Hello from Australia

Hi Tinnitus suffers, I'm 22 years old and have been suffering from Tinnitus since November last year, so it's been about 6 months now. At first I woke up one day with a 'full' feeling in my ear after a cold, so I visited my GP who said I had glue ear and that I should give it 6 weeks and it will go away on its own. About a week or so later I noticed a quiet ringing sound in both ears, but more prominent in my left ear which felt more blocked. I didn't take too much notice of it at first as it was quiet and I assumed it would just go away when the glue ear drained. After 3 months I still had a blocked feeling in my ear so I went to see the ENT which took forever to get an appointment. I had a hearing test and a tympanometry (ear pressure) test and both were in the normal range and he had a quick 2 minute look at me and said that I don't have glue ear, I look 'happy and healthy', that'll be $200 thanks and I was rushed out of his office. What a waste of money. As a result of this I have been diagnosed with idiopathic tinnitus.

I still have the feeling of blocked ears. When I swallow I hear popping sounds, and crackling sounds when I chew. Sometimes when I swallow I can feel mucus draining down my throat. For the last 4 months or so I have been using saline solution to clear my eustachian tubes and I've recently started using a steroid nasal spray but to no avail. I saw a tinnitus specialist who ran another hearing test which came back normal, she suggested that I participate in tinnitus retraining therapy, however I'm only a student and don't have the kind of money for these things. I am waiting to see another ENT through the public system in the next 6 months (will be cheaper for me) and I'm hoping he will be able to run an MRI or CAT scan to see if there is something wrong with my eustachian tubes. However, I have come to the realisation that even if there is something wrong with my eustachian tubes, and that problem can be fixed, my tinnitus may be here to stay anyway.

In the last 2 months my tinnitus has become a lot louder and a lot more bothersome. I'm currently sitting University exams and it has been so stressful trying to concentrate on study. My grades have been severely affected. I do listen to sound masking videos on Youtube when I study and when I go to sleep... but I've found them to only be somewhat helpful...

I'm starting to get quite depressed about the whole thing and my boyfriend's recommended that I start seeing a psychologist because I don't seem to be coping so well.

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone can suggest some good coping methods? My tinnitus seems to get better and worse on it's own no matter what I do. I've been taking gingko biloba for the last 6 weeks but that hasn't seemed to have any effect so far.

 

Whenever there are symptoms (besides tinnitus), it is important to have an exhaustive examination to try to locate the cause. You can find expert literature on which examinations to run as well as possible treatments via this flowchart from the Tinnitus Research Initiative (see also attachment for the complete document):



A feeling of "fullness in the ears" can also stem from the inner ear, however.

Depending on the severity of your tinnitus, it may be advisable to take a "time out" from studies (if possible).

Again. It all depends on the severity. I am not sure I know of any coping methods for severe tinnitus, I must admit. Melatonin may be helpful for sleep management (6mg, ½-hour before bedtime); can be used long-term. There are a number of drugs aimed at tinnitus that are either currently in clinical trials (or which will be, shortly). However, none of the pharmaceuticals involved are running their trials in Australia, I am afraid. The AUT00063 clinical trial may possibly accept overseas patients at a later stage.

Hearing tests cannot be used to detect (subjective) tinnitus. And they are mostly - in any event - tests performed only to evaluate the speech frequency range (= 0 - 8 kHz). Hearing loss may occur in the range above that, for instance.

 

Coping methods that work great for me is to turn on a tv show I like, or to play a video game (can even be a simple mobile game, just make sure the sound is not muted as that helps greatly) of some sort that keeps the "brain off focusing on the sound". Number one thing, while not easy to do is to ignore the sound and to try to live normally.

 

Thank you for the advice! I will be sure to try some melatonin.

The hearing test I had done at the Audiologist went from 0 -12.5kHz and no hearing loss was found in this range.

I do like to watch a lot of TV shows my T is quite high pitch though and I find it hard to concentrate on other tasks sometimes when it's bad, including watching TV.

Thank you for your words of encouragement though. I'm glad I've found this forum I'm starting to feel more positive already.

 

Hi Hinnie.

Your symptoms sound really similar to mine.

In terms of sleep, my GP prescribed me Mirtazapine (sometimes called Mirtazon here in Oz) and it has really helped me get some rest. Ironically, I probably sleep better now than I ever have before... although my tinnitus is definitely loud and noticeable.

Whether or not you want to go down the path of an SSRI obviously depends on a lot of factors, but it might be an option worth discussing with your GP.