Does anyone experience this? I was not exposed to any loud noises prior to my ear ringing. No meds. I was sneezing a few days before and had some head congestion.
Also, if this was an viral infection...does anyone know how long it typically can last after the virus leaves?
Since nobody has answered your thread yet, I will give it a go. I read a couple of your other posts, and you (understandably) seemed displeased with your ENTs prognosis. I will also say that I feel truly sorry for people like yourself who developed tinnitus "out of the blue". I will try to answer your question(s) as honestly as I can, but I cannot promise that what I have to say is what you, me, or others want to hear.
There are (obviously) several categories of tinnitus causes - the following are all related to the inner ear:
1)
Acoustic trauma (= going to a concert, fire cracker). This is the type of tinnitus that has the best chance of going away. It is also the category of tinnitus where usage of prednisolone will have the best effect (but it needs to be given within 24/48 hours of onset).
2)
Long time noise exposure/presbycusis tinnitus. This is the type of tinnitus that - if constant 24/7 to begin with - will almost certainly not go away. So if somebody has this type of tinnitus for a week, it will be there to stay, I am afraid.
3)
Inner ear infections (not to be confused with middle ear infections). Of all the nerves in the human body, the nerves of inner ear are some of slowest to heal. People treated with stem cells for neurological conditions will generally respond within 3-4 weeks (eg. MS, cerebral palsy, ataxia, etc.). But for hearing loss the response time is about 2-3 months. Your tinnitus may go away, and until you have passed the 3 month mark you cannot be sure. However, your ENTs prognosis could be right, I am afraid.
4)
Ototoxic medication. If somebody develops tinnitus from chemotherapy or antibiotics ending in -
mycin, the tinnitus will probably be permanent. For other medication types, the tinnitus may or may not go away.
5)
Pulsatile tinnitus. Not sure if this is really inner ear related (ie. it can have several different causes such as blood vessel misformation). In any event, I don't know anything about pulsatile tinnitus.
Forget about all the general rules (= non-sense) that I keep reading about such as acute, sub-acute, and permanent tinnitus. There is no such thing. It all depends on the cause! And the cause determines whether it may or may not go away.
As your tinnitus is somewhat fluctuating and initially caused by congestion, it may be worthwhile considering an inspection of the eustachian tube (they stick a device into your nose). If you do the valsalva maneuver, do your ears feel the same on both sides?
I wish you well.
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