Hello Everyone

[Ishank]

My name is Ishank. I am new to this forum. I've been hearing hissing/ringing sound since dec 2013 ( 22 or 23 date), there is no hearing loss though. I hear this sound in all day, but it's more noticeable during nights/quite environment.

This forum gives me hope that I am not the only one experiencing strange sound in my head.


I believe there may be 3 reasons for this ringing in my cases.

1. On 20th Dec (morning), I hit my head against wall while I was trying to sit on my bed. I was carrying a laptop, and wanted to sit in a comfortable position against wall.

2. On 20th Dec (evening), I had a Skype call with someone. But during the call there was a disturbing high pitch sound in the background which even made me to end the Skype call.

3. Stress, PTSD (My body react very strange when I go through a traumatic event/ stressful situations. I've gone through a difficult time, very stressful situations in the last 2 months, and I was not taking proper diet as well)


More information

I visited an ENT specialist clinic on 26th dec. He prescribed me antibiotic (amoxicillin) and vitamins for 6 days, but there was no significant improvement in my condition. He has now changed my medicine (tinnex, Betahistine 24mg and Ginkgo Biloba 60mg, B12 vitamins and Alprazolam for anxiety)for 7-10 days, . I am still on medication and I am not seeing improvement in my condition. I am anxious and scared that this Tinnitus condition may remain forever.

My doctor says you will be fine, but after seeing no improvement I have few questions to ask.

# Is there any case of temporary tinnitus? Is yes, how long does it lasts ?

# If this would be a permanent problem, how could I live my life in a better way? How to make this tinnitus less worse?

Thanks

Comments are welcome.

* I am 24 year old.

 

[Stina]

Hello Ishank!

Im sorry for your accident and that you are suffering from Tinnitus. I am not a doctor so unfortunately I have no answers for you. I would recommend seeing another doctor just in case - because occasionally doctors can be wrong. But i also think that you might simply give it some time to heel. Eat and rest properly and try not to worry too much. Tinnitus does not always have to be permanent (in fact in many of the cases it isnt).

 

[Ishank]

Hi Anna,

"Tinnitus does not always have to be permanent (in fact in many of the cases it isnt)."

This gives me some hope. I should have some patience.

Sorry to hear your story. I hope you also recover from Tinnitus soon.

 

[Ishank]

I've same question for other members of this forum,

# Is there any case of temporary tinnitus? Is yes, how long does it lasts ?

Please reply.

 

[Zimichael]

Ishank... Finding you on new members page as I scout around the site!

Yes, there is definitely temporary tinnitus...and unfortunately there is also not so temporary tinnitus. It can last a lifetime and it can get worse. So, it is definitely something I would suggest becoming somewhat informed about as it may help you form needless future suffering. And boy, can this stuff cause intense suffering if it gets bad. (See some members's profiles and posts).
I suggest just clicking through some of the support forum threads and pretty soon you will see info that is relevant to you. Also that TIME and being sensible about exposure to sound are basic. Also, I would be very careful about medications...though to me it sounds like you have very switched on doc compared to most. I understand where he/she? is coming from on all those meds/vits you mention. Good approach, and Amoxicillin shows me that he/she is being careful about ototoxicity with the antibiotic test out.

You have only just got this tinnitus, so actually you are being super smart about seeing a good ENT right away. Plus, skip around the forum and you will see that "time is on your side"...and youth!

Take care, and best to you... Zimichael

 

[Stina]

Hello Zimichael! I would like to know whether it is necessary to use earplugs while walking on the street as well (Ambulances, possible explosions)?

 

[Markku]

# Is there any case of temporary tinnitus? Is yes, how long does it lasts ?

Tinnitus has been reported to stop at any point really, even years after onset, and by stop I mean to a point where one is not able to hear it however carefully they try to listen to it.

But one common form of tinnitus, disco tinnitus, usually lasts only up to a few hours (sometimes a day or two).

There's also tinnitus caused by medication and oftentimes (not always indeed) that type of tinnitus subsides once the medication in question is stopped.

Many many times I've read of tinnitus caused by stress disappear after a while.

The longer one has tinnitus, the smaller the chances for it to completely resolve seem to be -- but there's always a small chance.

# If this would be a permanent problem, how could I live my life in a better way? How to make this tinnitus less worse?

Look at us who have had it for years. We're still here and most of us are living good lives. It's good to remember that since this is a support forum, lots of folks are *currently* going through a more difficult patch. Quite often those who have started to feel better just stop visiting the forum and go back to their lives. This may make tinnitus look a more hopeless condition than it really for many is (after some time).

Look up habituation. It will not happen instantaneously, but it's in your future.

I wish strength and good luck for your journey Ishank.

Markku

 

[Ishank]

Zimichel,
Thanks for your reply. I am visiting just one doctor. He is one of the best ENT specialist in my City. OMG, You've been suffering since 1956. Don't know what to say.

Just want to thanks from the bottom of my heart.


Markku,

Thanks for starting this forum. You are helping many sufferers. "Habituation" I will google about it. Thanks.

If my tinnitus is because of stress, and if I get cured then I will share news in this forum.

 

[Zimichael]

Wow Stina...Sheeesh!...Ummmmmmmmmmm...I could write a five page reply to that question without a blink in-between. Look up a recent post by I who Love Music, aha. here it is: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/40-year-battle.2854/#post-27025
That will get you going at least.
I skipped over to your Profile and found no info, so then went to Introductions and got more info as you posted there. Good...as this tinnitus stuff is very weird and different for nearly everyone. "Individually plastic" in behaviour and presentation is no under-statement!

My short answer to your question about earplugs is: Yes...if sound levels get too high!
The trick is, to know if they are going to be too high BEFORE you get zapped. There's where the learning curve comes in and a sense of potential danger points. It's easy to hear an ambulance coming usually, so I just stand still and stick my fingers in my ears until it has long gone. I get odd looks but don't give a darn...it's MY ears that count here, not someone thinking I'm a fruit cake.
Also, as it appears that you have "trauma/sound induced tinnitus" (Sigh! mom and dad were probably right when they told you to turn the music down), I would suggest always carrying earplugs around in case you need your fingers for something else other than sticking in your ears. I carry two types: Full baffle plugs that block out most sound, and "Sonic" shooter diaphragm-type plugs that I can hear pretty well through, but they protect me from spikes.
I use one or other every day of my life. But if you read my profile you will see that you are in another galaxy re tinnitus noise levels...I really, really suggest you keep it that way, even if life feels a bit constricted for a while.

Very best to you...and make sure your ENT is not an idiot with any meds prescribed. Check for ototoxicity online before taking them. I mean they would really have to be brain dead to give you potentially hearing damaging drugs...but I tell you, you won't believe how, ahhhhhhhhhh....well "idiotic", some docs are.

Zimichael

 

[Stina]

Thank you very much for the long reply. I will definetly ask my ENT about the earplugs. Actually I have been taking Methotrexat for 10 years but I didnt find any information about it being ototoxic.

 

[Zimichael]

Stina... Golly, just getting back to you and I don't even have a job! (I'm retired...well, because my tinnitus kinda stops me from being able to do much that would be in demand where I live = noise work!).

Anyway, I wanted to follow up on your Methotrexate and was sorry to see what the regular label use is for - hopefully you are OK on that front?! However, because I sort of lean on people to really question the ototoxicity of what they are asked to take by docs, I gave it the run down on my most convenient site...drugs.com. Here's the link for you: http://www.drugs.com/sfx/methotrexate-side-effects.html

Please note! Go down to the "For Healthcare Professionals" section of Side Effects, after the long lists of stuff, as I warn people to look in the "Nervous System" section there...As you will see, (surprise, surprise) this is what it says:
Nervous system
"Nervous system side effects include headaches, dizziness, drowsiness, blurred vision, subtle cognitive dysfunction, moodiness, tinnitus or unusual cranial sensations."....Etc., etc.

HOWEVER...I am mainly pointing this out to you, and to anyone else who reads this, because "Tinnitus" potential from meds is often not that obvious and can be buried deep in the 'side effects' lists. I look at the main "consumer" lists first, then this 'Nervous System' place in the professionals list.

ON THIS PARTICULAR DRUG I DO NOT GET THE SENSE THAT IT IS A BAD ONE REALLY FOR HEARING STUFF, SO DON'T PANIC! But indeed it does have the potential to obviously give someone, somewhere, tinnitus - presumably! Just a thought huh, don't you think?! Maybe you could point it out to your ENT and get an opinion.

Now remember too, I'm not a doc., but a well jabbed, stabbed and blabbed guinea pig who has paid a heavy price for doing this kind of snooping too late.

Take good care... Zimichael

 

[Stina]

Hello Zimichael! Thank you very much for being helpful. Reading your post just made my tinnitus of little less worse!
I will probably try to contact my rheumthologist and ask about the potential effect. But I do not think I have any of them because in December I had very thorough analysises made and they came back fine. Normally if the medications has any effect it should so smth. It seems to me most probable that it is still from the loud music (it really years and years). As to the nervous system, I noticed last night while lying in bed that when I am completely relaxed and stressfree the tinnitus is much less worse. I could probably benefit from some therapy and counselling. It could be that my anxiety has made it a lot worse. You probably know about this stuff more than I do but I read that T only happens as a combination of thing: ear damage, stress and genetic or physical traits. It could be that Trexat, emotional suffering and loud music all resulted in Tinnitus.
Zimichael, although you are suffering it is good the see that instead of wishing bad for others you are trying to help. I try to think that God never sends us more to bare than we can (unfortunately he does not save us from our own stupidity).
All the best
Anna

 

[Zimichael]

Anna... Good morning! (Well here in California) and thank you for your good wishes - I sure need them.

Anyway, you comment: "Reading your post just made my tinnitus of little less worse!"...Yes, I understand that and indeed I am sorry. However, there is another way to look at this in a positive light! I am sure it is clear to you that what happened is you became more "worried" about your tinnitus after getting some potential not so good news about the medication. However, I doubt you went to a disco last night and blasted yourself with music and increased your tinnitus "objectively".....OK, assuming that, it then is most likely your anxiety level went up a bit and thus your tinnitus became more noticeable. This is, just simply speaking anyway, "subjective". THIS DOES NOT MEAN IT IS NOT REAL, or that it is not very important with tinnitus suffering. It's actually a huge part of it, seeing as our darn brains appear to be as much of the issue with this curse as the supposed/possible physical damage to delicate structures in the ear.

So what's the good news? The good news is that anxiety and thoughts ARE a lot more changeable than the "physical structures"...Like you can't kid yourself for very long if you have broken arm and your bone is sticking out sideways at 90 degrees! It's super real and it needs a physical fix. Anxiety however, can get handled in probably hundreds of ways!!!
You have much more control of that part and it gives great hope for reducing your awareness of the tinnitus, which I am sure will happen anyway, as yours is, as the big TIME picture goes...very recent.

There are tons of ideas and tools on this board about anxiety and tinnitus...meditation, cognitive therapy, sound therapy, notched music, playing soft water sounds at night (I do), sharing your anxiety with someone close, a good massage whenever possible, and of course even medications. Personally, I am not too worried about a little Atavan or Clonezepam, and it can work wonders! Despite medications (antibiotics & anti-fungals) causing my tinnitus/hyperacusis (the 2006 jump up that REALLY changed my life...badly!) I am NOT anti Big Pharma just because of that...Meds can be life savers. The only drug I take is about .75 mg to 1 mg of Clonezepam every night for sleep (or I just plain do not sleep! I was up for nearly 7 days last year when I went off it totally...but that's another story). And it takes an small edge off my tinnitus which is EXTREMELY loud...and even a 1% decrease I will take any day!

Basically I am saying you have lots of hope for a great future living with this tinnitus ahead. My point was of course not to worry you, but to show how easy it is to miss the "hearing signatures" of drugs (SAME WITH DRUGS SOLD OVER-THE-COUNTER IN THE CHEMIST'S/PHARMACIES TOO!), and that once we have this susceptibility to tinnitus, I think it is necessary to be more careful about this. With the internet it is quick and easy, and very well worth checking...then asking your doctor about. Sure can't do any harm to ask!!!

To end here....Yes, I think your tinnitus is 99% likely to be the classic sort, c/o of loud music/sound exposure over a period of time. Also as you say, stress and genetics clearly play a part as well. *[I will share some insights on that with a new post in the future when I get a chance...VERY interesting!]. There is a tiny, tiny, tiny chance that Methotrexate could have played a part, but after 10 years??? I sincerely doubt it. Not this late in the game. So put your mind at rest there. And anyway, there is always the cost v. benefit of any treatment...and maybe the drug has saved you from something worse?!

You sound like a very smart woman and I am convinced you will get a handle on this, as you appear to be grasping the key stuff very quickly. All the best...Take gentle care.
Michael

 

[Stina]

Hello! Hhaha i love your long posts! I think i made a grammatic mistake! What I meant to say that after reading your post it got better! I am able to accept it better now. I also made an appointment with a auditologist and hope to find whether I have hearing loss or not. I also hope I will be able to live with and it will not get worse. Thanks for the support!

 

[Zimichael]

COOL!!! (Have no idea what this widget jelly bean character is doing but it looks good!)
Well, that is even better then...though my point is the same of course. That anxiety and so forth indeed affect our perception of tinnitus. And in the end that's what counts! If I did not "perceive" my tinnitus/hyperacusis it would be of zero impact to my life and I could do all those 95% of things I no longer can.

Again...all the best. Michael

 

[Ishank]

Its been about 2 week I can still hear hissing sound. Did I just entered the chronic phase ?

 

[Ishank]

Sometimes I feel that T is in my left ear and and sometimes in right. Is it normal ?

 

[Stina]

Its been about 2 week I can still hear hissing sound. Did I just entered the chronic phase ?

I think T is considered chronic after 6 months Give yourself some time to heel.

 

[Johno]

Sometimes I feel that T is in my left ear and and sometimes in right. Is it normal ?

Something is hapenning. This is good new.

 

[Ishank]

Really ?

 

[Johno]

Really ?

Yes, but of course, i am not 100 percent sure. One thing - you wrote, you was hit to head with wall (i hope, you understand my english ). Maybe massage of neck spin will help you a lot. Tinnitus is often induced by spinal nerves. I dont think, that short but strong skype tone induces your T.

 

[Stina]

Yes! Maybe you should try reflexology, acupuncture or visit a chiropractor?

 

[Ishank]

@Jeff Just checked my one the first few medicines (on my first visit to clinic) that doctor has prescribed me- Deflazacort which belongs to corticosteroids.

I visited clinic today, 2nd medicine course was not effective. My roommate checked that there is some yellowish fluid in my ear. It could be because of medicine. Don't know. Doc did't say anything. Could it be Otitis media? I wish it would be just infection which would eventually go away.

After Doctor checked everything, he said that he will not give me any medicines. This time we need to follow a different path. He said he will change my treatment only after proper hearing test, and may be MRI in case if needed ( I was scared and was trying to control my emotions) It look like I am going on the path which eventually end into T. Why me ? Is there any hope ?

My doc is a nice person and he a even my friend since I visited his clinic few months ago (there is a significant age difference though that's why I usually hesitate to ask clearly " Do I have a tinitus ?" I don't want to sound like a wimp in front of him ). But seeing me in pain (actually I was panicked ), this time he prescribed me Acetazolamide for 2 days. I have a history of stress induced illness. Hope this medicine alleviate my problem.

I going to test my ears on Monday.

Please don't say something that would scared the hell out of me. Just wish me a good luck.

 

[Stina]

@Jeff Just checked my one the first few medicines (on my first visit to clinic) that doctor has prescribed me- Deflazacort which belongs to corticosteroids.

I visited clinic today, 2nd medicine course was not effective. My roommate checked that there is some yellowish fluid in my ear. It could be because of medicine. Don't know. Doc did't say anything. Could it be Otitis media? I wish it would be just infection which would eventually go away.

After Doctor checked everything, he said that he will not give me any medicines. This time we need to follow a different path. He said he will change my treatment only after proper hearing test, and may be MRI in case if needed and I was scared and was trying to control my emotions) It look like I am going on the path which eventually end into T. Why me ? Is there any hope ?

My doc is a nice person and he a even my friend since I visited his clinic few months ago (there is a significant age difference though that's why I usually hesitate to ask clearly " Do I have a tinitus ?" I don't want to sound like a wimp in front of him ). But seeing me in pain (actually I was panicked ), this time he prescribed me Acetazolamide for 2 days. I have a history of stress induced illness. Hope this medicine alleviate my problem.

I going to test my ears on Monday.

Please don't say something that would scared the hell out of me. Just wish me a good luck.

Ishank! I have very strick orders for you. Stay away from google and tinnitustalk.com. Your body is clearly sending you signals that he is overstressed, tired and wants a break. You worrying about him is not gonna make anything better. Also, medication never really solved stress. Therefore, go out and play with your friends and you will be fine.

 

[Ishank]

Stina,

Yes you are right I am not taking proper rest + getting too stressed about situation. I had a very bad lifestyle in the last 1-2 months ( I used to go to bed in morning (5-6), worked on PC all night, sometimes I skipped meals at home). Yesterday I had a sleep for about just 4-5 hours. I am feeling sleepy this time, its 1.20 AM at my clock and look what- I am here on this forum.


Thanks Stina, I am taking your advice. Now I promise I will not google anything about my ears (a bad habit that I acquired from my work- I do online business and spend lot of time on Internet). I will be back to this forum just to inform you guys when I am fully cured .

 

[Jeff M.]

@Jeff Just checked my one the first few medicines (on my first visit to clinic) that doctor has prescribed me- Deflazacort which belongs to corticosteroids.

I visited clinic today, 2nd medicine course was not effective. My roommate checked that there is some yellowish fluid in my ear. It could be because of medicine. Don't know. Doc did't say anything. Could it be Otitis media? I wish it would be just infection which would eventually go away.

After Doctor checked everything, he said that he will not give me any medicines. This time we need to follow a different path. He said he will change my treatment only after proper hearing test, and may be MRI in case if needed ( I was scared and was trying to control my emotions) It look like I am going on the path which eventually end into T. Why me ? Is there any hope ?

My doc is a nice person and he a even my friend since I visited his clinic few months ago (there is a significant age difference though that's why I usually hesitate to ask clearly " Do I have a tinitus ?" I don't want to sound like a wimp in front of him ). But seeing me in pain (actually I was panicked ), this time he prescribed me Acetazolamide for 2 days. I have a history of stress induced illness. Hope this medicine alleviate my problem.

I going to test my ears on Monday.

Please don't say something that would scared the hell out of me. Just wish me a good luck.

GOOD LUCK!!!! You are going to be OK!!!