Tinnitus Got Worse After Ear Irrigation

Hi there everyone,

I've been on here before but it was to discuss another issue, however the issue I'm discussing right now is more recent and I don't know what to do.

So a little under 3 weeks ago, I went to the health services at my University because I was experiencing some problems with hearing (I kept getting the feeling that my hearing was a bit muffled because I could hardly hear the volume on my AirPods).

The doctor I visited recommended that I do ear irrigation to remove some earwax buildup. I had suspected earwax so I complied.

During the procedure, I felt no pain, no sense of vertigo, or any real discomfort. It felt odd but there didn't seem to be any alarm bells. However, we came upon a complication: the doctor said that the left ear had been partially cleared but the right ear was completely blocked and they gave me ear drops in both of my ears and told me to come back in the next day.

The next day I came in and my right ear cleared up and everything felt good so I left the office.

A couple days later while I was studying for my final exams in the library, I noticed that there was a fairly high pitched sound in my left ear. What was even more confusing to me was that it was on a floor of the library where there was actually noise, it wasn't exactly dead silent.

Now I want to preface this by saying, I have experienced tinnitus before, but I didn't believe it to be serious because it was always relatively low volume and I could only hear it really at night but even then it was easy to imagine myself as being in a different situation (such as in a plane for instance and imagine it as a humming).

After this, I began to notice that even in louder environments, I could still hear the ringing and if anything it felt like it would get worse whenever I was in an environment with louder sound. It's actually bearable when I'm in my room watching a video or something, but whenever I go somewhere where there appears to be louder sounds, it seems to increase in volume.

When I returned home from university, I went to a my PCP who told me that there was nothing in my ears that appeared to cause this increased tinnitus. He did say that my ear canal was irregularly shaped and that he was only able to see 70% of the eardrum, but he said that from what he saw there was nothing wrong. I am now currently waiting for a referral to an ENT specialist.

If this makes a difference, I do feel like my left ear's hearing is fairly noticeably worse than my right ear's.

Anyways, this happened nearly 3 weeks ago and hasn't let up. This is considerably screwing with my social life and my willingness to go anywhere. The only place where I feel comfortable is at home alone, on the internet.

Does anyone have any explanations? Any comments will help.

 

Hi @Matthew231, I have never had ear irrigation but I had an unexpected Acoustic Reflex Test at an ear clinic years ago which I believe has contributed to my ear health issues.

Many others on this forum will tell you of similar experiences from microscution/ENT tests while others on here with existing tinnitus have had ENT tests and been fine.

Give your ears rest by avoiding loud places as you are still only 3 weeks in. As you have said, your hearing seems to be affected, so it is good that you are seeing a specialist. Just remember you can refuse any tests that they offer if you are not comfortable.

All the best.

 

Hey Jenny, I seem to be doing better today, but I haven't really gone anywhere. I do notice that it's not as loud today but I also haven't been in loud environments so I'm still kind of scared it might be more permanent. It doesn't seem as bad as it was the week after the cleaning but it still isn't really letting up.

 

Hi @Matthew231, glad you are feeling better.

Sounds like the auditory rest is helping. It’s human to be scared. I, myself, am going through a hard time with my bad noxacusis ear so have the same feelings you have about things becoming permanent.

When I first got tinnitus, my family said it would go in time but it never did. They were just trying to help but actually I felt it made me feel worse.

Time and quiet will help where you will either habituate or you may find your ears recover.

 

So I went to the store yesterday. It was actually not bad but there were times where it seemed abnormally loud. I'm trying not to measure it though, I've seen that noting your response but not measuring the volume helps a lot in habituation.