Mental Health and Tinnitus

Hey everyone, I'm new here and I'm in a real state.

I had an ear infection about three weeks ago and since then I've had tinnitus in my right ear which isn't getting better.

Last few days I've noticed it comes on and off in my left ear and I'm stressing out so much.

I know it hasn't been long but I suffer with my mental health so badly and it's affecting me loads. I don't know how to deal with this.

 

You aren't alone, this takes its toll on all of us. Try and hang in there and it still is very early days for you.

 

T due to an ear infection often goes away after the infection clears, but it can take several weeks for that to happen.

Good luck!

 

Thank you for your replies. The infection seems to have cleared up but my ears still feel clogged up and I have constant ringing. I'm going to the doctors on Tuesday anyway to see what they say.

 

Nikkilu,

You are still at the very early stages of having tinnitus so hang in there, it will get better.

Our ears are very sensitive and it heals very slowly. Be sure to stay away from loud noises and don’t use headphones for music so that you don’t hurt your ears more.

 

T is rough sometimes. You'll have your good days and your bad days, but it's important to not let T live your life. I try to think of mine like a noisy roommate; sometimes they're a good neighbor, and other times? Well, yeah.

I'm a little more conscientious about loud music, sound, movie theaters and concerts, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't or can't go to them. It just means I have to be a little more careful and responsible and take some extra personal precautions like ear plugs. T isn't cancer or an auto-immune disease -- it could be far worse!

I've been dealing with depression and social anxiety for around 15-16 years. I think planning around your T will quickly make you pretty unhappy. I try to plan with it, but kick it to the curb or the back seat. I place a lot more priority on the people that I'm seeing or the activities we're doing and it tends to fade into the background.

When I'm actually out and living my life T is usually masked by general environmental noise. The hustle and bustle of urban/suburban life, really. I don't notice it much while I'm out dating, or at the mall, listening to music. As cliche as it sounds like, I think for most people, it gets better.

It doesn't necessarily, "go away," but it fades and y'know, there's a lot of noise or language that we tune out and filter, and I think T is the same way. It's been a month or so? It's a lot easier than it was the first several days or weeks, so hold out hope, Nikki!

 

There is a good chance that your T will go away several months (i.e., 3-12 months) after your infection clears. Ears take forever to heal.

 

Thank you everyone, on top of my anxiety and depression it's really brought a massive downer on my life.

Question, I know loud noises can make it worse but I have a close friends party this Saturday which I have to attend as I've partly organised it. There's going to be a band on and were all into metal/rock music. If I wear ear protection will I be okay? I've ordered earpeace and alpine partyplugs. Im worried about it and I've never had issues with my ears before regarding loud noises.

 

I wouldn‘t even bother with musician earplugs during live music since they cut out barely any noise. If i were you I would use heavy duty foam earplugs like the Hearos Xtreme or other brands like 3M 1100. Most important thing, insert them correctly (this will take a few tries). I would also try to stand as far away from the band as possible and leave if it gets to loud.

 

As others mentioned ear infection takes time to completly heal. Until it doesn't your ears are very sensitive and I would advise you to stay away from loud noises. You may not feel when it is too loud to cause damage in your ears. If people in party are your friends they will understand your situation.

 

I'll echo on what others here have said. I have ETD in my left side that is affecting my left ear. I probably got it in Dec. after a bad head cold, which didn't come to light until I had a TBI in January. Mine is slowly clearing, and I get more good days than bad, many of which are tinnitus free. Bit of setback yesterday as I have another bad head cold, and it was with me most of the day. Woke at 2 am and it was gone, it's after 8am AST now and it's still silent. That has been my experience for the last month. One bad day followed by a few good ones. My concusssion doc, who suffers from T. is confident it will disappear, or at the very least will lessen to a very low amplitude.

 

You might be ok (the chance of you being ok is probably high). But there seems to be a non negligible chance that you might not be ok, even if you wear earplugs.

See the posts that I quoted in the first post of the thread below
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/learn-from-others-mistakes.29437/

Here are some newer cases (we get posts like that several times a week):

I agree with

and

 

Hopefully it will heal up and go away. T is horrible for our mental health. Try and relax and move forward

 

I really hope it heals and goes away. The idea of it dominating my life and having to avoid the things I love like gigs is really upsetting. I'll have to go for abit Saturday but leave when the loud music comes on.

 

Hi
@Nikkilu -- You may want to consider acupuncture, which is often helpful with tinnitus. They can do certain points that will help "unclogg" the ears. -- All the Best...

 

Hi Nikkilu, I noticed that you are in the UK.

Boots sell a cheap brand of wax earplugs called ‘Muffles’. When inserted, you will barely hear a thing.

I would be very wary of exposing your ears to loud music at this stage but if you stick them in when frequenting the noisiest places at the party you should be okay. But you will not be able to have a conversation with anyone if you adopt this approach.

However, this is possible if you take them out in a quiet spot.

It might be an odd way to handle things but it worked for me at a couple of gigs. I was, at least, able to soak up the atmosphere even though I was unable to hear very much.

Regardless, the wax earplugs are worth knowing about.

Incidentally, I used Mindfulness to habituate my tinnitus. There are a couple of cheap paperbacks (The Mindful Way Through Depression, The Mindful Way Through Anxiety) that might help you with your other issues.

 

Thanks, I'm going to look into those wax plugs. Thanks for all your advice x