New Member, Looking for Insight: One Morning I Woke Up to a Blocked Ear, Followed by Tinnitus

Hello all,

I've lurked this forum for 2 months now and figured I'd finally join the club. It's been a little over two months and I've never been so low in my life (23 years of age).

To make a long story short, I woke up one morning in late July this year to a blocked left ear that quickly went away, but left some ringing. It all started very faint, and honestly exhausted me to the point that I just didn't care anymore. However, that quickly changed as my tinnitus had become reactive as some call it.

I've already been to an ENT only to be told, you guessed it, "that sucks" and "you'll get used to it", so I don't think I'll be going back unless it's for something else. I've had some pretty nasty anxiety and depression start up since COVID-19 bringing panic attacks and all sorts of great stuff, so I plan to see a therapist very soon to address that.

My tinnitus isn't necessarily terrible but it isn't great either. On good days, it tends to be a 2500 Hz tone that's not really present in the affected ear (left). On bad days there's no telling what'll bring. Could be very high pitch sharp hissing, cicada-like electrical noises, fluttering electrical noise, etc.

Additionally, I've noticed that when washing dishes or clanking plates, my ear reacts, pops kind of, almost like the sound your ear drum makes when you yawn. This I would assume is very mild hyperacusis, but don't know for sure. There's no pain, but it seems to bother me at the very least. The final thing worth mentioning is that sound slowly makes it worse throughout the day most of the time, so now I just sleep in silence as there is generally no ringing/hissing/electrical noise when I do. Boy do I miss my box fan.

My tinnitus has always been a roar almost, mixed with some ringing. It was never anything serious until sounds started increasing the baseline of the hissing. I got AirPod Pros for my birthday and was using them until this all started, but at moderate volume. They could be to blame, but I'm unsure as waking up that morning with a blocked ear seems to be what started it.

I know that there are folks out there with this nightmare far worse than myself, and I now (moderately) understand what it can do to someone. I would appreciate some insight or even knowledge from anyone that has/had something similar. Much love to all.

Jake

 

Hi Jake. I'm like you in the sense that I've been mostly a lurker reading about other's experience. I had no idea about tinnitus or how devastating it could be until I started experiencing it myself. Like yours, mine is a bit unstable. Some days it's not to disruptive but there are times where it is nearly impossible to deal with or sleep. I started experiencing my symptoms about 8 months ago. Initially it was scary as hell as it is for most people. The amount of stress it caused was incredible. I read as much as I could and started trying to habituate using low volume white noise. It helped me a lot in the beginning but lately (the last couple of months or so) it's returned to what it was the first couple of months.

I have no idea what caused my tinnitus but I suspect it may have been related to a strong beta-blocker I was taking at the time it started. But it could be coincidence as I've also had exposure to loud sounds (worked around aircraft and attended rock music concerts when I was younger). I have been to two audiologists and have been told I have only a very small upper frequency lost in the left ear (the one with the issue) so it may be related to that.

Anyway, don't give up hope, from what I've been reading everyone's situation is unique and so is their journey. I try to be optimistic and look forward to the day when there will ultimately be an effective, permanent treatment to help those of us who suffer from this condition. Best of luck to you.