Pulled Ear

Hello everyone. This is my story.

What happened:

Two weeks ago wax was blocking my ears totally. I was trying to clear my left ear by moving it. In frustration I pulled it too aggressively and that started it all. I have since had all wax cleared but the tinnitus has remained in my left ear.

My tinnitus:

There is a constant sound like a house wall radiator but maybe a bit higher in mids. Or like someone is taking a shower and you can hear the water running through the pipes. I guess it's a hiss. This sound is very low and I need to try and hear it sometimes. Other times it is more discernible but when outside or driving, etc I don't seem to hear it. Of course when going to bed it is present.

However -

It can be provoked by certain sounds/ frequencies. When watching tv it can develop into an ring or something like it. I'm not sure if the rad/ hiss sound is getting louder and my brain reinterprets the sound as a ring or if it's a new sound. The ring is still fairly low but my brain gravitates to it. I can sometimes get the ring to chill out if I gently put my finger in my ear. Other things at home or during the day can provoke it as well. It never seems super loud but my brain at this points focuses on it.

What I'm doing:

I don'y know if it will ever go away but for now I'm applying heat with showers and water bottle. I'm going to do message and acupuncture and hope it will get blood flowing in there and help heal the damage from the pull. I'm taking Ginkgo. I'm seeing a ENT but the wait time is a few months - crazy. White noise can get the ring to ease. I'm going to do the conditioning if it persists. I'm still trying to figure out what make it worse or better but that of course leads me to hyper focus on it.

How I feel:

Sad. Angry at myself. I've cried a few times. I have a constant feeling of anxiety in my gut. I'm afraid it will get worse.
I'm part of a 12 step program of the drinky drinky variety and using that helps. I'm used to being pretty happy and hate feeling sad like this. But I'm not a robot and my feeling are what they are. I have two children who still make me smile.
I like William Shatner ( a fellow Canadian) and hearing him talk about his tinnitus gives me hope if mine doesn't go away.

I'm grateful this place is here and any comments, suggestions or support are appreciated.

 

The good news is that since you have a hiss, you hurt your ear a lot less than many of us here. Most people initially hear a high-pitch tone. Over time it often fades and becomes a hiss. So you are at a stage that many of us take 6-12 months to get to. There is a good chance that you will get to hear silence again.

The bad news is that our ears have been compromised, and now it will take less (compared to what it takes to get a healthy person to experience any problems) to make T worse (or to get it to come back).

For more about the chances of recovery and what might ensure that T doesn't come back, check out the thread below where I summarize everything (27 tips) I learned about managing tinnitus after reading the posts on this forum for the past year.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

 

Hi Bill,

I appreciate the response and words of encouragement. I will go through your compiled list.

 

So, things have gotten worse. Not in my left ear though. My left ear has stayed the same. After a few days I calmed down about it as it not very intrusive.

However, Friday night my right ear started going off and not the same sound as the left.

What happened:

I had wax in both ears but they were flushed on different days (see my initial post on my left ear). The wax in my right ear was on the drum so it was making high pitch sounds for a few days till I got it flushed out on Monday. After that it calmed down and I went on dealing with my left ear. This Friday I started hearing a very high frequency sound.

Right Ear Tinnitus:

I guess it's in the 10000-12000 hz range, maybe. It can be extremely low in volume, almost but not gone, giving me moments or an hour or even more of reprieve. The low volume seems to dance in and out of perceptibility rising slightly then lower. But, it is provoked by sounds and I think stress. So, it's been about two days that I've had it. It's terrible all over again. I feel horrible and anxiety ridden. I need a good nights sleep. When peaking it goes to a 1 or 2. If there is enough noise around me it can block it out but the noise is what is spiking it.

If anyone knows of a sleep sound/ track that is good for the high range I'd appreciate it. A lot of these things seem to spike mine.

My brother had wax in his ear and he had it flushed years ago and he got T from it but he said it went away in a month or so. He did however, get an ear infection later on and has permeant T in it now. It doesn't bother him anymore though.

All comments, support and appreciated.

 

This might help, i probably owe my life to it.

10 Hour Best Tinnitus Sound Therapy Ever

 

Thanks!