Tinnitus (?) for 10 Months and Counting

Hi, everyone! I’m not sure if my condition would be considered tinnitus, but lurking these forums has helped me to stay positive since it had started.

In the past 1.5 years, I went to 3 music concerts without using any ear protection. I left the concerts without any immediate problems to my hearing, but about 10 months ago, I noticed some weird buzzing/static/discomfort in my left ear while I was at a loud party. It stopped once I left the party, so I didn’t think much of it. Since then, I would hear those sounds and feel that discomfort in my ear whenever it got too loud, but again, I brushed it off since it would go away on its own.

In the past few weeks, it has been more frequent, occurring with moderately loud noises that normally wouldn’t affect me like pots and pans hitting each other, closing a door or cabinet shut, or raising my own voice. I suspected that I had hyperacusis, and after exposing myself to everyday noise while reassuring myself that the discomfort in my ears were faulty signals sent by my brain, the discomfort went away completely. Now, I’m only left with the buzzing/static sound in my left ear, which I can only hear with pretty loud sounds like blow drying my hair or sitting in a busy restaurant.

I’m not sure this would be considered tinnitus since the sound in my ear only happens with loud noise. But I’m continuing to expose myself to everyday noise and protecting my ear only when the decibel level is above 85. I have a PCP visit scheduled next week, and I’m thinking about requesting a referral to a specialist. Do any of you guys recommend going to an ENT over an audiologist or vice versa?

 

@ynwa95

After reading your post I am fairly sure you are showing signs of acoustic trauma to your auditory system and exhibiting the early symptoms of tinnitus and hyperacusis. If you are not careful this will develop into full blown tinnitus where it can become intrusive and quite debilitating. In addition to this you may also develop hyperacusis (over sensitivity to sound) this often accompanies noise induced tinnitus. However, if you take action now you can hopefully prevent this from happening and it could save you a lot of distress, so the choice is yours.

Please click on the links below and read my posts. Take your time and read them thoroughly without skimming. If you use headphones at the moment, I advise you not to use them for about 3 months but would rather you stop using them all together. If you do resume using them after 3 months then keep the volume as low as possible.

All the best
Michael

PS: A visit to ENT is probably a good idea to check your auditory system is functioning properly and there are no problems.

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/the-habituation-process.20767/

 

Personally I would start protecting your ears at 80db for any sustained length of exposure. And if you go to any more concerts or loud events wear protection regardless. Sounds like it's your ears way of telling you they need to rest and the next time might mean damage. I went to 3 concerts this year without protection and am paying the price dearly. My ears are reacting to the same sounds but with an involuntary eardrum twitch/flutter. If you see an audiologist you'll want to find one familiar dealing with hyperacusis and other hearing disorders. Most just seem to exist to administer audiograms (the basic hearing test) and sell hearing aids. When I brought up my symptoms seeking a diagnosis, she trivialized hyperacusis and tinnitus and said to just stop paying attention to it all. I'm still waiting to see my ENT but from what I've gathered, they'll be the one more likely to find a physical problem in the outer/middle ear if you have one. But to me it sounds more like your inner ear warning you not to keep exposing it to loud stuff. Assuming you haven't done damage, perhaps the symptoms may dissipate in time if not go away completely with rest.

 

Thanks for links! I’ll be sure to take better care of my hearing from now on

 

Sorry to hear that you are dealing with this after trying to enjoy yourself at some concerts as well, but I hope you’ll be able to find better help with your ENT. I’ll do my best to rest my ears, which would be to protect my ears from >80 decibels as you’ve suggested. I’ll also talk to my PCP about seeing an audiologist specialized in hearing disorders since I’m slightly concerned that I already have some ear damage or hearing loss. Thanks for your advice!