Spike in Tinnitus from Perforated Eardrum?

A few weeks ago I found out I had an ear infection and perforated eardrum in my left ear. The infection has healed, but my tinnitus is still louder. My ear also feels plugged up and my hearing is muffled. My eardrum probably ruptured from the infection or blowing my nose too hard.

I've had tubes in my ears before and a perforated eardrum from having a tube in, but my tinnitus did not increase and my hearing was not muffled.

I saw the ENT and he did not know why I was having these symptoms and that the perforation did not look too bad and should heal on its own.

Have any of you had the same experience - no symptoms from ear tubes, but increased tinnitus and muffled hearing from a perforated eardrum?

Did your tinnitus and hearing return back to baseline after your eardrum healed?

I don't understand why I'm having these symptoms when my ears felt completely normal with tubes in them.

Thank you.

 

You mention your ear feels full and that you have muffled hearing. You probably have some ETD still going on from the infection.

Discuss this with your doctor as they might be able to open up those tubes. Otherwise you will have to wait it out for your tubes to clear. Many people get spikes in tinnitus from cold and flu because their tubes get clogged and it takes a while to open up again.

So I suggest going back and talk with your doctor.

 

Thanks Jack! Unfortunately, I’ve had problems with my ears for several years, have been diagnosed with ETD several times, and nothing the doctor’s prescribed or anything I’ve tried seems to help with it. The doctor gave me Flonase and Zyrtec this time. Im taking it, but it’s not helping. Hopefully the symptoms will go away soon. Have you found anything successful for treating ETD? I appreciate your comment.