Requesting Help with Reactive Tinnitus — Can TRT / Other Treatments Help?

When it started: I developed tinnitus during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy in Nov. 2018. It was a very stressful pregnancy as I was told my baby was not growing properly and we might lose her. They prepared me for early delivery by giving me a betamethasone (steroid) injection in the hip region to mature her lungs. The day after the shot, I developed a sharp, morse code beeping noise in my left ear. I freaked out about it and had several panic attacks. Four days later with the panic attacks continuing, I developed head noise and a high pitch whistle in my right ear. I had zero problems with my ears prior to the shot.

14 months later, I still have tinnitus in both ears: The right side has calmed down a lot. The whistle noise is usually absent and is replaced with a constant cyclical metallic noise. The left side, on the other hand, morphs from a sharp lower pitch morse code beep, to extremely high pitch squeaks, to a sizzle static-like noise. My left ear also started pinging. It's really weird. It sounds like someone is plucking a guitar string, only it is very fast and higher pitched. I get them usually with head moment. Sometimes one at a time for a flurry at time. Some machine noises (e.g. fans, driving in a car, heater, AC units, dryer, etc) and wind cause my left ear to produce an extremely high pitch piercing whistle that overlays the offending noise. It’s very scary and intrusive and feels like my left ear is vibrating too. Once the offending sound is removed, my left ear usually (but not always) goes back to normal tinnitus. My right ear used to do this, but does not anymore. I'm hoping my left ear follows suit. Additionally, when I go outside at night when it is very quiet, I get a sharp dial tone aura noise in my head. When I step back indoors, which is even quieter, the dial tone noise lightens. I notice the same thing if I’m indoors at night with the windows open. Although it’s quiet outside it’s almost like the atmosphere (even when it isn’t windy) kicks it up.

Noise exposure history: About 20 years ago, I attended two concerts. I also listened to music though earphones, but not during the entire pregnancy. It was a very quiet year leading up to the tinnitus. My audiograms show that I am within -5 and 10 dB on frequencies tested up to 20 kHz, with an exception of a 35 dB notch from 16-18 kHz. I am concerned about my DPOAE values. All DPOAEs are present and normal within 1000 6.6 kHz, but 8 kHz and 10 kHz are completely absent. I'm 39 years old.

Other possible causes: A few days before developing tinnitus, I cleaned my ears with a qtip. I accidentally pushed the qtip too far in my left ear. I didn't touch the ear drum but felt a slight bit of pain. It sounded like my ear sucked in and then made a brief ringing noise for 15 seconds. My mom has tinnitus from a cold and I was worried that I caused permanent damage. I went in a closet to check and everything was quiet. And then four days later I get tinnitus in my left ear. So this could be a possibility, but then how come I now have it in my right ear? I also took a small amount of pepcid AC for acid reflux. I read that this is ototoxic. I also had the flu and TDAP shots for the first time 18 days before getting tinnitus. Otherwise, no other medications. The day I got tinnitus in my left ear, I had jaw physical therapy for TMJ. I never had locking of the jaw, but some clicking and pain when I ate hard foods. Last but not least, I was very anxious about the baby before getting tinnitus and then super anxious after the tinnitus. The anxiety has not subsided yet.

What I've tried so far: Upper cervical chiropractic, basic chiropractic, acupuncture, supplements (B12, zinc, Vitamin D, magnesium, calcium, turmeric, NAC, and Acetyl L Carnitine), Jaw exercises/massage. I've been to a jaw specialist, they say my jaw joints are fine, but my bite is off. I would have to get braces to fix the bite. I was on antidepressants and tried many, they only made the tinnitus symptoms worse. I was also on Klonopin for a while and finally got off that.

Questions I have:
1) Will TRT remove the high pitch whistle overlay noise I get from machine and wind noise?
2) Is it possible my tinnitus still might go away completely after the anxiety is removed? If not away completely, will the reactive part at least go way?
3) Is there any treatment that you think I would benefit from?
4) Has anyone ever had the same symptoms as me and have seen improvement? If so, how long?

Any help or insight you can provide will be greatly appreciate.

Thank you,
Renee

 

Well,...you have offered a lot of info there. First of all, I am very sorry you are going through this. It seems like you have enough to think about without this scourge of Tinnitus.

You ask a lot of questions, and you will likely get a lot of suggestions. The fact is, there is no magic answer to this. Tinnitus is unique to each individual. There are some things you can do/try that even if they don't help with the T, at least they won't cause any harm and may even have other beneficial effects. Things such as "meditation", or anything that will lower the stress factor (like getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet etc..). It does appear that you are going thru a lot of stress, and stress is not a good thing. Many believe that high stress can be "a" direct cause for Tinnitus. In my mind, "drugs" of any kind are only to be taken as a last resort. Too many potential side effects. There is simply no answer as to how long it will last, improve, or if it will go away. But I urge you to take steps to lower your anxiety and stress. Thats why I mentioned meditation.

I too am afflicted with significant Tinnitus of the "static, hissing, metalic," Type that is reactive to noise. It never goes away, becomes very bothersome in certain noisy environments, but does calm down a bit when I am in a very quiet environment. Its been with me for over a year now, and shows no signs of diminishing. I will say that I am doing much better with it now than I was in the beginning. I only hope and pray that it never gets any worse.

So browse around. Theres a lot of information in here. Take it all in with a grain of salt. Try some different things (outside of drugs) and see if some kind of holistic type treatment offered in this forum may point you to some help. Even a little bit of relief is a grand thing when it comes to Tinnitus. Good luck.

 

Hey @JohnFox, curious how your tinnitus is doing? Is it still reactive and metallic? Or centralized in your head?