Tinnitus Developed During Pregnancy

[melmay]

Hi everyone,

I developed tinnitus when I was five months pregnant. It started suddenly one day and has never stopped since.

The most challenging part is that my tinnitus constantly fluctuates. It is primarily in my left ear, where I also experience ear pain, a clogged sensation, and loud tinnitus. I have mild high-frequency hearing loss, but I am unsure what triggered all of this. It has been a difficult journey.

My biggest fear is that I will eventually lose my hearing. Some days, the ringing in my ear is so loud that I feel like I cannot hear properly.

Is this a reasonable fear, or am I being paranoid? Do people with tinnitus eventually lose their hearing?

I would appreciate your feedback and support. These thoughts are really scaring me.

 

[billie48]

Welcome to the forum. Don't panic nor fear for the future. Millions have hearing loss. I have hearing loss in the high frequency. Hence my T is ultra high pitch dog whistle like. It was something I thought about too about more hearing loss. But after being converted to positivity, I said the heck with that worry. Why worry about the future which is not a reality or the past which is already history. What we have right now is the moment in front of us. Let's enjoy life abundantly for the NOW and let the consequence follows.

This way of thinking has helped many to lower the stress level, making T a lot more manageable. When you can sleep well, eat well and relax about things, the neurons responsible for T will not be able to stay in hyperactive state for long. Eventually it will run out of its stress fueled energy and crash back to more tolerable level. The prefrontal cortex of the brain which takes over from the Amygdala in processing and assessing the T stimulus will help stabilize our reaction as one of the functions of the prefrontal cortex is to suppress the fear reaction. So stay positive and live the moment.

There is no evidence that people with T will lose all their hearing. In fact sometimes, ENTs can't find anything wrong with people's hearing while they have T. Why not stay positive that your condition will improve. It never hurts to stay positive. It it comes to that there are more hearing loss in the future, we do have options like wearing hearing aids which have been known to help reduce the T level while improving the hearing. So relax and try to live and enjoy the moment.

Take care. God bless.

 

[Kolisar]

Hello @melmay, and welcome.

@billie48 is correct, positivity is important. He does not seem to promote this post but he wrote his success story demonstrating how positivity helped him habituate.
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

It is a long post, but worth every minute it takes to read (and watch the attached videos).

And, to view this from the other side, from how negativity can affect tinnitus, @Michael Leigh, who like Billie48 is another great contributor to this forum, wrote the following, excellent post on negativity and tinnitus:
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/

I have had tinnitus my entire life, and an only (in the past decade or so) started to experience, minor, hearing loss. Certain pitches can be difficult to hear, especially if they match one of the 3-4 tinnitus pitches I hear constantly, but the tinnitus has never, really, interfered too much with my hearing (and I was a musician for many years).

I agree with Billie48, you should not fear. It is important to note that anxiety, and depression, are common companions of tinnitus. So, fear itself is common amongst our community, but try not to worry, it doesn't help and will only make you miserable.

Please remember that this forum is filled with many caring, compassionate, and sympathetic people. People who are always here, and willing to offer support to fellow tinnitus sufferers. When you are scared, please post to the "Support" section, someone will read and respond. You don't have to go through this alone, we will he here to help.

 

[Meinz89]

Hi @melmay,

Did your tinnitus ever improve or go away? I am 12 weeks pregnant and have been dealing with sudden unilateral tinnitus since I was 7 weeks pregnant.

I have seen two ENTs and a few other doctors, but everything appears normal. My OB seemed unsure about this being related to pregnancy, but I cannot link it to anything other than my fluctuating hormones.

I feel lost and scared, but I am hopeful it will either go away soon or at least improve after I give birth in late November, which currently feels like a long time away.