Opinions? Do I Have Tinnitus or Is This Something More Than Tinnitus?

[Shayna De Luc]

Hello,

for many years I've always had a continued static sound in my ear; I can't tell if it's in one or both ears. I haven't thought it was a concern until people pointed out how they believe I could have a hearing problem, because of me constantly asking people to repeat themselves; rather from not hearing them or missing what they could have said. I began to concentrate to more signs that there could be a problem, thinking back to previous problems throughout the year that I ignored, there are times when my hearing unexpectedly 'goes out' and the sound around me is muffled, yet I can still hear noise; more in my left ear. On other occasions, I would get a random pop in one of my ears, although this doesn't happen so often. In addition of my age, I'm only 19 years old.

My question is, could this be tinnitus or something more than tinnitus?

 

[Contrast]

It's tinnitus and tinnitus is almost always accompanied by hearing loss.