Anyone Get Tinnitus From Accident/Fall/Concussion?

[martin12]

I had a significant fall 5 weeks ago and landed on my right side. My head also hit the concrete with a thump. Fortunately there were no fractures and i was not (to my knowledge) knocked unconscious however I have had uni-lateral tinnitus in my right ear since.

I'm curious if anyone else on this board has gotten tinnitus from an accident/fall or concussion?

Thanks.

 

[Danl]

I took a bad fall from my bicycle on hard pavement. I ended up landing on the right side of my forehead & face ending up with a huge goose egg on my forehead & bleeding under the right eye, & two black eyes.
Immediately, my left ear was "ringing" loudly, which now has subsided somewhat, but continues ringing at constantly 24/7. Drove myself to the ER where the doctor did a CT scan which did not show any brain bleeding or scull damage, so I was released after 2 hours of observation. Went to the audiologist to find no abnormalities in the left ear, but the low level ringing continues! I went to the ENT doctor and he said there was nothing out of the ordinary on my hearing test I had the previous week & said the CT scan from the ER showed up nothing really wrong! He prescribed low dose Valium so I coud sleep & set me up for an MRI which I just had done. Back to see the ENT October 24th for the results.

 

[Danl]

I took a bad fall from my bicycle hitting the right side of my head on hard pavement about five weeks ago. I have had ringing in my left ear ever since!

 

[Dan Reagan]

I did, in, September 2013, crashed with another bike, hit the ground and was knocked unconscious for over 10 minutes. My tinnitus didn't start until a week later and hasn't stopped since. The first few months were a nightmare adjusting to the loud ringing, anxiety medication, panic attacks, etc. I'm adjusting much better now but still have trouble sleeping a full night. I'm off the sleeping pills and just rely on nature to put me to sleep. My tinnitus is very up and down and unpredictable and get be quite annoying still. But it all started with my concussion over a year ago.

 

[Danl]

Dan - Has your tinnitus decreased in loudness over the last year or is it still much the same?

 

[MichaelM]

i was in a rear-end collision back in 2009. I had a mild T before that, had it for a decade or so.
Got myself a whiplash injury. Right side of my upper body (face, shoulder, neck, arm...) was numb for about a week. Weird feeling. I recovered in some weeks.

Some 6 months after that i had my first signs of Meniere´s Disease. It took some 3-4 years until it really hit and i got this T From Hell + other symptoms and the diagnosis. This is just my own theory. Might be co-incidence, who knows. I ask the doctor next when i see him.
There are articles but i guess nothing is proven.

 

[Dan Reagan]

Dani, there are days that the loudness has definitely decreased, then there are days like today that it seems to be just like it was back in the beginning. It's so weird how it fluctuates, I kind of envy the people that have the same constant tone and volume every day.

 

[martin12]

Hi Danl-

Sorry to hear about your accident.
You likely sustained a concussion, perhaps an inner ear concussion.

The impact to your head created a shockwave similar to a blast when your head hit the pavement. This in return, damaged the outer hair cells of your basilar membrane.

The best thing to do is get a otoacoustic emissions , in particular DPOAE distortion acoustic emissions test.
In my opinion PTA (pure tone audiogram) is not substantial.
If there is hair cell damage, chances are slim to none that your T will go away and much like myself and Dan we have no choice but to do our best and live with it.

 

[Melinda Powell]

I had a severe concussion in 1965 when I was six. (Bicycle accident--no helmets back then.) Within days, I had developed tinnitus. It's been constant ever since that time. The pitch is a B (I'm a music teacher). It bothers me more when I'm sick or have taken certain meds, but it never goes away. I think that's easier for me. If it stopped and then started back that would be more difficult to take. What is an otoacoustic emissions test?

 

[Asian]

I went to a lady ENT doc some time ago. She told that that even she has constant ringing in her ears due to a concussion 22 years ago. She said it will never go away no matter what I do. Although i was disappointed, I appreciated her honest answer. A few other ENTs have given me the same answer and told me to just accept it as a part of my life now. Sucks balls! Its unfair

I think I might have benefitted somewhat from my upper cervical chiropractic treatment. Although nowhere near to silent, I think the ringing has eased a bit. Or its just another cycle of good days ? Let's see

 

[martin12]

Head trauma tinnitus i think is unique compared to noise induced tinnitus.

my tinnitus was much worse initially than it is today. still annoying, very annoying to say the least.

with the amount of concussions in hockey and football i wonder how many pro athletes get tinnitus?

 

[Ricky81]

Most football players have T. Google it. Especially if they had a few concussions while playing.

I too have T from head trauma.. but I think mine is due to high intracranial pressure. Normal icp is usually 5 to 15.

Mine was 33.. my head felt like it was going to explode until I got a Lumbar Puncture but the dr. Only brought pressure down to 13 due to big change.

So I'm sure my icp is above 15 again as it tends to slightly go up and I'm thinking of getting another lumbar puncture end of the year to see if bringing pressure to single digits reduces or removes tinnitus.

 

[gary]

Hi Martin, my T did not come from a head trauma, but a good friend got very bad T after an auto accident, it lasted about 4-5 months for her. Today she is tinnitus free. I think there's a good chance you will fall into this category..

 

[Margaret wilber]

I had a bad fall 10/22/15 and have been left with tinnitus, I also have a meningioma, I am talking to a Neurosurgeon on the 15th of February....I hate the effects left by the concussion,light sensitivity, had to not drive for a few months
because perception was gone...I have had some personality issues, but seem to have gotten them under control, but I seem more stress outed since the concussion... Margaret

 

[canyonero]

Hi Martin, my T did not come from a head trauma, but a good friend got very bad T after an auto accident, it lasted about 4-5 months for her. Today she is tinnitus free. I think there's a good chance you will fall into this category..

You can get T from the sound the airbag makes as well as the head trauma.