New Case of Tinnitus -- Would Like to Explain My Symptoms & Draw on Knowledge Base

Hi all. Been lurking here for a couple weeks now. I have to say I've seen a lot of scary threads and I'm really hoping my story is going to turn out differently.

Some background:

I have always enjoyed rocking out with headphones. Experienced temporary T many times but it has always gone away. Probably did my ears some damage over the years but it never stuck around.

I've had multiple right ear infections over the past few years. T has accompanied them, but it always went away when the infection resolved.

Occasionally I would get sudden, intrusive episodes of ringing ears. I was able to "will them away" and they never lasted more than a few seconds.

On New Year's Eve, I had multiple firecrackers go off near me. The worst of them was about 10' from my left ear. Caused immediate ringing that dissipated as the night went on.

A few days later, I rocked out with my headphones on. Bad move. The volume of the ringing came up and it's been around ever since.

It's worse in my left ear than my right ear, and has been since this started about 3 weeks ago. I went to see a capable ENT. Tried Prednisolone. Seemed to help a bit, but the T always came back. Audiogram showed some hearing loss in my left ear. Not sure if it's temporary.

Doctor's theory: this was precipitated by the firecrackers (auditory insult). The hearing loss may or may not be permanent, but the T will probably go away. May take a month, two months...he doesn't know. Most cases he's seen have resolved.

I'm now on Xanax to ease the anxiety (which has been severe at times). It has definitely helped, but I've seen a few trends/changes since this started that I thought I would share:

1. At first, the volume/intensity was constant (about a 5 in my left ear, 4 in my right). Over the past couple of weeks, it has fluctuated. It comes and goes, especially in my right ear.

2. The steady high-pitched ringing has given way to occasional bursts/episodes of higher-frequency hissing. These are sporadic.

3. I have had a herinated disc in my cervical spine (in 2011). Went for a neck massage last Friday (1 week ago) and the T DISAPPEARED COMPLETELY for about 20 minutes, around an hour later. It came back, and has since reached the same peak it had when it started, but it has been fluctuating in and out ever since.

4. I have some good days and some bad days. Yesterday was a good day. It really calmed down. Last night was a bad night. Had trouble sleeping. Today is a bad day so far. Have another massage scheduled.

Given all the ups and downs/changes, and given what my ENT said, it seems more likely than not that this will eventually get better.....

.....right?

Anyone had similar experiences? Insights to offer?

Thank you so much in advance.

 

Also, forgot to mention that the T is noticeably worse when I am horizontal, or lying on either side. ENT thinks that's a clue it's related to cochlear inflammation resulting from the acoustic trauma. He also said it's a good sign that it will eventually get better, though obviously there's no timeline.

I'l shut up now.

 

Welcome to the forum. Your T is very new. If you already have good days, it is a good sign. Take all the positives you can get and remain calm. This will calm the nerves and help your T. Anxiety and stress are toxic for T. If you can change T by lying down, it may be affected by blood circulation to the ears. But I am no doctor, so it is only an intelligent guess. Yes, you will get better over time, especially if you don't painfully resist the reality of T with extreme emotions. Try to move on and get busy with living. Many people get better and their stories show it is possible to have our life back after T. Try to read up as many as possible. Here is my success story, from darkness to light recovering from ultra high pitch T and severe hyperacusis. Take good care & God bless. You can get better. Believe it.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

 

Thanks Billie. I appreciate your words of encouragement.

I'm thinking the same thing -- if it's already showing some signs of budging, chances are it's not going to turn chronic. But it isn't easy to keep that at the forefront of my mind when all I can hear is EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

I'm sure you know what I mean.