Worse Tinnitus and Hyperacusis from a Slap on the Ear

I have had tinnitus for 3-4 years for unknown reasons. I'm only 17 and just a few days ago I was slapped directly on the ear and it's caused an increase in its intensity and hyperacusis (very sensitive to loud noises).

My mindset right now is that it will go away because something similar happened to me 2 years ago and it went back down to baseline but I'm really worried. I have minor hearing loss and on the 3rd day, I started prednisone (40mg 3 days, 30 mg 3 days, 20 mg 3 days). Doctor said all bones were intact and everything is physically okay, but I had a hearing test that showed I had lost hearing.

If anyone has any other treatments I should try in these early days please let me know because I'm really scared. I have to have an earplug in all day!

 

Can't say anything about treatments, but hearing tests are often unreliable. At days where tinnitus spikes, it can be hard for one to distinguish the tones and beeps correctly. I wouldn't worry about that for now.

 

Normally hyperacusis from acoustic trauma tends to fade over time. Don't worry too much at this early stage. God bless.

 

Is there any treatment I should try for the tinnitus? It’s a very loud ringing thats really disruptive to me.

 

Usually for acoustic trauma, the standard treatment is prednisone which you already have done. While most ENTs and doctors will say live with it, there are other treatments that may not cure tinnitus but will help to reduce the impact to your lives, treatments like TRT, CBT, mindfulness, meditation and relaxing exercises. The things one can for for self is to calm down and don't panic, because this will make tinnitus worse due to invoking the fight or flight response of the limbic nerve system. Try to live as normally as possible, masking the ringing if you need to, and live a healthy life style. Then give yourself plenty of time for the tinnitus to fade back to baseline. There are other treatments for more serious sufferers who can't depend on habituation, such as stem cell treatment. You can check out the Treatment and research sections of the forum for more info. Good luck. God bless.

 

Hello, it’s been a while since I’ve posted here.

I have tinnitus in my right ear, and hyperacusis, from someone slapping me directly on the ear. I believe I have sensorineural hearing loss. I’ve been slowly recovering and my high pitched ringing noise has been getting slightly better, but now all of the sudden, after a cold I am still recovering from, I have new sound that I would describe as “wavy”. It fluctuates and is much harder to ignore, I almost want to cry to be honest.

I now have 2 sounds in my ear at once and I’m wondering if anyone has a good suggestion for a supplement or treatment I could try?

I am currently taking Magnesium with Zinc. I just don’t know what to do. I feel so helpless.

 

Sorry to hear your setback. It happens sometimes on our way to recovery. Your cold may have caused some sinus problem. How about ETD issue? You may want to see an ENT to see if you have those problem. Don't panic and get too stressful, as these are not helpful to calm your tinnitus. Try to think that this is a setback due to a medical issue (cold, sinus, ETD?) and that it will go back to baseline once your body heals. Take good care. God bless.

 

I've been praying that it's just a temporary setback. I'm going to see my ENT soon to see if he has anything helpful for me. I'm hoping it's just this cold I'm still getting over.

Thanks for your reply.

 

Hi @Aiden, did your new tone subside?