Tinnitus from Defective Industrial Vacuum Cleaner

Hi,

My tinnitus appeared in early December, following my use of an old/defective industrial vacuum cleaner.

The device was running properly, but was making a really loud noise exactly like when something is blocking the airflow inside. I had put 35 dB earplugs on, but unfortunately my right earplug popped out a bit. The sound did not seem horrible enough for me to bother. I did notice it, but I continued using the device. What a mistake.

I used the device for about 30 minutes in total. After that, I heard some kind of scratching noise in my right ear for about 10 minutes. The following two days, I did not notice anything wrong.

On the third day, I heard a white noise sound, like an airflow noise, in my right ear. I went to see a specialist about 10 days later, which is unfortunately much too late for anti-inflammatory drugs to try to cure anything. I was prescribed cortisone for 3 days and took it anyway, with no results. I had two hearing tests, which were both perfectly normal.

Later, I measured the sound level with a (good) decibel meter: 118 dB. That's a lot of sound... (and no, I won't sue the vacuum cleaner brand).

Now, 6 months later, my tinnitus is quite bad.

In the morning, I tend to distinctively hear my right ear tinnitus. It seems to send a message saying 'THAT's the problem, you can hear it clearly right now'. This makes sense as my right ear was exposed. My left ear DID have the 35 dB earplug correctly fit inside. Very quickly, though, as the minutes pass, the right-side tinnitus evolves into bilateral high-pitched tinnitus, for the rest of the day. It seems to me my brain tries to do something and somehow changes the problem and the way the tinnitus is handled.

I sometimes have a sensation of crackling ear (Rice Crispies-like), when I swallow. This is striking. I don't know where this sensation comes from. It does not always do that though.

I occasionally feel a bit "blocked" in my right ear, once in a while. This is uncomfortable.

I occasionally feel pain in my right ear, but it is extremely rare.

We're in May, and now I have a (louder than the right ear) tinnitus in my *left* ear... this is insane... does that make sense? This is so weird. I get a blocked left ear sensation as well, very often now actually.

OD