New Tinnitus Case

I had an ear infection in my left ear and 2 days after finishing my meds i now have ringing in both ears it has benn going on for 4 days now. It is very loud and driving me nuts. I cannot sleep last night i had a fan and headphones on and it still doesnt help. I guess i will need to go to see a ENT doctor. Any suggestions for DR. Near Philadelphia, PA

 

Most ENT's are helpful in checking your hearing for hearing loss, earwax, stuff like that but they are useless when it comes to tinnitus. I heard in some cases that antibiotics can cause it. The best of luck.

 

@Mont

Yes, go to an ENT. They aren't miracle workers by any means but maybe you will get some answers to what is going on.

Sleep is important for your health so talk to your doctor about options to help you with that. Trust me, you definitely want to get on top of the sleep issues as soon as possible.

 

So got mri on my brain last week and everything came back normal. I go to the ENT Dr january 27. Quickest appointment i could get. Now getting 4-5 hours a sleep a night the T has gotten so loud I cannot mask it. Hoing the ENT can help out some. Trying to stay as positive as I can but damn it is tough.

 

Try to stay calm and do things to occupy your mind, protect with ear plugs around louder places. It should start subsiding some. Which medicine did you take for your ear infection?

 

I took bactrim for 8 days. Two days later ringing in both ears. Hopefully ENT can help. This hard to deal with nobody understands when I tell them. They laugh about it.

 

"Bactrim (Trimethoprim) is somewhat ototoxic. It is not known to cause hearing loss, but it can cause tinnitus (ringing in the ears), ataxia (staggering gait), dizziness and vertigo (sensation of spinning)."

From: http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/bactrim-trimethoprim-and-ototoxicity/

Sorry to hear that, I would try ASAP N-acetyl-cysteine, Acetyl-L-carnitine and Alpha-lipoic-acid. They could revert the ototoxicity.

 

Do what you can to get your sleep on track - sleeping pills if necessary. Practice good sleep hygiene: http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/docs/Info-sleep hygiene.pdf

Lack of sleep can really aggravate symptoms.

Hugs. It all likelihood it will settle down in the coming weeks. Try to stay positive.

 

Struggling today

 

The isolation that the lack of understanding and empathy is really hard at times. Even the doctors I see don't think tinnitus is a big deal. It sucks. Thank God that people on this site understand though.

Try and stay strong, Mont. Things often get better but it does take time, so hang in there.

 

People like that aren't worth the time of day.

 

I've been a sufferer for most of my life. It's got really bad the past few weeks. Couldn't sleep one night, but anxiety does not help, and as hard as it is, you have to remain positive and not freak out about it.

I'm actually telling myself I like the noise to try and calm myself down.

I went to a chiro today, to see if there was a link. Although my neck was badly out, putting it back in place hasn't helped my T. But it was worth ago, and at least my back feels good for now

Remain positive if you can. The only way you'll overcome it is by being determined to beat it and not let it consume you.

 

Your tinnitus will likely stop on its own in short time. You still have hope at this early stage. Give it time.

 

Went to ENT Dr. Today, nothing physically wrong, told me to give it six months and see if it goes away. My ears actually hurt from the high pitch noise they are hearing.On the good note T has made me super active I want to keep doing things to take my mind off it. And I lost 23lbs by exercise and dieting since it started.

 

I've got inner-ear pain also but my ENT can't say why. It's very discouraging.

But like you, the upside to having tinnitus is that the attending anxiety and hyper-awareness keeps me moving and completing tasks. I've also lost a few pounds and feel better for it.

 

I had the same experience with Bactrim. In December too, no less. I was taking 800 mg twice a day for 10 days. This was for an infection in my leg. On the evening of Day 9, I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn't get back to sleep. The medicine had given me bad insomnia all week long so I was not too surprised about that, until I went to another room and I realized that my ears were ringing! Needless to say, I didn't bother with Day 10 of the pills.

Long story short, I had a similar experience with the ENT, who basically said I would probably have to "wait it out." I have normal hearing and healthy ears, apparently. I also lost about 20 pounds in December after the onset of this. My tinnitus is also high pitched. It was pretty bad on the first day but came down a little bit, and was fairly stable for about a month. Then, the ringing seemed to disappear (almost) for about a week in January. During this time I was ready to declare the whole episode to be over. However, it returned. Then I got a bad cold in February which turned into bronchitis, which exacerbated it a little, or at least it changed the sound. I've gotten over the bronchitis, but apparently the tinnitus hasn't yet gotten the news.

I'll write out my whole story sometime. Meanwhile, I am convinced that the Bactrim played a key role in starting this. What the mechanism is, and whether there's any way to reverse it, or the probability it may correct itself over time, I don't know.

 

11 months of T hell now. Had to tak an antibiotic for last 6 days since I got pneumonia and my T seems even louder now. Hopefully it settles down a little.