Tinnitus After Ear Infection — Also Suffer from Anxiety

Hello my name is Jenny, okay so I suffer from anxiety but I seemed to manage it, it was all mental.

However, I got an ear infection in April 2019, in the past I’ve had several ear infections due to using q-tips but it’s been years since I’ve had another infection and my ears were perfectly fine after those infections. Both ears but mostly the left ear, the infected left ear, had ringing but once I got it treated it disappeared.

However, when I would sleep on my left side on a pillow it would make so many weird noises like loud white noise. But that was it.

Then months later I would wake up with loud white noise on that left ear just when I would wake up, then it would disappear.

The ENT told me my hearing is perfect and it’s nothing bad, that it may just be anxiety and to handle my anxiety but that was it.

Then out of nowhere in October I bent down and I had a quiver like a swoosh in my right ear when I would bend down. It’s been months and I still have it. They told me I have negative pressure in that ear which can be caused by congestion, however it’s been 2 months and I still have the quiver when I cough really hard or bend down.

I got so anxious over this that I got a panic attack and got extremely stressed.

Now I have loud ringing in my ears and it’s horrible. I literally don’t know what to do. I can’t sleep, I can’t do anything. I need help but the ENT isn’t really offering any help, I just hope it isn’t permanent.

 

HI @Jenny Burgos

On your Avatar is reads tinnitus unknown. Something usually causes tinnitus to appear and the most common cause is exposure to loud noise. Typically, it is listening to music through headphones or going to places where loud music is present. Stress and ear infections can cause it too along with other medical conditions. It would help to try and find what has caused the onset of tinnitus. Please click on the links below and read my articles on tinnitus as I think they will be of help.

Try not to sleep in a quiet room by using sound enrichment at night. More about this is explained in the links below.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

 

Panic attacks can cause tinnitus to increase in volume like turning up the volume on a radio. For me, those spikes were short lived, but you need to get your anxiety under control. There are various medication and non-medication approaches you could take and can discuss with your doctor.
Looks like your cause of tinnitus is due to infections from using qtips. You should avoid from putting them, or any other implement, in your ears from now on.

I'll refrain from making any comments about my opinion of ENTs, other than to say they don't know much about tinnitus and do not deal with it as a medical condition.

 

I’ve had several ear infections due to q tips and my ears cleared 100 percent fine. This time after many years I had one ear infection, I'm hoping it just clears up on its own but it may be harder because of my anxiety.