Tinnitus for 10 Days After Using a Toothpick to Remove Earwax — Is There Hope?

Hi there,

About 10 days ago, my ears felt full so I wanted try and remove some wax by myself. Didn't have any q tips, so I decided to use a toothpick and be careful (stupid, I know... so stupid). I didn't go deep, but as I was digging in my left ear I heard some popping, as if my ear canal opened up a bit. I also hit my outer ear canal a bit, there was some minor pain, so I stopped. But that's when tinnitus began in my left ear.

Didn't think much of it, thought it would stop. It's a high pitched sound, a lot like the sound of an old TV when there's no channel.

That evening, my hearing on the left ear was a bit distorted. Higher frequencies sounded a bit off, but my hearing went back to normal the next day, shrugged it off as wax impaction. After a few days, tinnitus didn't stop, so I got worried. I went to my dad, who is a family doctor (GP), and he said my ears were full of wax and that there is some fungal inflammation. His nurse syringed my ear, removed the wax, put the peroxide in and after that some anti-inflammation tape that I kept in my ear for 24 hours. He thought tinnitus and sound distortion was caused by impacted wax, but wax removal did absolutely nothing to my tinnitus.

Three days ago I removed this anti-inflammation thing from my ear, and the next day tinnitus subsided to 1/10 for a day. I thought it's going away, almost couldn't hear it anymore. But yesterday and today, it back to it's usual 4/10. My dad checked my ear again today, and he said my ear is very clean and the ear drum is "as clear as the sky on a sunny day" - no sign of damage. There is, however, a small wound on my outer ear canal (very likely from the toothpick), but that it's unlikely that this is the cause of tinnitus.

I can't stop thinking about it, it makes me very anxious and depressed, I can't believe such a small stupid thing would ruin my silence forever.

Taking care of my ears now, no headphones or loud music, but I'd give anything for it to go away...

 

Hey there, neliath. It really sucks to hear that you've had this happen.

I'm legitimately impressed you were able to get a toothpick into your ear! Just the thought of that makes me shudder a bit. It's a bit hypocritical for me to say, as I was a chronic user of cotton swabs, but the wood being so pointy...

It's very possible you may have accidentally perforated your eardrum or caused some other trauma to your ear canal. While I do not challenge what your father saw, I would recommend seeing an ENT specifically to evaluate your ear. I have seen many cases where family doctors will evaluate a ear and determine it to be fine only for a specialist to find something else. You may also want to bring up the inflammation as that could be occuring in your middle ear as well.

I am currently having to deal with situations like this myself. It sucks, and there's still hope for both of us that it may go away since it's very recent. I wish I had any answers for this myself, as each day is different and it feels like I'm on a rollercoaster of emotion.

Certainly hope you stop suffering from this as soon as possible.

 

Thank you for your kind words.

I'm pretty sure the ear drum was not perforated by the toothpick as I didn't go deep enough. The ear drum is about 2.5 cm deep, I didn't go nearly as deep.

Today it's gotten louder, the TV doesn't mask it, it's driving me nuts

 

I can't imagine how a toothpick in ear canal would cause tinnitus.

Would putting a toothpick in the ear canal cause hearing loss? I think it's unbelievable.

 

Put a sharp pointed object in your ear, q-tips don't remove wax but they will push the wax deeper into the ear canal. If your doctor didn't tell you, then I will. The only thing you put in your ear is your elbow!

 

Don't panic. Easier said than done I know.

Chances are all you've done is impacted the wax, which diminished your hearing and made you more aware of the tinnitus you probably already had but didn't realise you had.

Now your brain's locked onto it and is seeing it as a threat. Try to relax about the tinnitus and it will disappear back into the back of your mind.

As has been said there is no way you damaged your hearing with the toothpick. If you'd perforated you eardrum you'd have known about it!

You're going to be OK

Cheers,
Shaun.

 

A year later, I'm still in a very bad place. I just can't take it anymore.

I have what most people would call mild tinnitus, as I can still mask it quite well most of the time and I can sleep without masking (of course I hear it). But I just CAN'T take my mind off of it. It's driving me nuts. I don't want to listen to this BS for the rest of my life, but since there has been no improvement for a year, it seems like this is my fate. I did have some good days/weeks with lower volume throughout the year, but at this moment, it's as loud as ever. It started in only one ear but after 2-3 weeks it jumped to the other one as well.

Tried 3 doctors, utterly useless. Including my own father (general physician). They say everything is fine, my eardrum looks perfect, my hearing is amazing - just ignore it. Yeah right... They also all agree the stupid toothpick isn't the cause of tinnitus but gave no clue what could possibly be the cause. I'm all alone in this, nobody in my real life can really understand or help, including my father, uncle, and aunt who are all doctors... I've lost hope.

Thank you for your kind words everyone.

 

Hi @neliath.

I am sorry to know you are still having difficulty with the tinnitus. There is always hope so try not to give up. The doctors you have seen have said your ears are fine which is good to know. Masking your tinnitus so it can't be heard is not a good idea, because your brain will never learn to habituate to it successfully. Therefore, use low level sound enrichment such as nature sounds, keeping the volume slightly below the tinnitus and not covering it up so it can't be heard. More information about this is in the link below titled: New to Tinnitus, What to Do?

If possible, try and see an audiologist that specialises in tinnitus management, as I believe you will benefit from counselling. Good quality counselling preferably with a therapist that has tinnitus, can help to remove and dispel the negative thinking that a lot of people have about tinnitus. Over time one learns not to see tinnitus as a threat and gradually the tinnitus is pushed further into the background.

If you are using any type of headphones including earbuds or headsets, then I advise that you don't use them even at low volume. Please read my articles in the links below and go to my started threads and read the following threads: Tinnitus and the Negative Mindset, Acquiring a Positive Mindset, The Habituation Process. If you are able to print these articles then do so and refer to them often. That way you will absorb and retain the information better. Gradually you will start to think more positive about your life.

Talk to your general physician and see if you can be referred to an audiologist or a counsellor. Your doctor may suggest trying an antidepressant, this can help to prevent your moods becoming to low. More about this is explained in my articles.

I wish you well,
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum
Tinnitus, A Personal View | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

It is around the year mark that some people begin to habituate although it does take some people longer.

I found going on holiday helped.

You will be in a new place doing things you enjoy despite the tinnitus.

Good luck.

 

Thanks again!

My uncle got me an appointment with one of the best ENTs in the country (Slovenia), but even he has little experience with tinnitus. Perks of living in a tiny country...

His recommendation was to quit Propecia (finasteride) and try tricyclic antidepressants. I quit finasteride for a month but it made no difference, so I'm back on it. I didn't try tricyclic antidepressants yet, I'm a bit reluctant to do so. He also gave me a "tinnitus test" to see how much it bothers me and the score came out "moderate (3/5)".

One of the periods, when tinnitus was quite low, was actually on vacation, sailing in Croatia, just chilling, doing nothing. On the other, more active vacation in Spain, it remained strong consistently.

I do have some history with anxiety, panic attacks, and mild OCD, so I'm not ruling out the possibility that tinnitus is caused or at least correlated with my psychological well-being. Although it's been years since I had any panic attacks. I'm just not sure if my depression causes tinnitus or tinnitus causes depression. I find that when tinnitus is low and/or doesn't bother me as much, I'm in a better mood.

I do not mask my tinnitus all the time. Only when I'm at home on my computer with some music or TV (which is admittedly quite often due to my work), but I never mask it for sleeping, in the office, or when doing other stuff.

I use earbuds very seldom, due to tinnitus. I used to use earbuds quite often for podcasts (almost never music), but I'd only use them in one ear at a time.

I guess I'll get over it eventually, but what bothers me the most is knowing it's permanent and I can't do anything about it. I'd eat shit to cure it... I have an appointment with a psychotherapist in a week, we'll see how that goes.