Haven't Been Able to Sleep, Concenrate or Enjoy Life in Weeks Due to Tinnitus

[Joe C]

Hi! My names Joe, I'm 23. For a lot of my life I had very mild tinnitus when I would try and sleep from headphones etc. But last year I started a manufacturing job and wasn't given a safety course for a few months in. Turns out I don't think I was wearing my ear protection correctly.

5 months ago I started getting very bad tinnitus to the point I could hear it over people talking.

My doctor said it looked like I had fluid in my ears and it was inflamed and had me go home with prednisone.

I recently have had the same issue and cannot even sleep. I'm having trouble concentrating and enjoying my daily life.

I went to an ENT 5 months ago as well and they said everything was fine?

I just want my life back, if there is any advice/treatment etc I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

(Update, my doctor had just put me back on prednisone I've finished my dosage and my ear hasn't improved at all, waiting to hear back from a different ENT)

 

[Michael Leigh]

HI @Joe C

Are you still using headphones, earbuds or headset?

 

[Joe C]

I am not, I haven't returned to my job since this whole pandemic started and frankly now after noticing this I have no desire to. I have been trying to decrease any loud noise exposure throughout my day. As well as trying to mask it with a sound machine at night.

 

[DebInAustralia]

What was the original cause of your tinnitus?

Repeat your audiogram to look for new changes?

Consider nicotinamide riboside? There's a thread on here about it re: hearing damage restoration/protection.

Did you have a middle ear infection? If so, did your doctor treat you with an antibiotic? Which one? Has the ear infection resolved? I know I had repeated tympanograms to establish if the middle ear effusion was resolving. Has your doctor done this?

I know i had a bilateral hearing loss (noise induced) for many years before I met my tinnitus.

My audiologist explained to me that the probable cause/worsening of my tinnitus was probably the loss of conductive hearing loss during a nasty ear infection =/- treatment with ciprofloxacillin.

I know we all want our lives back. You will...!

look at the back to silence thread and watch the OP youtube video.

Until a viable treatment comes along (and if you look at the research section, there are treatments that may offer some hope), work on calming your sympathetic nervous system down, use cbt mindfulness to help you deal with the anxiety and despair around your tinnitus, and see about looking into my above suggestions.

come back and let us know how you are getting along.

 

[Michael Leigh]

As well as trying to mask it with a sound machine at night.

Try to set the sound machine lower than the tinnitus and not to Mask it. Please click on the links below and read my posts which you may find helpful.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

[Joe C]

Still haven't been able to get into an ENT because of the virus. One is suppose to call me Monday. Until then I'm not entirely sure the true source of my tinnitus. I do have a clicking on the right side of my jaw (almost like tmj) same side my ear is really bad as well. But not really any other tmj symptoms. I was also in a car accident about a year ago roughly same time I started my manufacturing job so its hard for me to distinguish if it's muscular/tmj/hearing loss/etc. At this point I'm honestly losing hope. I haven't been able to gain an appetite during the day and at night my mental health is greatly impacted. I become unable to get my mind off the pitch it just feels like a never ending cycle of me not getting enough sleep and feeling terrible throughout the day. Which I know is only adding more stress as well and making it worse. I keep calling different doctors but at this point I've read so many different things im afraid it will never even improve and that there isn't an underlying cause other than tinnitus. I'm just not even sure where to go from here I feel like I've created my own hell.

 

[Steph1710]

Hey Joe!

First of all, sorry that you're here, but also it's good that you are here because Tinnitus Talk is an awesome place to be if you are really struggling.

I developed tinnitus out of the blue over five weeks ago, and trust me it's been a rough ride. I haven't been to see an ENT yet as I believe mine was caused by ototoxic antibiotics, but I seriously recommend what @DebInAustralia said, and go have a repeat audiogram and extra checks etc.

In the meantime, do stay away from loud noises and especially don't touch ear phones/head phones (though i know you said you're not). If you need to go out, I recommend taking a good pair of ear plugs with you encase your encounter any loud noise (this is what I've been doing).

Also there's a few vitamins/supplements people would recommend and I've been taking (haven't noticed much difference but it can't hurt to try) - they are curcumin, NAC, vitamin B, magnesium. You could ask for another five days of Prednisone to see if it's an inflammation issues. I took prednisone as soon as I developed T and it lowered the volume to a slight hiss, but like many others on this site who took it, the hiss reverted back to baseline (the original sound/volume) once the course was finished, but it might work for you.

However, as many will tell you, and as you probably know because you've taken it before; prednisone is not to be taken lightly. It's a horrid drug that comes with its own side effects, so consider it carefully.

For now rest your ears, and try, though I know it's hard, not to stress. Keep your mind occupied and every time you think about the sound say, okay you're still there but whatever, and carry on doing whatever you're doing... I know it's easier said than done.

Sound enrichment is great. Use it at a volume just below your T and take it everywhere with you if it helps. I did at the start of mine - even to the loo!

Overall I'd just like to say you're not alone. Getting T is rubbish - okay it can be completely soul destroying. I've been mourning my old life for weeks now and still am. However this site has literally saved my mental health. The people are great. Post how you feel and what your T is doing as much as you want. People will respond. It helps. Trust me.

@Bill Bauer has been a super good guy for me to talk to. Hopefully he'll comment on this.

We're all here to help, myself included.

Steph <3

 

[Bill Bauer]

My doctor said it looked like I had fluid in my ears and it was inflamed

It seems like your tinnitus is a result of inflammation and and not exposure to noise when you weren't wearing your hearing protection properly. Tinnitus often goes away months after the inflammation gets treated.

I went to an ENT 5 months ago as well and they said everything was fine?

Is it the case that your tinnitus hasn't faded compared to how it was three months ago? You might want to get a second opinion to ensure that there is no fluid or inflammation in your ears...

There are some treatments in the pipeline. You are young, if a treatment is finally available 5-10 years from now, you will still have a lot of life left to enjoy.

Current Promising Treatments:

Regeneration Therapies:

Cochlear degradation has a strong correlation with tinnitus, therefore, regenerating these structures should benefit tinnitus patients.

Frequency Therapeutics - FX-322 (Phase 2a): Uses 2 molecules which, when injected in the ear, partially reprogram support cells into creating hair cells, while not depleting support cells. When created, hair and support cells release NT3/BDNF to attract neurons, which make the synapse components to communicate. They also added a tinnitus experimental arm and are doing a podcast with tinnitus talk.

Audion Therapeutics - LY3056480 (Phase 2): Uses a molecule which, when injected in the ear, causes support cells to trans-differentiate into hair cells. This does deplete support cells, so multiple uses will have diminishing efficiency. Results are said to come out at the end of April.

Hough Ear Institute - siRNA (Preclinical): Uses siRNA (silencing RNA) which, when injected in the ear, causes support cells trans-differentiate into hair cells. This does deplete support cells, so multiple uses will have diminishing efficiency. In animal testing, hair cells regenerated the synapse components to communicate.

Pipeline Therapeutics - PIPE-505 (Going to Phase 1): Uses gamma secretase inhibitor which, when injected in the ear, causes support cells to trans-differentiate in synapses and hair cells. This does deplete support cells, so multiple uses will have diminishing efficiency. Treatment for tinnitus was shown in their patent.

Hough Ear Institute - NHPN-1010 (Going to Phase 2): Uses a antioxidant (HPN-07) and molecule (NAC) which, when swallowed in pill form, regenerates hair cell synapses in chronic hearing loss models. Also has shown efficiency in animal tinnitus models.

Otomony - OTO-413 (Phase 1): Uses a protein (BDNF) which, when injected in the ear, causes regeneration of synapses. Hidden hearing loss is the loss of synapses connected to hair cells, thus, regenerating synapses can treat this, also with possibly helping tinnitus.

Neuromodulation Therapies:

Neuromadulation has shown efficiency in reducing or eliminating tinnitus by reducing hyperactivity in the area of the brain associated with tinnitus.

University of Michigan - Depending on which has the most effect on your tinnitus, they places stimulation around your head, jaw, and neck. This along with sound timing has shown a 12db tinnitus decrease in their testing.

University of Minnesota - Uses targeted timing based on your tinnitus/EEG to stimulate areas of your neck/head/jaw along with customized treatment for sound timing. Would be the most effective and has cured @kelpiemsp of his tinnitus.

Lenire - Stimulate the tongue along with sound timing has had some positive effects on people tinnitus.

Ion Channel Therapies:

Prof. Thanos Tzounopoulos - RL-81 (Preclinical): A drug based off Trobalt (Retigabine), which has shown positive effects on tinnitus, although having severe side effects. RL-81 aims to reduce side effects drastically by being more targeted, while also having a 15x potency in the targeted area, potentially reducing tinnitus.

There are more treatments coming as well but these are the most popular right now, so don't give up hope! All are planned to release within the next 5-10 years or less.

The sounds of crickets/sound enrichment help with high pitched tinnitus. The idea is to give yourself something else to listen to, besides your tinnitus.

 

[Joe C]

I just ended up going to an urgent care facility near my house, they told me it looked like I had fluid in my ear and inflammation again. He gave me an anti biotic and some ear drops for swimmers ear. I'm praying this is all it was. I still have an ENT calling me Monday as well so hopefully I can get some other tests done too.

 

[DaleG]

I just ended up going to an urgent care facility near my house, they told me it looked like I had fluid in my ear and inflammation again. He gave me an anti biotic and some ear drops for swimmers ear. I'm praying this is all it was. I still have an ENT calling me Monday as well so hopefully I can get some other tests done too.

Which antibiotic did they prescribe? There are some known to be ototoxic. Others that may temporarily cause or aggravate tinnitus in some. The latter are less of a concern than the former (IMO).

 

[Joe C]

@DaleG 250 mg azithromycin

 

[Christiaan]

@DaleG 250 mg azithromycin

Please do not use this antibiotic @Joe C ! It has the potential to destroy your hearing (distortion, loss of inner and outer hair cells, support cells). It happened to one of the forum users on this site

 

[Steph1710]

Joe, @Christiaan is right! Don't use the antibiotic! Ask for Amoxicillin! It's an antibiotic that is known not to be ototoxic or is the lest ototoxic. Remember it's antibiotics that damaged my ears and gave me tinnitus.

 

[Lucifer]

Joe, @Christiaan is right! Don't use the antibiotic! Ask for Amoxicillin! It's an antibiotic that is known not to be ototoxic or is the lest ototoxic. Remember it's antibiotics that damaged my ears and gave me tinnitus.

What was the antibiotic that caused your tinnitus?

 

[Joe C]

@Steph1710 I already took my first dose yesterday, I'm just so stressed I want this to stop and everywhere I read talks about how things are time sensitive it seems with these things. The last few days my left ear has been ringing too. I'm just not sure if I never noticed it. What should I do now is it too late to switch anti biotic? I just want some help and I feel like everywhere I call is like yeah call back in a month etc.

 

[Steph1710]

@Joe C I would call your doctor and ask him about the ototoxic side effect of the antibiotics that your on. Tell him you've researched the least ototoxic antibiotics which is amoxicillin and you want to change to that instead. If your ear are damaged, you don't want to increase this further. I'm in the exact same boat. I developed T five weeks ago and can't see an ent because of the lockdown... it's shit, I know, and a lot of people are in the same position as us right now.

I personally wouldn't take the antibiotics. I know all the information regarding T is overwhelming and confusing. My action plan would be to get on amoxicillin. Ask for prednisone - an anti inflammatory steroid - possibly a nasal spray and get yourself some earplugs or muffs to protect yourself from noise exposure if you go out.

You have to try to relax! Stress spikes it! (Makes it worse)

Also buy magnesium, curcuming, Nac and vitamin B mix. These have really helped some people so it's worth a shot.

@Lucifer yup. Doxycycline caused my T.


<3

 

[Joe C]

I ended up finally getting into an ENT. My audiogram came back good, which is like relieving but stressful at the same time because she said there wasn't much she could do to help with my T. She said my eustachian tube is most likely causing the pressure and abnormal sensations I have been feeling though. They prescribed me Flonase hopefully in time that helps? It's so frustrating hearing every doctor say there isn't anything they can do.

 

[Ylva]

@Joe C, how are things going for you?