One Week In... Help!

[kyb671]

On Thursday 8/9, I had an earbud on in one ear only which was my right ear. All of a sudden my ear popped and I couldn't equalize the pressure. I didn't think anything of it until the next day since it was still there. I went to the GP for a quick check up and he said there's no infection but I could have Meniere's.

I am still waiting for a referral to see an ENT so I can rule out any other diseases and such. Anyways on the 3rd day, I went to urgent care because I wasn't feeling well still. I had headaches on and off as well. This doc said that there's very little fluid in there and my eardrum was sort of curved. He advised me to take Flonase, Meclizine, and Sudafed to see if that would help clear my tubes. It has not helped me at all.

Day 5, I have had headaches, facial pain, my jaw painful, and the ringing still the same. The ear fullness is gone though. Day 6, I finally had an appointment with an ENT doc and audiologist.

According to the hearing test, my left ear can hear better than my right ear.. there is some damage but still within normal hearing range.. about 10db difference from the other ear, damage is in the high frequency... they gave me steroids for 7 days - 5 days 40mg, 2 days 20mg. He said that he doesn't believe I don't have any underlying disease and that it is just sudden hearing loss since my symptoms are mainly really just the ringing. He said there's not much we can do about the ringing because we need to give our ears time to heal and just wait it out.

Today is day 7. I took my first dose of prednisone this morning. I was feeling better this morning but this afternoon, our smoke detector starts beeping every minute because of weak batteries. It beeped a couple times before I grabbed an ear plug for my right ear. I knew it wasn't safe to be around especially right now so I went to my room. Shortly after, I noticed that there is ringing in both ears now! I panicked and am sad again because I was coming to terms and remaining calm about having it in one ear and now I have it in both. I am so scared. Seriously, why did this have to get any worse?! I couldn't have avoided it completely and I just don't know what to think except that this is now going to be extra difficult to deal with.

I assume my tinnitus is noise-induced or acoustic trauma because of my earbud usage, or being exposed to a high frequency through them without noticing, along with heavy stress throughout my life. The little hearing loss that I have is in the high frequency. Before any of this happened, I would always ask my family to repeat what they say because I couldn't hear them. My tinnitus is a high pitch noise, almost like a flatline sound and I cant help but get sad and frustrated. It is the same tone for both sides. I can hear it everywhere but it is faint if the fan is on or if the TV is on. I have read very few who have had it for weeks only, most have had it for years... I am just scared for life moving forward. I just want to be able to enjoy life with my kids.

 

[robHing]

I can hear it everywhere but it is faint if the fan is on or if the TV is on.

Hi... Welcome...
I am so sorry to read your story.
Based on your quote, your T is around 4/10.
You need more time to habituate with your T.
Also, please stay away loud environment to avoid aggravate your T.

I am sure that @Michael Leigh
will provide you with more info about it.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I am just scared for life moving forward.

T tends to fade. But this can take 3-24 months.

Check out https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

[John CC]

Hello KYB I am just about 1 month into this trip no one wants to take. I am learning that the first leg of this journey is, to say the least, confusing, upsetting, destructive, and very dark. I was that way, and it sounds like there are others, some more, some less. As I live alone I have had to dig deep to find that something to live for, the something that is better down the road. I have found that for me, that thing is called hope, which is a good thing. While one is in the dark, I have found hope is the light and it lets you see something in the future. Without it, everything just seems dark. At the end you revealed that you have kids. Kids are hope, and their world and hope will be much more greatly assured with YOU IN IT. I do not how old they are, but have you thought of watching a movie, or a show, with them with a good ending (though not too loud), or just watching them, and when they are not with you and it is quiet, think of them and see the hope. For me, my life was going along actually quiet well, and then boom. I have realized that for me atleast, this is an unforunate moment, but not an end, and the things I enjoy, I can, and will again.

It is hard to see, but it does get better. Yes the start is hard, but you are stronger than you know. We all need help at different times to get us through the 'stuff of life'. I am glad you found this forum, as I know it gave me the hope and the support I needed from a lot of different people who are united by one element, tinnitus. There are others on this forum who can speak with much greater knowledge about hearing only light sounds now. Mine can get so loud I hear it over a car engine on the highway, just I hear it when I wake up. What gets me through it is the support and wisdom I have received on this forum telling me, after patiently listening to me and what was happening to me, what to expect, that for me atleast, I had some hopeful signs. So far, their advice has been pretty good, and what I needed.

Everyone knows what you are going through, and you are not alone, you have support at this site. There are others who regularly read, support and answer your questions. Just realize that this site is a world wide site, so if people do not respond right away, it is because they may be on another continent. So when you look for responses and your thinking, only 1 reply, give it some time.

I encourage you to read the posts in the Introduce Yourself and Support sections. It may help you gain some insight to issues and aspects of tinnitus. From what I have started to learn is that loud noise = bad (so at the start listen to your music at a lower volume and movies can be loud so be wary), ear protection = good, being aware and not letting your guard down, e.g., going into a loud restaurant or coffee shop without ear protection and thinking it will be ok = not good, realizing and having and believing in your future and hope = good. When you go to bed have some music playing in the background, just enough to match your T to help you sleep. I have found on the internet Tinnitus Sound Therapy music, and for me it helped. I listened to different music, some spoke to me, some didn't. I have it on during the day, and at night I take my laptop into by bedroom and play it overnight (some of the sites go for 8 to 10 hours). Coffee Girl, Bill B., Fishbone, Micheal L., Glnyis, Greg among others who have a lot of good ideas, and more expereience than I do.

Remember hope is a good thing, and you can find it, just look at your kids, and see it in their faces.
Best of luck, I hope this helps.
John CC