Unknown Cause of Tinnitus, Lasted Now About a Month

Hi guys,

I am massively struggling here About a month ago I woke up with extremely blocked up ears - didn’t worry at first as I’d had a really bad cold the week before Christmas so put it down to that. A few days later though I realised I couldn’t hear at all so decided to get some olive oil to put into ears to try and relieve them as I couldn’t hear at all. So, I started putting the olive oil in and a few days later my left ear sounded a little like a bass line (best way to describe) and the right ear was totally fine.

Two weeks in my left ear was driving me mad so went to the GP and she looked in my ears and said left ear didn’t seem full of wax but right one was. She suggested to keep putting the olive oil in and see how it goes. I took her advice but just couldn’t hear so went and got them microsuctioned. The biggest piece of wax came out of my right ear and barely anything from my left. I panicked as my left ear was humming still and the right ear was fine. I cried and panicked so they did a hearing test and all was fine.

Two weeks on from this procedure my left ear is ringing and has a hum and the right ear is making funny noises. I am in total turmoil and have missed out on a friends hen do and not worked all week as I can’t sleep. I hate life and am a totally different person.

Been to two different ENTs who could see I was upset and fobbed me off saying I’m stressed and all will calm down and tinnitus will go but am not sure. I’m so upset.

 

Hey Lucy,

Accept this is a pretty crap time for you at the moment. See it as having fractured a leg - but the healing process will eventually take hold and you will be fine.

If the tinnitus stays, you'll be ok. If it goes, that's ok too. For sleep, learn to sleep with some noise - the gentle hum of a fan. It will take practice and probably quite a few sleepless nights, but your brain will figure it out without you even knowing.

Getting back to normal seems so far away, and it can take months. But you'll get there - see it as one of life's many challenges. Keep the faith!

 

Thanks for the reply. I am in total turmoil and almost can’t accept it which is making it a hundred times worse. I just need to know what the cause was and then I can get on with my life and try and move on. It’s so so hard. I wish I had left my ears well alone as they were blocked yes but not causing any problems until I started putting the olive oil in. I’m just so miserable and feel I can’t ever get back to a normal life again - sorry to go on. I am pushing my husband, parents and friends away as they just don’t understand. Parents came to be with me this weekend and I went up to bed early to try and rest and they were downstairs drinking wine and laughing whilst I am here in absolute turmoil. I have the most beautiful little bedlington terrier and even she isn’t bringing me joy anymore. Feeling pretty desperate I have to say.

 

Few things to remember:-

It is very early days for you just now. It will probably reduce in volume or go completely, so you may recover that way.

Even if it doesn't, you will recover psychologically and it will not - it is difficult to believe right now I know - ultimately bother you, unless you fixate yourself on it. You have to train your mind to ignore it. Again - it is very hard, particularly early days but you will adapt.

Regret will achieve nothing. You have to see it - temporarily or otherwise - as part of you. Listen/feel your heartbeat, for example, focus on breathing in and breathing out, the feel of your clothes. These are naturally sensations that we're so used to we block them out at a subconscious level. They are all sensations from your body. Tinnitus is no different - your problem is that it is a new sensation triggering a "fight or flight" response.

You will get better, one way or the other. It is fine to feel bad initially, and perfectly natural. But there is hope, and you will get better.

 

Trust us, we have all been there. The first weeks are a living hell, the months after are tough as well. Especially the not knowing what is wrong and the lack of understanding from some people is hard to deal with.

Try to have faith that the body will stabilize again. Even though we're dealing with an issue in the brain here (in most cases), this same brain is your primary ally that can figure out how to deal with it. It is capable of either healing or at least ignoring T. Give it time to do so.

Oh, and protect your ears a bit: avoid high-volume areas like concerts, and don't let ENT's use power tools near your ears. There are better and safer ways of cleaning wax.

Where it comes to the cause: realize that the auditory system is extremely complex. Most specialists hardly have any understanding of it, and tend to focus only on the parts they know about. Educating yourself a bit on T by reading research articles can give a lot of useful guidance. E.g., in my case, I found out that my T is not ear-related, but originates from the neck: by giving it proper treatment, my symptoms eventually reduced from 9 to 1 (and are still improving). No doctor here ever told me this could be the case, I mostly had to figure this out on my own.

My main advice: write out a plan for yourself on how you expect to deal with this condition. Reserve a bit of time to do research, and use the rest of the day to focus on "normal" daily activities, so that your brain learns to ignore the sound. Whenever you have a hard time, read success stories online from people who got cured or reached habituation.

And of course, this forum is always available for support! Try not to worry, you'll figure this out in time.

 

@monkey124
Try and stay positive. I've had tinnitus for 6 weeks now. I had really blocked ears too. Your ears just take a while to heal. I am still dealing with eustachian tube disfunction and sinus congestion, but its slowly getting better. Slowly . I dont really count progress in days, more like weeks, but, its slowly getting better. I was actually so happy today because I went down the elevator at work without having any full feeling in my ears... little victories. I felt a lot like you feel, I was going mad, crying, feeling very sorry for myself, but then I talked to my dad. He told me hes had tinnitus for 30 years from noise exposure at work, and I had no idea. Hes lived his life completely normally... since I talked to him I decided that I wasnt gonna let it get in the way of my life! That being said though in the last three weeks things have gotten much better and my tinnitus has quieted. I've noticed it especially the last 4 or 5 days and I go most of my day without it bugging me. I can hear it in quiet rooms, like right now, but I just try not to care about the sound...i could probably even fall asleep at night now without my relax music but now I have gotten so used to the music I really like it now. Anyway, just stay positive. Things will get better. And definitely just protect those ears for now!

 

Hi Lucy and welcome to the forum

First of all, it is entirely normal to panic if you don't know what the cause is. But usually, the cause is benign or there is no (obvious) cause.

Secondly, worrying and feeling anxious can make the perception of tinnitus worse.

Do you suffer from generalised anxiety or depression or going through a period of stress in your life?

 

Hi there,

going back through my movements I am wondering if it is headphone damage to my hearing now? The buzzing was already in my left ear but when I put my headphones on really loudly to drown it out I am now wondering if it went into the right ear? I am guessing with a one off use for three minute (if not less) that may not have done it. What do you think?

I have had a hard year this year with stress and anxiety so wondering if it is coming out in my ears and could subside?! I’m just in turmoil. I could life with the left ear but the right one is a weird morse code type and is going over everything like appliances and music etc. I honestly don’t know that I can go on much longer like this

 

Lucy

It is possible that the loud headphone is causative to your tinnitus but I suspect your hard year with stress and anxiety is the underlying cause.

I understand exactly how you feel and the fact there seems to be no hope. But there is hope and you will find it.

Can you start looking at what has made you stressed and anxious and work on that?

I would advise not using headphones again for a while but to seek help through sound therapy and psychotherapy

There is plenty of help on this forum if you look in the right places

 

I am wondering if it is to be honest. I only played the song for three minutes at full volume which makes me think that probably that wasn’t the cause... hard to tell but as I barely use headphones I would be surprised. I am struggling so much and feel like I can’t go on anymore to be honest. Maybe if the tinnitus is caused because of stress etc it might go still if I calm down?

 

Hi there,

I am so worried that I have caused tinnitus myself. To be honest my left ear was already buzzing before the headphone exposure for a good 2 weeks prior - woke up blocked up one morning and put olive oil in ear and it did nothing so had microsuction. However day before I had the procedure I played a song at the volume 102dB in my headphones via iPhone and didn’t notice any ringing in right ear but I did a couple of days later. I barely use my headphones if at all either.

I believe nothing has actually caused my tinnitus expect I’ve had a tough year and it has come out in my ears and still hopeful that it will go if I can calm down... what do you think?

 

Hi Lucy,

My advice is just give it time. It should calm down, but it can take some time. I am still looking at the cause of my tinnitus, started out of no where with some ear fullness...

Were you on an medications? Some can cause tinnitus. How is your health otherwise? It's good to research a bit and see if you can find any clues... tinnitus is tricky in that it can be caused by a lot things... I'm sorry but I can't recall... have you had a hearing test? If your hearing is ok, theres a good chance your tinnitus will eventually go away. Its just a matter of finding the underlying cause... which can be a tricky thing...
The best you can do is try and relax, train yourself not to care about the noise... it's easier said than done, I know, but eventually things do get better!

 

Olive oil that you buy for cooking, is not the oil you need for your ears. Cooking olive oil can or will carry bacteria in it. You can purchase sterile olive oil at places like Specsavers, or where health food may carry it. You may try a nasal spray to clear eustachian tubes.