Not Convinced by Medical Advice. Can Anyone Offer a View?

Hi there,


I have had a mild low level ringing in my ears my whole life, as far as I can remember. I had only ever noticed it sometimes at night until last year.


I was cleaning my left ear with a cotton bud very superficially (I know you are not meant to but I never push them in too far) and I saw some blood on it. I had noticed a more audible ringing in just my left ear not long prior to this so I went to the Minor Injuries clinic. They looked at me and said it was inflamed. They gave me some ear drops.


I finished the course but still had the ringing in my left ear. I could hear it above the TV at normal volume so it was very irritating. So I mentioned it to the doctor a few months later. He looked and said it was a bit red and gave me more drops. Again, I finished the course but it didn’t really make much difference. So I mentioned it to the doctor again another few months later and she referred me to Audiology. They tested my hearing and said it was fine and that this ringing would settle down in time. They said it happened because I had been wearing ear plugs at night. I did this because I was living on a busy road where many buses and HGVs went by and would disturb me early in the morning. The audiologist said my ears were ‘shocked’ in the morning when I took the ear plugs out and this was the cause of my problem. I asked why it was only in one ear and she said she didn’t know (of which I was a bit sceptical). She said I could go for a MRI scan to make sure everything was normal and I did so. It came back normal.


I still hear it, mainly at night, but occasionally during the day too and that has been just over a year now. It’s probably not as bad as it was at first, but is still noticeable at times.


Has anyone else been through this? How long did it take to settle down (if it did at all)? Should I pursue an ENT referral?


Is there anything I can do to stop hearing it or focussing on it when it is quiet?


Many thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Welcome to tinnitus talk.
Wearing ear plugs can make your ears over sensitive worn for a long time or around normal volume .
I notice when wear mine at a footy game I get a rush of tinnitus sound when pull out foam plugs so now use noise reduction plugs that work better so you might find reduction plugs better.
Keep sound on around you at quiet times and at night keep it below your tinnitus sound and use pillow speakers or free standing unit and not earphones or headphones....lots of love glynis

 

Hi

Seems like you have a very mild case of tinnitus, i am sure you will habituate to that. I hear mine alongside tv and i am doing pretty good with mine so i am sure you will be ok.