So, here I am... posting on the tinnitus talk forum. This is my first post.
To give you background, I reside in California... I got sick around the first week of June 2018... it was a cold/flu possibly... more than likely a cold. I got sick when a friend of mine visited me and caught his illness... whatever it was.
I was sick a couple weeks and my immune system kicked it off. I had primarily a sore throat without much or any congestion in my nose. I felt weak etc.
After a couple weeks when I was on the mend, I was feeling suddenly an ear throbbing sensation. The first week was fairly intense and "new". Did not know what to expect. I went to my GP through an urgent care and they gave me prednisone and Zpack antibiotic (with relatively little inspection).
After that I went to ENT one, about a week later. Did a pitch fork test on me, said to revisit her if I was still sick a week later and to get an audiology test. I decided to go somewhere different, and went to a place called house ear clinic as they seemed to be knowledgeable in ear issues. They are a big facility with a big waiting room, and not the best customer service... however they do seem like a costco for ear issues... so saw an ENT, young doctor but knowledgeable... was worried I would have that sensorineural hearing loss, which I was panicked and asked is it serious? He goes not very... left me confused.. anyways we did an audio test on both ears... my bothersome ear (left ear) was only slightly worse... but within normal ranges.. I can post my results if anyone wants to see.
He said to see him after a month, but believes my ear issue was due to an inflamed hearing nerve... and I decided his answer was probably correct but not complete enough, so I let it be for a bit. He did not prescribe me anything and was hesitant to do anymore steroid treatment.
This was about 3 weeks post issue, I am not about 1.5-1.75 months or so after the issue began... I decided to go to a better ear doctor at a more state of the art facility... This ear doctor was very knowledgeable... and presented me with options, but felt those options may be overkill in my case. The last we left off with was after seeing him I spoke with his nurse a couple times and mentioned a little more details about my issue and hyperacusis (sensitivity to faucet or shower or other type sounds) and pressure in left ear which comes and goes... and how my ear crackles a bit and then feel a sensation of fullness or pressure.
They mentioned possibility of cochlea hydrops. I cannot find much information on this, but for now my last recommendation is to wait.
So my symptoms... for your information, have decreased dramatically as far as the consistent intensity in the first few weeks.. however I do not use headphones anymore (rarely) and I do have the issue still.
so when it started, intense tinnitus and intense sensitivity to sounds... I could barely stand to be in a public whole foods or supermarket without experiencing pain (I still did it periodically) but typically I wanted to be alone. I did not have vertigo, but the fullness can make you feel off balance or slightly dizzy...
I do not appear to have ETD as my doctor mentioned I would not be able to pop my ears efficiently and there would be evidence of it on the ear drum. I do not have jaw issue, but I still might, I have been wearing my retainer/mouthguard at night just inc ase.
Currently, what i have is pressure in left ear which comes and goes... oddly enough I notice when I sit in my desk at work I am not experiencing the symptoms as much. I sit up right and back slightly reclined backwards at a 25-30 degree angle. Air condition strong in office, etc. I notice that my ear "cracks" periodically or pops, and NORMALLY you would expect relief after this, but it appears after it pops or cracks that somehow the sensation of the pressure will be exacerbated... very odd.
So all I have today, is it may be sensitivity or hyperacusis which will get better with time and/or it may be cochlear hydrops (which seems somewhat serious from my research depending on the type)
From what I can tell as a general rule, low sodium diet, diuretics are an option, and a few other procedures are available, but not desirable.
I guess my questions to the board are:
Do you have cochlear hydrops? If so, did it improve on its own and is it temporary? What was your experience?
Do you have menieres? If so, does it improve on its own? Is hearing loss a guarantee?
Who else here has experienced serious changes to ear health after a cold or flu virus.
To give you background, I reside in California... I got sick around the first week of June 2018... it was a cold/flu possibly... more than likely a cold. I got sick when a friend of mine visited me and caught his illness... whatever it was.
I was sick a couple weeks and my immune system kicked it off. I had primarily a sore throat without much or any congestion in my nose. I felt weak etc.
After a couple weeks when I was on the mend, I was feeling suddenly an ear throbbing sensation. The first week was fairly intense and "new". Did not know what to expect. I went to my GP through an urgent care and they gave me prednisone and Zpack antibiotic (with relatively little inspection).
After that I went to ENT one, about a week later. Did a pitch fork test on me, said to revisit her if I was still sick a week later and to get an audiology test. I decided to go somewhere different, and went to a place called house ear clinic as they seemed to be knowledgeable in ear issues. They are a big facility with a big waiting room, and not the best customer service... however they do seem like a costco for ear issues... so saw an ENT, young doctor but knowledgeable... was worried I would have that sensorineural hearing loss, which I was panicked and asked is it serious? He goes not very... left me confused.. anyways we did an audio test on both ears... my bothersome ear (left ear) was only slightly worse... but within normal ranges.. I can post my results if anyone wants to see.
He said to see him after a month, but believes my ear issue was due to an inflamed hearing nerve... and I decided his answer was probably correct but not complete enough, so I let it be for a bit. He did not prescribe me anything and was hesitant to do anymore steroid treatment.
This was about 3 weeks post issue, I am not about 1.5-1.75 months or so after the issue began... I decided to go to a better ear doctor at a more state of the art facility... This ear doctor was very knowledgeable... and presented me with options, but felt those options may be overkill in my case. The last we left off with was after seeing him I spoke with his nurse a couple times and mentioned a little more details about my issue and hyperacusis (sensitivity to faucet or shower or other type sounds) and pressure in left ear which comes and goes... and how my ear crackles a bit and then feel a sensation of fullness or pressure.
They mentioned possibility of cochlea hydrops. I cannot find much information on this, but for now my last recommendation is to wait.
So my symptoms... for your information, have decreased dramatically as far as the consistent intensity in the first few weeks.. however I do not use headphones anymore (rarely) and I do have the issue still.
so when it started, intense tinnitus and intense sensitivity to sounds... I could barely stand to be in a public whole foods or supermarket without experiencing pain (I still did it periodically) but typically I wanted to be alone. I did not have vertigo, but the fullness can make you feel off balance or slightly dizzy...
I do not appear to have ETD as my doctor mentioned I would not be able to pop my ears efficiently and there would be evidence of it on the ear drum. I do not have jaw issue, but I still might, I have been wearing my retainer/mouthguard at night just inc ase.
Currently, what i have is pressure in left ear which comes and goes... oddly enough I notice when I sit in my desk at work I am not experiencing the symptoms as much. I sit up right and back slightly reclined backwards at a 25-30 degree angle. Air condition strong in office, etc. I notice that my ear "cracks" periodically or pops, and NORMALLY you would expect relief after this, but it appears after it pops or cracks that somehow the sensation of the pressure will be exacerbated... very odd.
So all I have today, is it may be sensitivity or hyperacusis which will get better with time and/or it may be cochlear hydrops (which seems somewhat serious from my research depending on the type)
From what I can tell as a general rule, low sodium diet, diuretics are an option, and a few other procedures are available, but not desirable.
I guess my questions to the board are:
Do you have cochlear hydrops? If so, did it improve on its own and is it temporary? What was your experience?
Do you have menieres? If so, does it improve on its own? Is hearing loss a guarantee?
Who else here has experienced serious changes to ear health after a cold or flu virus.
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