Oh You Dumb Little Thing — Tinnitus from Likely Headphones & Ear Infection

Hi Everyone. So....yeah this is gonna be long.
My name is Mia, I'm young (not telling age) and I love working with kids.

About 2 months ago, I woke up feeling odd in my right ear, finally managed to go to the Doctor after about a week, they looked in my ear for basically 5 seconds, told me it was likely fluid behind my ear and gave me meds. It took a few days but I was back to normal.

I should go ahead and explain that I adore music. Only been to 2 concerts (nobody told me anything about earplugs) and I've used headphones/earbuds half my life. (I do ask that nobody say the whole "Headphones are bad" etc. etc. I know that now. Bit too late.)

2 weeks ago, the odd feeling came back. I had been told that the fluid goes away on its own so I was uncomfortable but not in pain. I had some free time so I wanted to listen to some music. Played about 3 songs and then the ringing became known. I freaked. Did research like crazy and read some really frightening stuff. Talked to some friends who are good with medical stuff. They all told me it was an ear infection. Talked to some friends who are older and have went to more concerts than they can count. (They're metalheads.) They don't have this. I felt better.

I tried to let my ears rest. No earbuds, soft volume on the tv. Unfortunately I was part of a small play and they used mics during practice. That wasn't fun. I still haven't been able to go to the doctor (transportation reasons) but I had fluid coming out of my ear so did a nasal spray and tried to stay busy. Got told to buy some earplugs from a friend who likes to hunt. Using them carefully.

After reading some more stuff and becoming even more depressed, I think I've started to process that this is possibly permanent. I've cried, I've had nightmares. I've gotten so angry at myself. I didn't even know what this was until I looked it up online. For all the PSA's about smoking and everything, nobody said anything about this.

I'm trying to be strong. I actually even learned that some of my favorite celebrities have this as well. But I dread trying to sleep, and I'm not big on using meds to force sleep. I keep waking up at least 3 times a night. And the lack of music is doing a number on my anxiety. Seems that's nothing but a lose-lose situation.

Okay, I think that's everything. Wish I had been smarter but just didn't know. If anybody has any tips for sleeping, it would be nice.

 

Headphones aren't necessarily bad. It's listening to loud content that is dangerous.

You need to get checked by a doc. Having fluid come out of your ear is an issue. You could have a perforated ear drum. Sticking ear plugs may not be the best thing to do.

Good luck!

 

Thank you for the support. I'm actually trying to go today but with it so close to Christmas, we may not be seen before they close. Thankfully I haven't seen any sensitivity towards sound (besides being paranoid and running if someone so much as coughs) but what is really messing with me is the fear. Music is a family thing for me. I really hope that it can continue to be so.

 

Update Time.

So went to the Doc (not an Ent, just our GP) and he told me what I already suspected. Both ears look fine, no sign of infection. However, because I also have ear pain, he gave me some eardrops that apparently are strong to use for a week and told me to come back if I saw no improvement.

I managed to make it down the road before I started crying. The stress, the fear, the anger just bubbled up and I couldn't handle it. I know that I'm still new to this but knowing that this is likely due to hearing loss makes me feel so robbed of my own personality. I never drank, I don't like smoking, I was the bloody goody-two shoes all during my schooling. I had music and my love of reading to occupy my time. And now when I can branch out into society and attempt to do things I dreamt of, this comes along.

I try to be positive. Actually managed to sleep last night thanks to an old radio near the foot of my bed. And I've experienced fading, which I've heard is good. But I'm not putting all the eggs in one basket.

Looking forward to Christmas, got some parties soon, (I'll bring my earplugs just in case)

 

Don't get desperate, anything can happen at this point.

If I understand your story correctly, the ringing has been there since two weeks. In T world, that is nothing yet: it happens often that it disappears again within a year.

Try not to focus on the sound, distract yourself with other activities whenever possible. Give the ears some rest of course, but don't overdo it. What I mean by that: don't lock yourself up at home while being afraid to encounter new sounds. Your ears need to keep being exposed to normal input. Head out into the woods, some sports maybe... pretty much anything that helps you in having your focus elsewhere.

Also, have faith in time itself. Even if you feel horrible right now because the sound doesn't stop, most likely you will feel much better in a few months, once you find some coping strategies that work for you. Everyone with T is different and needs to find their own path in this, but know that we have all been there. For many it either vanished, or they learned to manage their T in a way that suits in their life. Mine isn't gone either, but things have improved a lot for me, first mentally, later on in volume as well. And whether it eventually goes or not... it might seem strange, but I cannot regret the incident that resulted in me being in this situation. I feel more alive than ever before, since I appreciate all things that I have a lót more now.

To conclude: even if it eventually wouldn't go away, real treatments are in development. Things often seem to move slowly, and there are setbacks, but there is progress as well.

Still, for now, try to trust your body and brain that they're doing their best to deal with the situation. Be careful with the parties, but try to enjoy as well

 

Thank you for the advice. As for Sports, I'm not really a huge fan but me and my dad share a love of Hockey. We actually went to a game a week before this all happened and they played this really funny clip of a Gopher singing Freddie Mercury. We cracked up super hard.

As for the parties, they're just little family things. Normally not loud but there are some new babies so I'll go hide in the kitchen if things get to be uncomfortable.

 

Hi Everyone. So I guess it's Update Time.

When I finally got to go see the Doctor back on the Friday before Christmas, I got prescribed these eardrops which are supposed to help with the fluid and inflammation going on in my ear. Took them for a week and honestly they helped. The fluid felt gone, my ear felt better and the ringing went really quiet. I was happy but being cautious. I had read that ears can take up to 3 months or sometimes longer to heal so I've been being careful. Using earplugs, keeping volume low, and not going to places that can get pretty loud.

I still did normal stuff like go to work and watch tv and things seemed good. Until late this past week. I noticed the ringing getting a bit louder one night so I went to bed and slept fine. Ringing was normal again, but then 2 days later it was louder again and it's kinda stayed that way. Then, this morning I woke up and realized that my other ear started up. Well I've been sick and I've seen on here that it can cause a spike so I just figured that was going on until this morning when my other ear started up.

I don't get why that would happen except maybe stress. I just got let off at work which sucks but I planned to find another job during the beginning of the year anyway. I'm just wondering if anybody has any advice or something?

 

I don't know what's happening. I was able to sleep last night and this morning it was so quiet but right now, it's so bad. I know I'm sick but I'm scared I might have done something to cause my other ear to start even though everything has been normal except for the night before last when I fell asleep to the tv but it was on low volume and near the foot of my bed. I don't see how that would have made it worse because I had to use a radio also at the foot of my bed to get some sleep when this started. I'm really hoping that this is just because I'm sick. I don't have a way of going to the doctor right now and I haven't noticed any problems with my hearing.

 

It took me a while to become comfortable listening to music again.

have you tried to using masking to sleep, this like white noise, rain, ocean waves.

more even a fan in your room.

I found the fan was the best help. I got my tinnitus in the winter and had fan roaring 24/7. It was cold but the only thing that helped in the first few weeks/months.

I hope yours fades or goes away. While it is still so fresh you may be one of the lucky ones

 

Being sick is a good sign.. it’s a possible reason, hopefully once you’re better it goes away. Also anxiety really doesn’t help. Worrying about it is hard not to do, even for me and I have had it since 2016.

but it definitely makes it worse when you stress out

 

Hi Luke. I've actually seen some of your posts on here and read the story you put on how yours started.

Let me explain really fast, the whole making thing for me was the radio. I tried using the fan (which I used to use because it gets kinda hot in my room especially during the night) but honestly it was just making it worse. But I read on here that some people find that kind of white noise doesn't work and they tried other options so I found an old radio and got my first proper night of sleep since the whole thing started. Got some ear drops from the Doctor, they worked (apparently I had an ear infection which I think is part of why I got T.) And things got really quiet. I went back to work, I could sleep in quiet, I was happy but also being pretty careful. Then this whole mess happened. Again, I'm still pretty new to this and I saw that getting a cold can cause a spike (please dear lord, let that be the reason) but I'm actually much better emotionally rn. Yeah I'm not happy about the spike but I'm not breaking down like I did before. So that's good I'm guessing.
Sorry this got long, thank you for your advice, hope you have tons of good days.

 

I don't mean to exclude anyone in this post but I have a question for people who are fairly young and rarely got exposed to loud noise (barely went to concerts, nightclubs, heck even amusement parks). Listen, I admit I used earbuds a lot but that's because where I live there isn't a lot to do and when I was home, my mom doesn't like my kind of music so I would use them to not bother her. Same with school because there were long hours of homework in a computer lab where we were told to not talk. So how is it that we get punished for following rules and being considerate? I've seen people who are over twice my age and have gone to all kinds of concerts more times than they can count and they're all fine. My friend who has been drumming since he was a kid and in a death metal band since he was 17 is fine. I just don't understand. I'm still holding out hope that this may heal or at least fade by a lot but I'm so angry that I may have ruined my life when I've barely started living it.

 

My cold seems to be gone but I've just been on a rollercoaster. I've been using this nasal spray that is supposed to help but I'm not sure if it is. And the other day I noticed that when I coughed, my ear felt like it went out and then pulled back. I don't know what that was but I noticed it affected my hearing. Thankfully it was fine by the next day but all I seem to feel now is anger towards myself or being scared. I'm going to an ENT this week. Hopefully I'll at least get some information and maybe they can help with the pain that's been coming and going.