Pulsatile Tinnitus and Ear Spasms

Hi all,

This is my first post in the forum as I am new to tinnitus. A background on me: I am a drummer and have been playing for almost 4 years. I started using hearing protection around this time last ear.

Before all this happened, I had been experiencing itchy ears for at least a month, and I was using q tips 2-3 times a day. When i first visited the doctor I thought I just had an ear infection, and I turned out to be right (according to the doctor). She said there was a little bit of fluid in my right ear and I started using ear drops. The itching and visible fluid eventually went away but the spasms remained.

A few days after this visit I began experiencing a pulsating in my left ear whenever I lay down. This is constant and never goes away where as the ear spasms come and go. My right ear mainly has been fluttering/vibrating about 3-4 times a week.When it starts, it will sometimes go on for up to 10 hours. When it starts, it will usually rapidly click and vibrate every 5-10 seconds and then slowly become less frequent over time. It sometimes feels like an open/closing sensation when it happens twice at a time - It is hard to explain. The spasms will usually wake me up in my sleep, or just randomly start during the day.

I find it strange though as the ear spasms ALWAYS happen on Friday and late Sunday/early Monday morning. Sometimes the fluttering will start in my left ear, but it is rare and usually ends fairly quick.

I went to an ENT and was diagnosed with PT. He said my ears didn't have much wax in them and everything seemed fine. I took flonase and prescription strength nasal spray every day for the past month (since around September 14), claritin, muscle relaxers, and tried increasing my magnesium/vitamin A/vitamin B12 intake and nothing seems to work.

It all started last month (September 9th, precisely) when I went over to my friends house to play music like I always do. His brother was playing the drummer upon my arrival and it was absolutely deafening. There was one point where i had taken the headphones off and my ears were exposed to it for a few mins (yes, I am an idiot) I foolishly proceeded to play drums and jam with them for about the next 40 mins. I had my over ear hearing protection most of the time, but I don't think it did much. I am not 100% sure if this is the cause of the PT/ear spasms but I am pretty sure it is since my right ear has been especially sensitive to sound lately.

I may have TMJ as I occasionally have crackling sounds in my jaw when I chew. This may be a factor and my dentist recommended me to try a mouth guard for sleeping. I have been sleeping with this loud fan on to cover up the pulsating noise in my left ear. As for the ear spasms, there is no way to mask them. It drives me insane and makes it impossible to sleep.

My top two wisdom teeth were removed in June, and my bottom right one which was recently causing me pain, was removed 10 days ago. I was hoping that it was the erupted wisdom tooth causing the ear spasms but that turned out to not be the case since the noises havent stopped.

I am going for a Temporal Bone CT Scan tomorrow and will hopefully get good results. And by this I mean something that is treatable..this has absolutely made my life hell. All I want is for it to go away. Ive been having panic attacks for the first time in my life and I feel hopeless mainly because these are two separate problems.

Does anyone else have any similar experiences? Thanks.