My Tinnitus from Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

Hello!

I'm Henrik. I'm 27 years old. My journey began in summer 2022, when I developed Eustachian Tube Dysfunction together with tinnitus. Because I had to wear a face mask at work all day for a long period of time and I wore it too tight, it closed my nose. I had a symptomatic nose infection in late summer 2022 and the ENT doctor said my tinnitus originates from the Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, the tubes are not ventilated well enough. I quit the job in summer 2022. I've had a severe sleep disorder for years and because of severe tinnitus spikes it was quite rough in autumn 2022. I work on keeping both nostrils open as well as possible so the ETD has a chance to recover. For example, I inhale a saline solution every day with a nebulizer, which is said to allow the steam to reach the tubes and open them up. I feel like it helps. Currently the noise level is rather acceptable but it's always up and down. I have a variety of different noises going on, but thankfully they can get masked in general - sometimes better, sometimes worse. Sometimes I have ear pain as well as a "click" in my left ear at the exact point in time when I stop inhaling air and begin to exhale. I drink Magnesium every day, take Zinc and Vitamin D. For sleep I take Melatonin and GABA powder. I have a low blood pressure and quite low pulse in general, so this might also be a cause of my noises to some extent - currently working on getting a higher blood pressure.

Things I learned in my personal journey so far:

• Do not underestimate the effects of stress and anxiety, I had my most severe tinnitus spikes because of it.
• Do not monitor tinnitus too much, like in a quiet environment (still working on this one).
• Sports are great, especially endurance sports.
• Distraction is great, like hobbies and activities.
• Muscular tension in my neck makes it worse, so I rarely use my cell phone and try to keep my head in a relaxed and healthy posture.

Things I still fear:

• Exposure to loud and potentially damaging noises, this resulted in developing a phonophobia and misophonia against certain noises --> I rather isolate myself, but I do not suffer from the isolation.
• Having a bad posture while lying in bed at night, so in the worst case this might have an effect on a vertebra which is a known cause for tinnitus? This is not always controllable because of posture change while sleeping.

Greetings and best wishes to all of you,
Henrik