Woke Up with Fullness and Tinnitus, Made Worse by Earwax Removal (Curette and Syringing)

Hello all,

I have now had tinnitus for almost two months and it has been horrible - throwing my entire world upside down. Here is my story. If you have any recommendations on what I should do please comment on my post.

In early June I woke up in the middle of the night with a feeling of fullness in my left ear. I was finally able to get the fullness to go away but had some ringing in that ear so I decided to go to an urgent care and get it looked at. The doc said both ears looked fine but that I had some earwax so he said I should use Debrox, and also use Flonase because it might also be some Eustachian tube dysfunction. Fast forward five days later and I go to a primary care doc who uses a curette to remove some of the earwax... well I left feeling horrible like this had actually made it ten times worse because the wax was pushed up against my eardrum. I was able to get a referral to an ENT, but before that appointment I went back to urgent care because at this point both my ears were feeling full and I couldn’t wait to see the ENT. The urgent care doc used a syringe and flushed out the earwax from both ears. Well, two days after this my ears started ringing like there was an electrical storm going off in my head. Granted, there was some light ringing in my left ear - I’m thinking this was caused from the earwax- before it was flushed, but NOTHING like this. I’ve now been to two ENT’s, one audiologist and I can’t get any answers. One of the ENTs brought up Meniere’s, but that it can take a while to diagnose (so recommended I come back in 6 months for another audiogram).

My audiogram was normal (though on the lower end of normal for my age - 33 - according to one of the ENTs). I’ve never been around loud machinery and I don’t listen to loud music, or go to many concerts, so I don’t think I ever caused much damage to my ears. But now it has been almost two months, and I still have this crazy electrical sound in both ears. Though sometimes it seems like just my left ear. Making things even more difficult is I had a baby in April, so having a quiet place isn’t really possible right now. And the tinnitus has caused my anxiety and depression to skyrocket. I have now seen a psychiatrist and therapist. I have looked into CBT for tinnitus, but I don’t know if it’s too soon for that, because possibly the tinnitus is caused by an underlying condition. I go see another audiologist this week because I have some doubts about the first audiogram - the audiologist was a resident an appeared to have difficulty getting one of the machines to work. I also have constant popping and crackling in both ears when I swallow and move my jaw (though I have no pain in my jaw whatsoever - so I don’t think it’s TMJ). I have had a few moments of silence but the sounds always come back, and sometimes it changes in pitch. It’s terrible first thing in the morning when I wake up, and seems to change sometimes depending on how I lay my head. The white noise machine actually seems to make it worse because the ringing just seems to get louder. A family friend who is a doctor said I should get an MRI but none of the doctors I have seen have recommended an MRI. I also read sometimes this can make tinnitus worse because it can be loud.

These past two months have been dreadful, and I am generally an overall pretty happy person. I want to be a good mom for my baby, but the tinnitus is making it so hard to be happy. Does anyone have any thoughts on my story and what could be going on? Has anyone had anything similar to this happen? I’m wondering about the MRI, but not sure.

Thank you so much in advance. And thank you for taking the time to read my story.

 

Sorry you’re going through this, especially as a new mom

As you’ve probably read there are many causes of tinnitus. Noise is usually the most common but there are other causes many of which can be hard to determine. Could be related to having a baby and hormones. Could be existing damage from concerts and one noise like a car alarm set it off.

I wouldn’t do the MRI unless you have other symptoms indicating something very serious. MRIs don’t really show much besides tumors and/or lesions which usually come with more side effects than tinnitus.

I have a very similar sound to you but no issues with ear wax so can’t comment on that. But I just wanted to say hang in there. If it has been 2 months there is a chance of it going away or getting more quiet in volume. Just be sure to protect your ears from loud noises and avoid headphones. It can get better and many many people are able to habituated to their tinnitus and live normal lives.

 

I can relate to you. I had a baby 4 weeks ago and have tinnitus. Im currently taking prednisolone which has helped slightly. Its mainly in my right ear. I've been told that this is likely to be esuatchain tube dysfucntion and oedema from pregnancy which should settle with time. Its been a nightmare and you have my upmost sympathies xx

 

Forgot to add. Perhaps all the ear wax removals have inflamed the eustachian tubes or blocked them in some way.

 

Currently 32 weeks pregnant and dealing with some sudden hearing loss, ringing, and diplacusis. I would try and get on a round of prednisone if you can. Make sure you advocate for yourself at the doctors and make it clear you’d like to try it. Hopefully it is hormone issue and will go away. There seems to be a lot of pregnancy and hearing loss/ tinnitus issues that I’ve never seen discussed before. You might also ask for auto immune disease tests and for your thyroid levels to be checked.