Only 19 —Bewildered & Confused: Could My Tinnitus Originate from Allergies? Or Is It Noise-Induced?

I noticed tinnitus on April 30, 2020. Just over 10 days ago. I was anxious the night before and stayed up till 4 am because I was finishing my final projects for school. I remember I felt this weird thumping in my right ear that made me anxious. I have always been a hypochondriac and had health anxiety. But I had work to do so I pushed that worry aside.

The next day I didn’t realize anything right away but then I remembered the thumping from the night before. I looked up what it could be (classic hypochondria) and saw tinnitus. Never heard of it before. Read that it is ringing the ears, listened for a ring, and ever since then I have heard one.

I have always used ear buds and listened to music a lot. At school I used air pods everyday. I sang in choirs for years and have always loved music. Over isolation I took up DJing and have been using Beats Solo headphones as well as speakers and a mixing board. I definitely have turned up the volume at times but not to the level of concerts or anything like that. I haven’t been to a concert since the end of last year. But I have been doing music all day most days since March 28, 2020 until a month later when the tinnitus began. I immediately thought I had damaged my hearing.

I ran to the ENT as soon as I could and he said my hearing and ears are normal and that it was probably stress induced and will calm down. Audiogram was better than normal. I looked into hidden hearing loss but I don’t think I have a hard time hearing in busy settings. Also I have listened to higher frequencies on YouTube and can hear them so I don’t think I have higher frequency hearing loss that the audiogram doesn’t measure. I am definitely still feeling stressed about it but not as much. I feel like the ringing has gone down slightly but it is still there. High pitched, I can’t tell if it’s 6000 Hz or 12ooo but after listening to those frequencies I think it’s one of those.

I also have always been congested like my whole life. I have a deviated septum and have always had issues with it. I had a sinus infection early March which I ended up losing the antibiotics for so I couldn’t finish the last days. I also am known to have seasonal allergies, I live in Los Angeles part time and Boston part time but am in LA due to quarantine. When I first got here I noticed much more nasal congestion and chest congestion. I thought maybe the sinus infection lingered so I asked for antibiotics. She wouldn’t give them to me at first, but then I got better. I felt less congested and no more weird chest congestion. Then like a week later the tinnitus starts. I asked for antibiotics because of it now and just finished them and I don’t think they did anything.

I am really hoping it is allergies. I feel all this pressure in the back of my nose and head and often feel the pressure moving around. Could this be sinus inflammation due to allergies? I was concerned it could be due to the in room unit AC in my room at home, that until recently was so dirty and has started malfunctioning (says it’s working but not making the room cold). Also I hear the pollen count is really bad this year.

I also think I originally experienced the tinnitus in both ears, but now it seems to be mainly in one and in my head. And the main ear it is in feels all clogged up. I also get popping sounds in my ears every time I swallow, and in my the back of my head when I move different ways.

I also am curious if this could be due to TMJ or impacted wisdom teeth. I feel like my wisdom teeth are coming in and I have been clenching my jaw a lot, but that could just be to stress because of this tinnitus. I also have bad acid reflux, and ma constantly burping and getting bubbles in my chest. I got endoscopied and prescribed Omeprazole for the acid. Could acid be getting into my ears and causing this? I am used to the acid is sensation in my nose and throat and used to always wake up in the morning with it from acid reflux. That doesn’t happen so much anymore, but it is it possible it is now effecting my ears?

I am hoping this tinnitus is just the perfect storm of anxiety, TMJ, acid reflux and allergies. I began taking Zyrtec today. I am scared to take the Omeprazole because I heard it can actually cause tinnitus. Any advice on that?

Also I have smoked weed nearly everyday for years. I thought it always helped me especially with acid reflux. But last night I took a 44 mg edible and thought I was going crazy. I began hearing the sounds of the cricket track I have been sleeping with to mask the t and a new buzzing sound. I also felt hypersensitive to sounds while I was on that high. Luckily, when I woke up, the tinnitus was back to normal, how it has been.

I just want to know what could be causing this. I really hope it is not noise induced. I will be so upset. But if it is I want to know now so the uncertainty will be gone and I can start protecting my ears. I haven’t touched music since this began and it’s making me depressed. I would love to get back.

Also I am wondering if it isn’t noise induced, will exposure to loud noise make it worse? What about if it is noise induced? Right now I can only hear it in silent settings and think I can learn to be ok with it. But not if it gets worse

Looking for support and answers. Thank you.

 

If you stop abusing your ears, chances are that eventually your tinnitus will fade.

It went down after just 10 days. This is an encouraging sign.

Search for the name of your antibiotic on this forum to see whether there are any horror stories about it. Perhaps that was the reason for your tinnitus.

If it is from TMJ, you are in luck, as tinnitus often goes away months after TMJ gets treated.

Only one way to find out.

If you go to concerts, or take ototoxic medication, you are more likely to get loud tinnitus (now that you have already began having tinnitus) than a healthy person. You will want to be careful now.

 

You've been going through a lot.

I am not surprised you're a mess.

You probably already know this, but your brain needs REM SLEEP for a start. I get UNI life, and recall all the late night's or all nighters I pulled to get assignments and exam prep done. But, you must ensure you get your zzzz's preferably before midnight. If you suffer with chronic anxiety and probable insomnia, what do you normally do to manage this? Have you tried melatonin? magnesium? passionflower? or mainstream? Are you seeing anyone about managing your chronic anxiety? Have a read up on the HPA axis if you haven't already, and see how an imbalance in this can affect your brain chemistry, and resultant symptoms. Try wearing amber tinted glasses before bed to minimise exposure to blue light that is believed to activate the part of the brain that is meant to be asleep at night!

The thumping you describe, along with the anxiety could be a result of a magnesium deficiency. (my opinion) So, try some magnesium threonate, which apparently is meant to be the most highly absorbable form of mag (= crosses the blood brain barrier). There are threads on here about TTTS. This is what it sounds like to me.

I cant comment on your audiogram, and whether you have sustained hearing loss from chronic exposure to noise. Perhaps, you could post your audios here, as there are people on this forum who understand how to interpret them. Have you stopped using headphones and ear buds? I would! I take nicotinamide riboside (threads on Tinnitus Talk about this too), which may help with prevention and restoration of hearing???

Have you ever considered having intranasal swabs done to establish the cause of your chronic sinusitis? Which antibiotics were you given? I have MARCONS intranasally, and whilst I don't think it's linked to my tinnitus, I do treat it with naturopathic liquid herbs via a netti pot. Even just warm saline water (you probably already do), with a biofilm disruptor such as xylitol and sodium bicarb may help (but only if your ENT is happy for you to do so).

Has your ENT ruled out a middle ear effusion? I know several people here describe negative experiences with tympanograms (ive had them without any negative result), but this may help you decide if there is fluid behind your drum that is contributing to your symptoms.

Allergies are worth investing time into. To discern if you have a histamine overload, you could try a low histamine diet, along with a product that contains quercertin and vitamin C (mop up excess histamine). I use Toxaprevent as a binder (different ingredients) but does the same thing.

I recently experienced a flare in my tinnitus and hyperacusis, which I now think was due to an infected root canaled molar. I had pretty severe TMJ (which I attempted treating with TMJ physio), but subsequently resolved with the recommencement of antimicrobial herbs prescribed by my naturopath. I think the TMJ pain was referred from the unhappy molar.

Can't comment on the reflux and Omeprazole issue, except to say that it can be a symptom of deficiency or excess gastric acids. Google it. I have read stories about people experiencing gastrointestinal issues such as sibo, candida overgrowth, etc alongside tinnitus. Maybe worth looking into further (especially if you have messed up your gut's flora with chronic antibiotic use for your sinuses.)

Either way, you are going to be ok. Turn your focus away from your tinnitus if you can. Easier said than done, and good luck with your studies. Hope this helps.

Deb