Weird Tinnitus: Mornings I Don't Have It, Comes and Goes in Both Ears with Various Sounds

[Padraigh Griffin]

Hi,

Will keep it brief.

Developed tinnitus first in March 2019 after a huge nervous breakdown. Disappeared completely after two months when I made a partial recovery.

Unfortunately, I developed an anxiety disorder since and have tinnitus again now for about 2-3 months. Varies massively in intensity. Eg went away in one ear for about 4 weeks and subsided to basically inaudible in other. I chilled out a bit in this period.

However, two weeks ago it really kicked off again after a big taper in my SSRI. I've had some real bad days. Worse than ever.

The weird thing is that a lot/most mornings lately it is gone completely. It might not kick off for a few hours even. It also comes and goes in both ears, particularly the right ear. Throughout the day. Sounds are different. Pulsing, whoosh in left ear and steady noise in other ear. It is never predictable.

I must admit it is really stressing me out these last two weeks. Extremely so. It is consuming me a little. I have most of my time in bed reading about it.

Question is, I feel it is tinnitus reacting to my stress response hyperstimulation . How long do I have to get this under control before it is permanent? Or is that a how long is a piece of string question?

 

[billie48]

Question is, I feel it is tinnitus reacting to my stress response hyperstimulation . How long do I have to get this under control before it is permanent? Or is that a how long is a piece of string question?

Welcome to the forum. Stress and anxiety are only some of the causes of tinnitus. Many other causes can trigger it like using or withdrawing from drugs. loud noise exposure, ETD, sinus congestion, inner ear problems, etc. You need to see an ENT to determine that nothing is wrong with your ears first. If it is from wax build up, then removing it may help reduce or eliminate the ringing. So some of these causes are fixable. For other issues, it is not easy to say how long the ringing will continue. T is unpredictable. But in general if you can manage to keep calm and positive, and try to live your live normally, things will improve even if slowly. Try to keep you limbic nerves from acting up which can make T feel like worse. Also try to read up the success stories to help you feel more hopefully and positive about your own recovery. It will help the habituation process. Take care. God bless.

 

[Spirited]

Hello Padraigh! I am new here myself... Just joined out of sheer desperation. So depressed at the moment, can't see an end in sight. My husband tells me to pull myself together, but the shrieking tinnitus is unbearable, I just wish he could hear it ONCE.

The reason I have posted here is because my tinnitus comes and goes like yours. When I lie down at night it almost invariably goes away (bliss) I fall asleep, I am not disturbed during the night by it, I waken next morning to silence. I lie in bed savouring the silence. Then after about 10 to 15 minutes it starts up again, quietly at first and then louder and louder until it is shrieking like a police whistle in my ear, only in one ear, my right, although I do have a feeling of fullness in my left. If I am standing when this happens, it knocks me off balance, if I am walking, I start walking drunk. The noise throughout the day is a chirping and twittering like a flock of birds which rises and falls in intensity, then one bird breaks loose and shrieks in my ear. When it first happened it knocked me to my knees, each time it happens it knocks me off balance and I am frightened of falling down the stairs. Nothing I know of precipitated this, it just happened when I was making dinner in the evening, fortunately my husband was there to catch me. Nothing I do makes it better or worse, except when I lie down.

I started treatment with ear drops for three weeks, then I syringed my ears and got a very small amount of wax out which made no difference whatsoever. Then a 14 day course of antibiotics which my doctor prescribed in case it was an inner ear infection. During that time the screeching stopped (thank God) but now the course is finished and the screeching has come back as loud as ever. I have an appointment to see an ENT specialist on Friday (privately, my NHS appointment was for NOV 6th !!!) and I am going to ask him to refer me for physiotherapy which I have read could be helpful.

Like you I am searching for answers, but it is comforting to know others have experienced something like this and then perhaps we can compare notes in this forum. I will let you know what the specialist says after my Friday appointment. Keep strong.

 

[Steph1710]

My husband tells me to pull myself together, but the shrieking tinnitus is unbearable, I just wish he could hear it ONCE.

No offence to you, but if my husband/partner told me to "pull myself together" in regards to my tinnitus, I would punch him so hard in the balls, that he would never walk again.

What a disgusting, unsympathetic, demeaning, belittling, uncaring comment to make.

I really hope you're okay? T sucks enough, even without nasty little comments being made.

<3

 

[Spirited]

Dear Steph, (or is it Amber?) Just kidding...

Thank you for your support. I am sorry my post made you angry, my husband is a love really, don't know what I would do without him bless him, But like all men can be insensitive sometimes.

 

[Padraigh Griffin]

Hello Padraigh! I am new here myself... Just joined out of sheer desperation. So depressed at the moment, can't see an end in sight. My husband tells me to pull myself together, but the shrieking tinnitus is unbearable, I just wish he could hear it ONCE.

The reason I have posted here is because my tinnitus comes and goes like yours. When I lie down at night it almost invariably goes away (bliss) I fall asleep, I am not disturbed during the night by it, I waken next morning to silence. I lie in bed savouring the silence. Then after about 10 to 15 minutes it starts up again, quietly at first and then louder and louder until it is shrieking like a police whistle in my ear, only in one ear, my right, although I do have a feeling of fullness in my left. If I am standing when this happens, it knocks me off balance, if I am walking, I start walking drunk. The noise throughout the day is a chirping and twittering like a flock of birds which rises and falls in intensity, then one bird breaks loose and shrieks in my ear. When it first happened it knocked me to my knees, each time it happens it knocks me off balance and I am frightened of falling down the stairs. Nothing I know of precipitated this, it just happened when I was making dinner in the evening, fortunately my husband was there to catch me. Nothing I do makes it better or worse, except when I lie down.

I started treatment with ear drops for three weeks, then I syringed my ears and got a very small amount of wax out which made no difference whatsoever. Then a 14 day course of antibiotics which my doctor prescribed in case it was an inner ear infection. During that time the screeching stopped (thank God) but now the course is finished and the screeching has come back as loud as ever. I have an appointment to see an ENT specialist on Friday (privately, my NHS appointment was for NOV 6th !!!) and I am going to ask him to refer me for physiotherapy which I have read could be helpful.

Like you I am searching for answers, but it is comforting to know others have experienced something like this and then perhaps we can compare notes in this forum. I will let you know what the specialist says after my Friday appointment. Keep strong.

Hi Spirited, so sorry to delay in replying but I have had a tough few days.
I'm so sorry your husband is like that. It is so unfair and hard on you. As you said, it would be good if our loved ones could just experience it for one minute so they could truly understand.

You are right though, we have to stay strong. I hope your appointment with the ENT went well. I went to an excellent Osteopath who did some work around my C1-C3 cervix and my jaw. The first session saw major improvement but then I went backwards after session two (had significant stress in between). Did my 3rd session yesterday and hopefully will see some improvement over the next few days. He did acupuncture and some neck and jaw manipulations. He also stated that in 32 years he has never cured tinnitus and he even has it himself, so all in all as regards tinnitus it might be a fools errand on my behalf. Never know though as all tinnitus is different.

Really hope you are making progress and looking forward to an update. Take care.

 

[Padraigh Griffin]

@billie48

Thanks for the reply. Yes I have a major problem handling anxiety since I had a nervous breakdown in early 2019. I am in a constant state of hypertension and now that this tinnitus has hit me it has set me back further. I am trying to calm myself but I am medication that I now feel has done more harm than good. I am doing CBT for habituation and have been told the habituation rate is 98%. I am quite dubious of this figure. I am also wondering if it is more difficult to habituate to pulsatile tinnitus? Or harder again to habituate to a combination of pulsatile in one ear and normal tinnitus in another.