New Here, Need Input on My Situation (Possibly Unusual?)

[canuck123]

In late February I got what I'm pretty sure was impacted earwax in my left ear from a q-tip. This was of course before I found out that you shouldn't try to clean with them. The q-tip was inserted maybe just slightly too far, I didn't feel any pain or anything but right after it happened I instantly couldn't hear anything in that ear; hearing came back after maybe an hour or so.

I've had tinnitus since then. It started that evening. 4 days after it happened I had the ear syringed and a chunk of wax came out but it's still ringing. It now sometimes seems to be ringing in the right ear too even though nothing happened there. A GP looked at the left ear a few days after it happened and said it was inflamed (but that the eardrum was not perforated) and prescribed ciprodex otic ear drops. He said there was fluid behind the ear drum.

I have an appointment with an ENT and an audiologist in a few weeks but it sounds from this site that they're a complete waste of time, permanent, no cure, etc.

Any thoughts? I've already read what seems like every website and forum on the topic and it seems like you usually get it from loud noise, which I hadn't been exposed to at all, and when you get it from impacted earwax it goes away after the removal but mine hasn't. Beyond that I've already read through most of the general advice on this site. But if anyone has heard of a case similar to mine I'd like to hear about it.

 

[canuck123]

I should also mention he said there was an outer ear infection along with the fluid behind the drum. So basically I'm wondering if anyone has experience with situations involving ear infections or q-tips.

 

[Nucleo]

Stabbing your eardrum with a q-tip can cause sudden sensorineural hearing loss, which from your description of the whole ordeal, you experienced. Did you notice the fluid before the Q-tip event?

I guess you'll have to wait for what your ENT/audiologist have to say.

 

[canuck123]

No, I never noticed anything like fluid before. I didn't know there was fluid until the doctor looked at the drum and said so, so I wouldn't know.

I wouldn't say I "stabbed" my ear drum with the q-tip, just to clarify. I was just trying to clean with it and inserted it very slightly further than I had many times before. What would you say are the implications if it was sudden sensorineural hearing loss?