My Worst Fear... Tinnitus Is Moving from One Ear to Both

My tinnitus started three weeks ago as a highly reactive, sound-sensitive ringing that goes away in quietude and while laying down, which has so far been a huge blessing since it at least afforded me some peace at night and in the morning

But yesterday evening out of the blue I noticed that the ringing began in my left ear as well, but not the deep, super-sensitive ringing like in my right ear. In my left it's like a incredibly high pitched ringing. Both my right and left are "volleying" sporadically back and forth it feels. I was just getting used to my right ear and now this.

Just to throw it out there again, I have NO idea how my tinnitus started. For all I know though (and what I told myself at first), it was caused by an incredible amount of stress in the days leading up to it and especially the very day it started (never been so angry/frustrated/stressed in my life, and the tinnitus started AFTER that.)

I got my results mailed to me from my audiologist appointment today (which I had a week back). My ears are, for the most part, perfectly healthy accept for some assymetry (a 25 dB notch at 3000 Hz in the right ear). Other than that I don't feel deaf or like I'm going deaf at all, and my word recognition on the test was nearly perfect (was actually a tad lower on my left ear, oddly). My instinct is that if I didn't have tinnitus, these results wouldn't be any cause for concern, but the "notch" has my audiologist worried and insists on further examination by an ENT, my GP, etc, which I'm happy for. Positive vibes do me very well at this point.

No money, no insurance, no ENT, no GP. Dammit.

 

It's normal for T to change every which way the first few months. Just ride it out. I tell myself every day, I am blessed. I have T in both ears, multi-tone, ultra-high frequency, low, etc. but I know it could be worse and I am blessed. Imagine if you had even worse T and it went down one morning to what you have now and how good you'd feel about it. I think of the kids in war zones, who've gotten T through bomb blasts and who have no access to information or help. Don't beat yourself up about T; things will get better in time. Good luck!

 

Have you been protecting your ears from loud noises? If you think your T was caused by stress, have you tried to limit the stress in your life?

 

Any asymmetry they generally want checked out - especially since audiologists are not medical doctors. They would be remiss if they didn't suggest that. So without insurance maybe ask the audiologist for suggestions/referrals to get the most for your money.

Do you have any other symptoms like balance issues?

It may be good for you to at least see a reg dr. Depending where you are some places like Walmart have health days where you can get blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol checks often for free. That might save some lab fees.

 

So sorry about your tinnitus. Stress can do a lot and i hope you relax more and please always protect your ears in loud environments...

 

@krzkrz, a lot of people I've spoken to that has tinnitus said that the fluctuation is normal. And it's surprising how many people have it when you start talking about it.

Quite a few people I've spoken to said that they or someone they know has it or had it due to stress. I know, right? Stress can cause all kinds of problems including heart attacks. Who knew it could affect our ears? Hang in there. We're all in this together.