Undiagnosed Cause March 2nd

Perfect audiology test. Perfect ABR test (Auditory Brain Response test). So I have no hearing loss or hidden hearing loss.

Could I have had a quick week long infection that caused tinnitus? Saw an ENT a week after the T started no signs of infection.


TTTS? I have a clicking sound when I run. How could I know if I have it?

Thank you for the help. I'm 18 scared and confused. No cause diagnosed yet.

 

The infection idea is extremely unlikely. The clicking could well be ear wax pressing against your eardrum. Either that or it could be your tensor tympani muscle like you stated.

What kind of noise exposure have you been exposed to? Do you go to clubs, gigs, parties etc? Do you use earphones at high volume?

Have you used any antibiotics or any other drugs recently?

Have you descended in altitude quickly in a car, plane, or dived in water? Do you have allergies because these two combined (blocked Eustachian tubes) can cause a barotrauma.

Are you under any stress?

 

I used to listen to music at high volume using earphones. I only went to one party in a long time, no clubs.
I do have allergies but I've been taking Flonase. The one exposure of super loud music caused my right ear to feel fullness for 2 weeks on Janruary 2nd. But I didn't have T after surprisingly. It started March 3rd.

I have used foam earplugs excessively before the T and maybe it pushed the earwax against the tympanic membrane? But my ENT didn't see any earwax or he did but didn't remove any ?

Stress not really. Thanks for helping

 

As I mentioned in another thread about the same topic, the fact that you had "perfect" tests, doesn't mean you have no hearing loss, hidden or otherwise. It just means you had no hearing loss detectable by those tests. You can do somewhat better than normal with a sweep OAE test (http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/testing/hearing/OAE.htm) and high frequency testing though even that leaves a wide range of possibilities untested.

 

Finding a cause for tinnitus can sometimes be like finding a needle in a haystack. Most people never get a diagnosis because of the difficulty in finding a treatable cause. You need to give it time, but try not to stress about it because you'll make it worse. It could well have been the earphones that have done it. Noise damage is cumulative, so if it is that you may not have been aware that you'd already damaged some of your higher frequencies. It really only becomes known once tinnitus kicks in. Some people can lose some of their upper frequencies and don't experience any tinnitus at all. This is what makes tinnitus so elusive.

The main thing you can do now is to stop thinking about it and don't let it escalate. Once stress and anxiety take hold it can make your situation worse. Try not get obsessed with it, instead watch a movie, play a game or do anything else to take your mind of it.

 

@Michael Sullivan If I were you I would lay off the running for a while. If you do have tinnitus running on hard ground causes inpact and this will travel up through your body to your head and auditory system. This can make the tinnitus louder and more intrusive. There have been tests carried out to prove this and I have a website link. I am using a tablet pc at the moment and the website links are not on it.

Try not to worry too much and just leave things to time, and hopefully things will improve. If you do want to excercise then use something like an elliptical machine, so your feet are not impacting on the floor. A few people in this forum that run on hard ground or on the treadmill notice their tinnitus is more intrusive when doing this excercise. There is a risk of making the tinnitus more intrusive. Not in every case however. My advice is to let things calm down for a while until your tinnitus goes.
Michael

 

By the way I was around your age when I first got tinnitus. I still remember the day I heard it and wondered why I had a buzzing/hissing sound in my ears. From now on protect your ears, don't make the same mistake I did. I didn't listen to the early warning sign my body was giving me and continued to play gigs, watch gigs, go to clubs etc all without earplugs. One day nearly 2 years ago I went to a really loud gig in a bar, and 2 days later my ears were screaming loud. Way louder than the tinnitus I was accustomed to.

Don't make the same mistake.

 

@Ed209
I've read that hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps T in the early stages.

https://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-for-tinnitus/

I have an appointment set up for that.

Yeah, it seem to be more in my head than ears. Until it goes away, Im not going out as much. I'm not gonna go to any loud parties. Thanks, I'll be careful of what I do. Im really precausious of the noise around me now. I know if you have T you have to take care of your ears. I'll relax and take it easy.

@Michael Leigh
I thought that Doing cardio helps with blood flow and oxygen intake for T. I don't hear my T when I run. But I could use use the elliptical instead of running if it's better.

 

Yea, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a very good thing to try. My T is also in my brain, and it's also in my ears. It's basically all over with multiple sounds.

You're doing the right thing.

 

@Michael Sullivan If your tinnitus doesn't increase during and after running then you should be fine so continue. However, you mentioned hearing a "clicking noise" in your ears when running? This was the reason I said to leave the running a lone for a while.

My advice is not to try any sort of treatments until at least 6 months has elapsed. The best treatment for tinnitus in the early stages is to leave the ears alone. The ear is a very delicate and sophisticated organ. It is for this reason, ENT doctors like to wait upto six months before seeing anyone that has straight-forward tinnitus and I agree with this. If other symptoms such as: Pain in the ears, or dizziness or balance problems then ENT will usually see a patient earlier.
Michael

 

Running is better than not running and being depressed.

If you could elliptical than go for it, you'll avoid spiking your T.

If you have no problems after running, keep running.