A Few Questions I Have

[Voxic]

Hi all, I've only just recently joined this forum and I'm looking for a couple of answers.

I've had tinnitus the last few weeks from what I've been told is fluid build-up behind my ears. Is it normal for T to happen 24/7 when my ears are blocked up? I was told the blockage has caused me to lose some of hearing temporarily and I'm thinking that this is what it I think is causing the T to occur.

Is there any do's and don'ts I should look out for? Currently I'm using the TV and a fan to mask the sound at night to help me sleep, is this something that I can continue to use or could this lead to the T becoming worse?

Thanks for any help in advance

 

[Natalie Roberts]

I don't have a ton of information about your specific situation as my tinnitus was not caused by this but I would imagine yours would go away as soon as the fluid goes away.

Masking is great in the meantime if you can tolerate it. For myself personally masking doesn't work and it's more irritating but lots of people recommend it! You can also avoid high sodium and high sugar foods which can make tinnitus worse. Try to get as much sleep as possible and avoid stressful situations if you can. Stress and lack of sleep aggravate tinnitus. Avoid listing to music through headphones or loud noises..


Try to ignore it if your at all able! I know it's terribly difficult but time has proven to be the biggest help for my tinnitus!

 

[Cheza]

Masking is fine. Keep the volume at a level just below the threshold of your tinnitus. This will cause your brain to focus more on the underlying sound instead of the tinnitus. Some of us don't like masking, but it's generally accepted that having "sound enrichment" in your environment is helpful in dealing with it. It won't make it worse. However, don't listen with earbuds or headphones. That's not a good thing.

Tinnitus is unpredictable and expresses itself in lots of different ways. It's possible to have it 24/7 with fluid build-up.

If you do a search for "fluid" on Tinnitus Talk, you'll find quite a few posts about it. Here's one of them, which I think will be helpful for you: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/help-please.12881/#post-157221

 

[Voxic]

Thanks for your replies, I've stuck to just using my fan to mask the T, I think I'm quite lucky at how quiet mine seems to be comparable to others that I've read on here, although at times it does spike to a very loud ring.

I'm getting more confident in regards to the fact that my T is caused by the fluid, mainly that the more I pop my ears via clicking my jaw etc I get a major reduce in volume from the T and at some points the T itself disappears for hours at a time. Another, what I think could be a plus side, is that the fluid behind my eardrum is now moving, it feels as though my ear is constantly wet. (I'm taking this as a sign that the fluid may potentially move.

In all honesty I think I could learn to accept the T itself, it's just that the earache, hearing loss, headaches and the tiredness I'm getting from the fluid is physically and mentally draining.

 

[Voxic]

Well, todays been a bad day, the T hasn't stopped ringing at all, all day. I'm beginning to panic that this itself won't clear up once my ears are cleared out, I'm honestly started to wonder how I'll cope if it remains, I've barely had the issue a month.

A small thought I've been having is that if my T is related to my sudden onset of hearing loss, due to the fluid, would hearing aids potentially lessen the T / remove it?

 

[noisebox]

On a positive note my adult son recently had an ear infection, which made him feel deaf and gave him raging tinnitus. After antibiotics the infection cleared and the tinnitus went completely.

 

[Voxic]

I'm glad to hear it's not uncommon for this to happen, I'm pretty much functioning normally on the fact that my GP has told me once the fluid leaves my system my hearing / tinnitus should go back to normal / go away. 3 and a half weeks a go I was able to sleep with my head actually rested on a pillow, if I do that now the ringing doesn't stop.

How long did it take for your sons condition to clear up?

I'm not sure how many times I'll ask this before I start believing it but has anyone heard of a similar situation with tinnitus occurring, at differing volumes, the majority of the time through ear infections / fluid blockage? I've read the post Cheza gave earlier, and it's helped calm my nerves down somewhat, I think it's just the anxiety of having a bad day causing me to panic again.

 

[Voxic]

Some good news today, I had a follow up with another GP, this one who worked in ENT whilst he was training. He focused mainly on my hearing test results, saying that the way they were displayed, that been no major loss in a certain frequency, that I most likely have conductive hearing loss due to the fluid in my ear.

 

[Voxic]

I've just been booked into a bone conduction hearing test tomorrow, I'm hoping this follows the results my doctor gave me of my hearing loss been conductive.

 

[AnxiousJon]

Of course you can't hear as well when there is fluid in your ear, and it is well established that fluid or wax buildup causes tinnitus. 'No reason to freak out. Even the bone conduction test is overkill right now; it's fine if it gives you some extra peace I guess. The reason for your dampened hearing is not what people normally mean by "hearing loss"(meaning permanent).
Get a 250mcg or 500mcg(0.5mg) prescription for klonopin(clonazepam) and take once a day, before bed.

 

[Voxic]

Thankfully the bone conduction test is free, I'm mainly going to have it for peace of mind. I've entered that stage of slight panic of what if the tinnitus doesn't go. I'm assuming it's completely normal for mild to moderate dampened hearing to occur from fluid? With a bone conduction test as well, I'm not 100% on the specifics of what actually happens. All I know is that it bypasses the middle ear and works directly at the inner, is the test process similar to the pure tone test in regards to when I hear a sound I click a button?

 

[Voxic]

So I've had the bone conduction test as well as a pure tone test re-done today, they used a warbled tone for the headphone portion to differentiate with the T and to also apparently bypass the fluid. According to the test results both my ears are within the 0db - 10db range. I guess it's just a waiting game now for the fluid to clear for the T to go away.

 

[Voxic]

I'm not going to say anything for definite but the T this afternoon, especially after having a bath and putting my head underwater, has quietened since the onset of this. I remember doing the same thing near the start and almost been deafened by the T in both my ears. Whilst it is still present, I'm taking this as a good sign.

 

[Voxic]

I've noticed that the T itself is affecting one ear more than the other, today. Is this potentially to do with the mucus in both my ears differing on a day by day basis until the blockage is clear? This morning and early afternoon I was able to block my left ear completely with no sound of the T, whereas the slightest cover of my right starts the blaring again.

The question is, does the fluid/mucus levels shift until its cleared?

 

[Voxic]

I've noticed the T seems to be pretty much clear from my left ear, unless I have a spike, the right seems to be slightly quieter but still going strong. I'm hoping this is a sign for nearing total recovery.