My Story

Hi Guys,

I would love to tell you my story and get your opinions on it, i have big anxiety issues and the ringing in my right ear really isnt helping things.

Im 23, from london, and love music festivals. Me and my friends went to croatia for a music festival this summer and we went right to the front of the biggest stage for a couple of hours, i noticed when i went back to my tent my ears were constantly aching, it was worse than the usual but i figured it was to be expected and then the next day i didnt notice anything abnormal.

Once i got back from holiday i was noticing after listening to my headphones, the morning after my ears would ache from the slightest movement of my cheek or drop in pressure which i thought was quite odd, so i started listening to my heahphones less loud than usual which seemed to help.

A month after the festival i went to a big house/techno night in Manchester, october 10th 2014, it was a great night, my ears were ringing louder than normal after the event, the problem is, the ringing hasnt stopped...

I went to see a doctor who told me i had 2 blood clots in both my ears and 2 holes in my eardrum, on my right side, the hole is quite big, she said about half the eardrum, on the left slightly smaller, maybe 1 third. She gave me some antibiotics and earplugs and told me to rest. I told her my concerns about Tinnitus, this is a condition i was aware of and i know its something that rarely goes away, she explained that i havent got tinnitus its because of my perforated eardrums that my ears are ringing.

I had another check up with the doctor around 2 weeks ago to see how it was doing, she said the clots had gone the ear was a normal colour and the drums were slowly but surely improving. However the ringing has continued. She told me its a long process and may still take another month or 2 and also referred me to the ENT who im yet to see yet.

Its been 5 weeks now since the night out in Manchester that my right ear hasnt stopped ringing, my left one seems okay its just my right is a high pitch ringing sound. At first i couldnt sleep and had to put on rain sounds before bed, i suffer from very high anxiety and im so scared that this will never go away. Its been very hard for me, i live by myself and all my friends are always out clubbing and i have become lonely and depressed since this condition as i havent been able to catch up with them as we all work and just go out on weekends.

It seems like every day (like now) and night after work i get in and just look on the internet about perforated eardrums and try and reassure myself that its all going to be okay...

Ive ordered some earplugs for future nights out, i have made the desicion that for any loud concert venue regardless if this goes away or not i will be wearing them in future.

I would love to hear your thoughts on my story and any advice you can give me would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

 

It can be a right kick in the teeth when this stuff happens, I've been there before and again. Yes earplugs are a good idea, I'd have used then sooner if I knew about them. I totally can relate with you regarding anxiety, I'm having a stressful resurgence of T symptoms recently. It's like how we worry we'll be stuck with the noises forever and nothing can be done to alleviate them... with an unrelated issue I felt just like that and was fortunate to recover from it. As for my T noises, not so. However I'm seeking help on it again for symptoms that weren't checked before.

I hope your noise goes away. Either way, habituating to it would be a helpful goal even if it's not clear to us at present. Best wishes to you! *hug*

 

Hey, I understand how T affects somethings in your life. There are a lot of useful things to improve life with T not all Doctor related. Acupressure, nature sounds, herbal remedies help some people. Though definatley check with your doctor if these are OK for you. Getting back to nature often really helps with the anxiety and stress of T. Raising your confidence might help with general coping anxiety and T.

I really hope that you get better if you don't then don't worry too much about it, your not alone and we're always here to advise and listen. There are a lot of things to cure or make T easier.

If your T goes away then remember to take care of your hearing, I truly wish you all the best.

About not going out with friends, if they are your friend's then they'll support you and take you quieter places that will benefit you, if they don't care then they aren't your friends. You'll find people who are kind and understand and people who don't. It doesn't really matter as long as you make sure your friends with the good ones.

Your story is similar to a lot of peoples which means you have support and people who in the smae boat as you. Don't forget that.

*hugs* Georgia