Woke Up with Ringing Ears

[Traveler J]

Hello everyone,

First I just like to say that I am so glad to have found this forum. It gives me a place to open up and ask questions. From the few threads I have read, it seems everyone is super supportive.

So my case started when I was sleeping on my flight. Oh by the way, I am a flight attendant and I fly back and forth from North America to Asia. Anyways. I was on my sleep break dreaming and it was pleasant in the beginning. However, slowly, a huge wind seemed to have started blowing and it got more and more intense. As it got more intense, I started to experience pain and in my dream I ran around desperate to find earmuffs that you see construction workers use. I got to it eventually, put it on, and it didn't help. I started to panic and woke up with an extremely loud ringing in both my ears. It took 20 mins to quiet down, but it has never left since. It has been a week now. I've never had tinnitus before and I consider myself healthier than average. Went to a walk-in and they said nothing seems to be wrong, it'll probably be gone after a few days, and sent me on my way.

So right now, I am going through day to day with quite a constant high pitched ringing. It is not so noticeable when I am out and about, but the moment I think about it, it comes right back.

Has anyone had similar experience and have any insight on if it will go away? Any feedback or advice is welcomed

Thanks in advance!

 

[billie48]

Welcome to the forum. It seems like you may have suffered barotrauma from rapid pressure changes in flights while you were asleep and didn't have a chance to do the yawning or eating/drinking action which can equalize the pressure. I once had a bad cold and forgot to bring nasal spray with me on a flight. It ended up that I couldn't balance the pressure changes with a blocked nose and congested sinuses, and I felt painful inside the ears and I couldn't hear well. I was like in a cocoon of hearing difficulty for a few days afterwards, and of course my T spiked like crazy. However I kept calm and the problem went away in a few days. I hope yours will be temporary too. If your T is bothering you, you can try masking it with some nature sounds. Take care. God bless.

 

[Traveler J]

Thank you for the reply! The tip about the barotrauma has made me feel a bit better. After looking into it a bit, it seems that this type of injury related tinnitus are less likely to be permanent.