Hello,
I have tinnitus since last March – I had a pain in my ear that would come and go and then started having vertigo every time I would stand up from bed or lay down. I went to the doctor, he was not there, I was seen by his trainee (not a good idea!) that decided to give me ear drops. It was a disaster: the ear drops blocked my ear and caused all kind of noises inside my ear.
Everyday it would be a different variation: in my left ear, I had (and have) the high pitch sounds (the whistle and the ringing); in my right ear, the ear where I put the ear drops, I had (and have) the low pitch sounds – lots of variations, I called them the truck engine (the worst of all, that just happens every time a doctor observes my ear – it usually stays for 2 or 3 days – very scary and disturbing), the fridge engine, the car engine, the glass vibration, the air conditioning, the electric device sound… you name it!
I went back to the doctor, he told me to wait that it would pass away. It didn't: I went to the hospital and managed to get an ENT appointment. Meanwhile my noises were better to the point I just had the high pitch ones (whistle / ringing) so when I did the hearing test my "sick" ear was perfectly fine and the left one (where the high pitch sounds developed) had some hearing loss in high pitch sounds.
I also did a vertigo exam to check if it was Meniere's disease – it wasn't, it was BPPV and with the exercises the doctor did during the exam, the crystals were back in place and the vertigo stopped (last time I had a little one when changing position in bed it was more than one month ago).
The doctor that made the vertigo exam told me the tinnitus I have has nothing to do with the BPPV – so of course it was caused by the ear drops. I have talked with several doctors about the ear drops having caused me tinnitus but all of them say it is impossible. Well, I can't see why it is impossible and I really think they don't want to admit that a medicine prescribed by a doctor caused this.
After 3 wonderful weeks in May only with the high pitch sounds (with all the respect for the ones who suffer with the high pitch, the low pitch noises are much worse), I did something that caused me a terrible cost: I went to the dentist and had a electric cleaning – I think it was the vibration that caused me the low pitch sound to come back. I couldn't believe I have been so stupid. I have it for almost 2 months now and it doesn't go away.
Except for last Sunday, the 13th July: I have no idea why, but it stopped suddenly in the middle of the afternoon and I was able to sleep on that night without the car engine in my ear! I thought it was a miracle, but it came back the next day, while I was watching TV at dinner time. I cried for hours.
So, what I have now? High pitch noises in my right ear (a mix between a whistle and a ringing – can be louder or quieter, depending on the days) and low pitch noises in my left ear (a rumbling, car engine and glass vibration all together).
In a good day, I can disguise the low noises with sound around me: walking in the street, washing machine working or even talking to someone. In a bad day, I can hear the vibration all the time, except when walking outside. The high pitch sounds are permanent, even in the street.
It is scary, it is annoying, it makes me sad, it makes me angry – I try not to think about it, but it is impossible – I am always comparing what I hear.
I have the luck of falling asleep the minute I go to bed, so I manage to do it even with the ringing, the car engine and the glass vibration. When I wake up in the morning I have to stand up immediately to avoid feeling anxious.
My biggest concern is that it gets even worse – I know it's possible because the experience of the truck engine sound (an engine extremely loud and vibrating) is the scariest thing that had happened in my life.
I am going to another ENT at the end of the month, this time in my home town (Dutch doctors are too relaxed in my opinion) - I am happy and nervous at the same time: happy because someone I trust is going to listen to me and observe my ear and nervous because the truck engine sound can come back.
How do I avoid depression? I have a son, so I always think I have to stay calm for him, and I fight it with being busy and especially thinking that as long as I don't get the truck engine again, all the other sounds are bearable. And, of course, thinking about the 13th July, the day of my little miracle – maybe it will happen again!
I have tinnitus since last March – I had a pain in my ear that would come and go and then started having vertigo every time I would stand up from bed or lay down. I went to the doctor, he was not there, I was seen by his trainee (not a good idea!) that decided to give me ear drops. It was a disaster: the ear drops blocked my ear and caused all kind of noises inside my ear.
Everyday it would be a different variation: in my left ear, I had (and have) the high pitch sounds (the whistle and the ringing); in my right ear, the ear where I put the ear drops, I had (and have) the low pitch sounds – lots of variations, I called them the truck engine (the worst of all, that just happens every time a doctor observes my ear – it usually stays for 2 or 3 days – very scary and disturbing), the fridge engine, the car engine, the glass vibration, the air conditioning, the electric device sound… you name it!
I went back to the doctor, he told me to wait that it would pass away. It didn't: I went to the hospital and managed to get an ENT appointment. Meanwhile my noises were better to the point I just had the high pitch ones (whistle / ringing) so when I did the hearing test my "sick" ear was perfectly fine and the left one (where the high pitch sounds developed) had some hearing loss in high pitch sounds.
I also did a vertigo exam to check if it was Meniere's disease – it wasn't, it was BPPV and with the exercises the doctor did during the exam, the crystals were back in place and the vertigo stopped (last time I had a little one when changing position in bed it was more than one month ago).
The doctor that made the vertigo exam told me the tinnitus I have has nothing to do with the BPPV – so of course it was caused by the ear drops. I have talked with several doctors about the ear drops having caused me tinnitus but all of them say it is impossible. Well, I can't see why it is impossible and I really think they don't want to admit that a medicine prescribed by a doctor caused this.
After 3 wonderful weeks in May only with the high pitch sounds (with all the respect for the ones who suffer with the high pitch, the low pitch noises are much worse), I did something that caused me a terrible cost: I went to the dentist and had a electric cleaning – I think it was the vibration that caused me the low pitch sound to come back. I couldn't believe I have been so stupid. I have it for almost 2 months now and it doesn't go away.
Except for last Sunday, the 13th July: I have no idea why, but it stopped suddenly in the middle of the afternoon and I was able to sleep on that night without the car engine in my ear! I thought it was a miracle, but it came back the next day, while I was watching TV at dinner time. I cried for hours.
So, what I have now? High pitch noises in my right ear (a mix between a whistle and a ringing – can be louder or quieter, depending on the days) and low pitch noises in my left ear (a rumbling, car engine and glass vibration all together).
In a good day, I can disguise the low noises with sound around me: walking in the street, washing machine working or even talking to someone. In a bad day, I can hear the vibration all the time, except when walking outside. The high pitch sounds are permanent, even in the street.
It is scary, it is annoying, it makes me sad, it makes me angry – I try not to think about it, but it is impossible – I am always comparing what I hear.
I have the luck of falling asleep the minute I go to bed, so I manage to do it even with the ringing, the car engine and the glass vibration. When I wake up in the morning I have to stand up immediately to avoid feeling anxious.
My biggest concern is that it gets even worse – I know it's possible because the experience of the truck engine sound (an engine extremely loud and vibrating) is the scariest thing that had happened in my life.
I am going to another ENT at the end of the month, this time in my home town (Dutch doctors are too relaxed in my opinion) - I am happy and nervous at the same time: happy because someone I trust is going to listen to me and observe my ear and nervous because the truck engine sound can come back.
How do I avoid depression? I have a son, so I always think I have to stay calm for him, and I fight it with being busy and especially thinking that as long as I don't get the truck engine again, all the other sounds are bearable. And, of course, thinking about the 13th July, the day of my little miracle – maybe it will happen again!
Member
As you can tell from my avatar, I have 3 wonderful children, 2 girls and a boy. I am a single mother. Things have been hard but I can't let T bring me down. My children need me and if I am feeling down because of T, nobody will be able to relay me.
