that I had a sinus infection but it appears that didn't help.
The baffling thing is that my nose and breathing through it is clear. My hearing also seems very clear, although it gets muffled briefly but returns to normal (I believe I have some sort of ETD which I have long accepted) This tinnitus & pressure(?) situation is taking me on a evil psychological roller coaster ride where some days are very mild and almost normal (making me think it's going away) whereas other days are unpredictably bothersome and disturbing to the point where I can't wait to get home and go right to sleep. I don't enjoy anything in my life that I would normally enjoy, may family, my job, my hobbies etc.
I do have appointment for an MRI and to see an ENT specialist on over two months time, but feel by then my intense anxiety and stress will kill me if I at least don't have a professional answer as to what is going on or at least talk with someone who has actually experienced something similar. What is it? is it something in my head?, is it serious?, Is it permanent? etc. I feel myself starting to sink into depression and despair.
Can someone here please be kind enough give me a 'reality check' as to whether any or all of these symptoms sound familiar and what was the cause, that is if there was an actual diagnosis and treatment.
Thank you kindly, Mark
I started to have problems with prolonged tinnitus earlier this year in March not long after a bad flu (don't know if there's a connection). The underlying noise is a hissing which is just about always amplified when I clench my teeth or chew food. So chewing essentially sounds like a leaky balloon or tire being squeezed repeatedly. At its mildest it sounds like sizzling or leaves rustling. It often becomes much more intense and disturbing when it gets louder and becomes more like a high-pitched almost piercing ringing intermixed with the hissing. It has occurred in either ear or in the middle (or floated around). At the same time I usually felt a headache or pressure around the nose or sinuses when this is present. I tried an antibiotic in hopes that I had a sinus infection but it appears that didn't help.
The baffling thing is that my nose and breathing through it is clear. My hearing also seems very clear, although it gets muffled briefly but returns to normal (I believe I have some sort of ETD which I have long accepted) This tinnitus & pressure(?) situation is taking me on a evil psychological roller coaster ride where some days are very mild and almost normal (making me think it's going away) whereas other days are unpredictably bothersome and disturbing to the point where I can't wait to get home and go right to sleep. I don't enjoy anything in my life that I would normally enjoy, may family, my job, my hobbies etc.
I do have appointment for an MRI and to see an ENT specialist on over two months time, but feel by then my intense anxiety and stress will kill me if I at least don't have a professional answer as to what is going on or at least talk with someone who has actually experienced something similar. What is it? is it something in my head?, is it serious?, Is it permanent? etc. I feel myself starting to sink into depression and despair.
Can someone here please be kind enough give me a 'reality check' as to whether any or all of these symptoms sound familiar and what was the cause, that is if there was an actual diagnosis and treatment.
Thank you kindly, Mark
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