Sudden Increase in RIght Ear in the Night

Woke up tonight around 3am with a spike in my right ear. It was pretty loud. I immediately started having a panic attack. My hands started tingling and I wanted to run out of bed. My ear felt clogged up too.

After 2 hours of having panic in my sleep my ear popped and it went to baseline a bit more. I'm still shaky and trying to relax myself. My husband woke up and made me do breathing exercises with him.

We had been going up and down in elavation all weekend and I think my ears were over it. My tinnitus got very loud on our trip in the mountains.

Why does tinnitus have to scare so badly?

 

I would say you shouldn't discount the effect that the elevation changes had/are having on your ears. My ears are super sensitive to elevation changes and I feel like I need to pop them more than "regular" people, even when just driving over fairly shallow mountainous areas.

Great to hear that you have a partner who is supportive enough to ride it out with you.

Tinnitus has to scare so badly, because it is a bully. That is what it does. It is a terrible quirk in our nervous system with the irony being that most evidence points to it being the result of error-correction.

 

@MidnightOilAudio I hope it doesn't kick up tonight. My anxiety kicking in left me anxious all day. Doing everything I can to stay calm. I'm exhausted and really want to sleep tonight. We had to drive with the windows down the whole five hour drive there and back because we have no A.C. and I was worried it could cause a spike. I'm trying to stay positive @fishbone thank you for your quick responses to my messages, it means a ton. I'm trying very hard not to give in and ask for medication.

 

Windows down for 5 hours is extreme punishment for your ears. Get some ear protection for next time!

 

I had a similar experience today. I was wearing Peltor muffs in the underground parking lot of a store, as I was loading groceries into the trunk of my car. All of a sudden I heard a loud hissing noise that was louder than the T sound I was hearing at the time. I had dental cleaning earlier that day, and my first thought was that the new loud hissing was due to that procedure (and me having to have my mouth wide open during it). I panicked. After a couple of minutes, I figured out that the air conditioner got turned on in the underground lot, and I was hearing it as hissing in my Peltor muffs.

 

I know, I should have brought something but I get cocky. My tinnitus starts to feel better and my anxiety is down. All a recipe for a spike or a permnant spike. I hope my ears calm down. My anxiety is okay right now.

 

In life it's all about helping and paying it forward....99% of time, I just come here to help and support those that suffer from this horrible ordeal, that no one should go through....

Hope you are doing better

 

There is nothing wrong in taking medication for something like tinnitus @zombiechick It acts as a safety net to help prevent you not getting too down and it doesn't have to be taken long term.
All the best
Michael

 

@zombiechick I agree with @Michael Leigh. I have a cute pill tin that says "Chill Pills" on the cover and inside I have a few .25 mg Xanax. I rarely take them but had to the other night, when I kept getting this shuttering in my T ear that freaked me out. Anyone know what that is? Anyway, I made my husband throw a shirt over his white noise machine because I think it's too loud. I got up and took a half of a .25mg which is probably next to nothing but I'm pill-sensitive and it took the edge off. Was able to go back to sleep and felt fine to go to work.

Speaking of elevations, I work in the tallest building in my city on the top floor - floor 62. Most times it doesn't bother me but lately I've been trying to chew gum anytime I take the elevators. Then I swallow a lot until my ears pop. Another fun fact, the other day I got stuck in one of the elevators - the door wouldn't open to let us out on my floor. I was so glad I had my Chill Pill stash! We got rescued after about 15 minutes - seemed like an hour - but I would have taken one if it dragged on. xoxoRM

 

@Rosemerry @Michael Leigh I took medication for 6 years, clonazepam to be exact. When I got pregnant I had to taper off and the withdrawals were awful. I want another child so badly (with my tinnitus getting bad again that feels impossible). I don't want to withdrawal again.

 

I hear you @zombiechick and sorry to know about the withdrawls from clonazepam. I was prescribed it in 2010 as my tinnitus can reach very severe levels. My GP and ENT consultant advised me to only take it when my tinnitus is severe. If taken regularly, it can lead to dependancy and withdrawls can be quite unpleasant. Furthermore, the body will quickly habituate and higher dosages need to be taken to get the same relief. Fortunately, I haven't become dependant on it and only take it for a maximum of 2 days: takening two 0.5 tablets per day. The tinnitus reduces significantly to silent. My tinnitus naturally ranges from: silent, mild, moderate and severe. It no-longer reaches extreme severe levels that would last for many days.

When I was advising you about medication I meant antidepressant acting as a safety net so that your moods don't drop too low. Tinnitus as you know has a direct impact on our emotions. Please read my posts in my "started threads": Can counselling help tinnitus? And: Tinnitus and Mental Health. This is not an easy condition to cope with when it is severe and intrusive. Whilst going it alone is admirable it is not advisable without some sort of help and that comes in various forms. I advise you to talk to your Doctors. There is only so much a person can do regarding self help for tinnitus. When it becomes severe and difficult to manage, one needs professional help. I suggest counselling.
All the best
Michael

 

That's comforting to know. I have elevation issues too. It didn't start when my T first did, but I know it's part of the reason why it's louder and it affects fluctuations in noises now. Before it was very quiet and stable, and getting quieter.

Even the elevation change to town is enough. I have to constantly swallow to get them to pop when we go for drives, and I live in the mountain area. 1,000s of feet in changes at a time.

It's slowly getting better (from sever fullness that even standing from sitting made them have to change and swallowing caused them to always pop) . . . and I hope it will go back to normal to where my ears where champs and I never had to worry about them adjusting to altitude changes. I notice a gentle thump sometimes as something in my ear shifts, they use to be louder.

We're planning to go on a trip up Bear Tooth Highway in Yellowstone in September, I'm nervous about it. It's 10,947′ 0″ in elevation. My ears come down better now from the spikes, but part of me fears that if I go that high it will do something scary . . . and permanent.

Doctor says they look fine and they don't care. Wasted my one free visit.