Hello from Georgia

[OddV]

At what point should I start getting concerned about the tinnitus in my left ear?

• It started on Monday (so 3 days now), very high pitched whine in my left ear
• I've got some congestion and my neck is sore
• Not having issues going to sleep, it is there when I wake up in the morning
• Taking a shower, I can't here it at all; sitting in a quiet room, it's all I hear

I've heard ringing in my ears in quiet rooms before, but it's never been this distracting.

Great forum, glad I found it.

 

[Karen]

Hi, Oddv, and welcome to Tinnitus Talk! I'm from Georgia, too, so hi, neighbor!

If you've only had tinnitus for three days, there is a chance that it will subside, particularly if you have some congestion. Have you been to a doctor yet, to see if you have an ear infection, or other ear issues? Also, have you had neck problems for awhile, and do you know what might be causing that?

Have you had an audiogram, to determine if you have any hearing loss?

Some people say that getting a prescription for Prednisone in the early stages of tinnitus may help you. You might want to check into that if it continues for a few more days.

There are many reasons your tinnitus may have started, or increased. Others on this board may have additional comments or suggestions for you, and for what to do in the early stages of tinnitus.

In the meantime, please check around the forum for information. We're glad you've joined us!

Best wishes,
Karen

 

[OddV]

Thanks for the response Karen and hi to you too neighbor. I'm up in the NW corridor, OTP.... yourself?

Thanks for the response. Going to the doctor this afternoon and will will ask about the Prednisone, thanks for the suggestion. Been taking Lipo-Flavonoid Plus since Wednesday, but seems like that takes a while if it even works.

Not sure on the neck problems, it's just sore, almost like my Eustachian Tubes are swollen, I've never experienced it before.

Day 4, and it's still the same high-pitched whine as Day 1.... makes one very tired.

 

[Karen]

Hi, OddV,

OTP, Roswell-Alpharetta area.

Yes, some people say Lipo-Flavonoid really works, but I'm afraid it doesn't work for everyone.

I'm glad you're going to the doctor to see if there is some sort of inflammation or infection that could be causing the ringing. Hopefully, he will be able to advise you, and to prescribe something if needed.

Take care, and I hope you feel better soon!

 

[Marlene]

Hi Odd V glad you found this site ,but sad you've got this going on ,I to have said neck problems and T also sinuses allergies ,along with balance issue.Think mine are blocked up Eustachian tubes ,from allergies .
Earlier you get checked out the better in the long run ,if they offer up any testing take it .Wish I'd been checked out early,instead of them sending me on med route ,my biggest number one mistake .Wish I could turn clock back to what I now know since coming on to this site .
Wishing you all the best ,don't let Drs fob you off is my number one bit of advice to any of it regarding tinnitus .
It's happening to you not them ,never forget that ,always go with your own body's instinct ,what my daughter in law a nurse says ,it will never let you down .Lets know how you go on .

 

[Marlene]

Hi Karen if it wasent for you ,I'd never had even thought Eustachian tubes being blocked ,so today I always take note of what you say . God bless you for that alone. Hope Odd V does better by getting on this site early as he has done ,second day this week sat with blocked ears .So I can sympathise with anyone who has this going on ,can make you feel pretty miserable .Neck problems I've started to use Vit D spray ,also Comfrey rub ,few on UK site has the self same problems with tinnitus ,neck aches .Dont know if there's the connection ,and Eustachian tubes block ,all ENT behavior .Ive had swollen mastoid bone behind worst T ear few times .think that's maybe fluid build up ,causing repeated ear infections .i do put menthol rub behind the worst ear at night when it's sore .
Hope your feeling better ,as you were under par last week ,we live to fight another day hey .X

 

[Dr. Nagler]

Hi @OddV and @Karen

I'm in Sandy Springs OTP. We should all get together for coffee sometime!

stephen nagler

 

[LadyDi]

And my mother lives where Roswell/Sandy Springs and Marietta intersect, and I did as well until I went away to college. So I get up there from time to time. Our coffee group is growing! Welcome, @OddV.

Have you been checked for sinus/upper respiratory infection, or Eustachian tube dysfunction? Steroids, anti-inflammatory meds could clear this up. At this point, the tinnitus very well could subside. But Karen already said all that, didn't she? Sorry!

 

[OddV]

Well, I've got fluid on the ear that had the problem... They gave me a steroid shot and prescribed me Presdinone with a 6 day taper to start on Saturday.

I hope this takes care of. My prayers go out to all of you that have been suffering from this for years, I had no idea.

 

[Karen]

OddV,

Glad you went to the doctor, and I hope that the steroids will work for you!!

Good luck, and best wishes,
Karen

 

[OddV]

Wow, lots of folks from the Atlanta area.

Ringing subsided after the shot until about 8 PM last night then came back, albeit slightly quieter. Woke up at 2 AM, probably due to the steroid and the ringing was there, got back to sleep around 5:30.... Fun stuff. Got fluid on my right ear, swollen nasal passages and a tonsil looks infected. Little ones back in school, so we have continual crud in the house right now.

For tinnitus such as this, is it typical that it lasts throughout the infection and then you've just gotta see if it goes away? Seems like reading around here, it started this way for some.

Suppose to start taking the oral steroid on Saturday and they put me on a round of antibiotics. Think I read it takes about 48 hours for a steroid injection to start working..

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[OddV]

Beginning of day 7

Still have it, the tone is lower in the morning and higher in the afternoon

Still stuffed up, started the oral steroids yesterday. The shot on Thursday made it go away for about 4 hours and then it came back. The left ear feels "full" and while it feels like I can clear my Eustachian tubes, it doesn't feel like my ear is popping.

Going to the ENT this week.

I think my tone is 6,850 Hz... Tried one of those online tuner things and at that hertz, I could not hear the tinnitus or the tone (like the cancelled each other out)... Is that right the right way to determine?

Masking at night with blue noise is helping, brown noise doesn't cover it and and white noise is grating.

Biggest concern I have right now was I was considering taking a new job, but scared if I do so and this doesn't go away, I might have a tough time proving myself.

 

[OddV]

Still have it, going to the ENT on Wednesday... Anything I should be asking at this point? Should I demand a MRI?

My ear is very sore, wife looked at it yesterday with an otoscope and said it was fire engine red. Weird, out of the blue today, ear stopped hurting and the T was bearable for about 5 minutes. She looked at it again tonight and said only about 1/2 of it was red.

Also experienced a panic attack yesterday, that was not fun.

 

[Karen]

Hi, Oddv,

I'd ask a lot of questions about the nature of your ear inflammation, and what treatments might be effective. I wouldn't insist on a MRI at this point; I'd wait first to see if the inflammation dies down, and what happens after that. It's possible your tinnitus will fade after the inflammation goes away.

I'm sorry you experienced a panic attack. Those are not fun at all; try to breathe as normally as possible during the attack, and keep yourself as calm as possible. There are prescription drugs you can take to help with panic attacks. Let's hope you won't have another one as your inflammation improves.

Please make a list of questions to ask your doctor, and let us know how you're doing after the appointment.

 

[OddV]

Went to the ENT today, said I had a thickened and retracted eardrum. Tested both ears via Tympanometry and they both were the same (looked good).

Sinuses are a wreck and looked like I was having a lot of allergy issues. Told me to finish up the steroids, put me on Zyrtec and Ocean Nasal Spray and asked me to come back in 2 to 3 weeks for a hearing test. He also grounded me from flying until this resolves.

The volume is down today (so far), but it was down yesterday morning as well and then spiked in the afternoon/evening. He says there is no reason for this to not resolve itself, but I need to give it some time.

Is the American Tinnitus Association a good organization to support?

 

[OddV]

Week 3 + 1 day... at this point, I've decided that I just need to treat this as it's going to be permanent and if it ever goes away, I'll get down on my knees and give thanks.

I go for an allergy test and hearing test on Monday, what I need to know now is where I should start trying to help the "loudness" of it.... just some updates.

• It's in the left ear, 99% pretty sure brought on by an ear infection
• The volume now is lower than when it started, but still very noticeable
• When I take a hot shower and let it hit my neck for an extended period of time, it seems to lower the volume/intensity for a while
• My left ear feels "full"... read a lot of people on this site that say this
• Had a steroid shot on the 4th day, did a 6 day taper of Prednisone starting on the 6th day
• Taking Flonase now, antihistamine (had to stop today due to upcoming allergy test) and guaifenesin (was hoping it would help with the mucus)
• I was able to take a full week off last week and it was doing pretty well, started back to work yesterday and it spiked (could be due to the fact I was in a quiet office all day)

So, based on my poking around the board, I see that I could do some of the following:

• AM-101 trials.... I'm going to ask about this on Monday when I see the audiologist
• Notch therapy (I'm having a hard time pinning down the tone, I hope the hearing test will help me)
• Magnesium/Zinc supplements
• Blueberry extract, although I didn't see any follow up on results in the thread

Just wondering if there is anything else I should be looking at/considering at this point. I just really want to get the volume down a few decibels and I think I'd be pretty good.