Need help ASAP

Hello my name is Natalie and for the past 3 days I have been experiencing unbearable tinnitus. I have had it mildly since I was 14 but now at 19 it suddenly has increased five times. I have not slept properly and it is very hard to focus on anything at all. I hear it ALL the time. I went to the movies last week and the theater was pretty loud. I have hyperacusis. However the person I was with tolerated it well. I got the extreme ringing about 2 days after going. I don't know for sure if this is what caused it but its the only thing I can think of. I feel like I can actually feel the T and not just hear it. I am dead tired and can not fall asleep at all. I need help, something has to change.

 

Welcome Natalie, it may still go down to baseline, Markku is right see an ENT and get a hearing test too. From now on get some ear plugs, protect yourself if you are in a loud situation.

 

Thanks for your replies.
Tinnitus is still going on today, loud and clear. I went to the doctor soon after posting the message. It was not an ENT, just a regular doctor. He checked inside both my ears and said everything looks fine so that rules out the possibility of an ear infection. I'm still hoping that it will go down.
I have a long history with tinnitus. It started out as occasional buzzing in my ears when I was younger. When I took benadryl a couple of months ago it really aggravated it for a couple of days but it went down soon after. I have not taken any OTC stuff lately although I recently started taking vitamins. I doubt that vitamins could be causing this.
I remember being barely able to tolerate a high school classroom because when it got a little too loud my ears would react by buzzing. Sometimes I would be on the verge of tears.I remember being baffled by this and when I told my parents they told me it was not big deal. I can't help but feel like there is a connection there...

 

Hi Nat, what does it sound like?
Is it maskable? - if you can mask it with a fan or a tabletop sound machine, it could help you to sleep.
Do not stay in total silence while you sleep for a little while.
Tinnitus onset is complex. Given your prior history with tinnitus, its very likely that you have exacerabated it with the movie, various meds can be part of a global trigger.

 

hi dan it just sounds like a high pitched noise. it is very flat and doesn't really change.

 

Yes it actually went down a lot a couple of days after my last post and I was able to sleep normally again. It has however increased this past week again and has managed to ruin my sleeping. I went to the ENT and he wants an MRI done which scares me. I don't really see the point of that. I mean how is an MRI going to help?
Overall its not as bad as it was when I first posted here and I expect that if it continues like this I will one day get used to it. I think this forum is great by the way, I"m so glad I found it.

 

Is the MRI for the head or for the ear? the reason i ask is i needed a head mri. i told my ent i had gotten one recently. but he wants an mri of the ear specifically, he said it would show more detail.

 

I had a brain MRI. Everything checked out just fine.

One needs to rule out tumors and such which is the main reason for the test.

If you have it done, then you can rule out brain abnormalities.

Oh, take a relaxing drug (or happy drug) if you are not ok about being in close quarters! But since you already had one, you know what to do.