Hi, I'm New Here & A Bit Confused with What's Happening to My Ear

[naz7]

Hi,
I'm a 28 y.o female, working as engineer but I have no exposure to any loud machinery.
The most loudest equipment that I can recall is server rack. I'm very sensitive to sound/noise, i set my alarm volume very low (as my friend & family told me) is not to wake people's up, but more as lullaby.

My tinnitus happened so sudden. One day I woke up, I feel like there's water inside my ear, but apparently there's no water and i hear buzzing sound. Sometimes I hear sounds like water flowing & like i'm in jungle in my left ear. I went to doctors to check, but 3 of them told me my ear is ok, including my ear drum & no water inside my ear.

On 4th day, the sound sometimes become very high pitch but just for a few second. i dont suffer any dizziness but only when there's loud pitch.

On 5th day, I noticed there's difference in my left ear hearing.
I proceed to meet a specialist & based on hearing test, it indicate I'm having hearing loss on my left ear.
She gave me tanakan (ginkgo biloba supplement) and asked me to go for MRI because she suspect there's infection on my nerve.

My sister consulted her friend (she's a doctor, pursuing in ENT) and she gave me augmentin & steroid for 5 days. but the buzzing sound is still there.

On 3rd week, I noticed my hearing on left ear back to normal & the sound is still there but it has reduced, I can completely ignore it. I can only notice the sound if I cupped my hand on my left ear.

But on 4th week, the sound became louder again and last week, I noticed I could hear the sound from my right ear as well. In my right ear it's on and off. 4 days ago, while working with my laptop, I suddenly hear very high pitch sound & a pop sound. It's very high pitch that I start to feel dizzy (but only about 2,3, seconds) and I can tell my right ear also is producing the sound.

Anyone experiencing the same? My doctor told me to ensure I have good sleep & not stress, but honestly, I couldn't sleep because of the sound and thinking what's the possible cause make me wonder more.

 

[maltese]

Anyone experiencing the same? My doctor told me to ensure I have good sleep & not stress, but honestly, I couldn't sleep because of the sound and thinking what's the possible cause make me wonder more.

Play some nature sounds to make falling asleep easier.

Looking for a cause won't help much, unfortunately. The most important thing is that you don't stress too much about it.

At this stage it's still possible your tinnitus will just go away.

Take care.

 

[billie48]

There are many causes which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including but not limited to drug reaction or side-effects from ototoxic drugs, ear wax build-up, ear or Eustachian tube infection or ETD, ear drum injury, fluid build-up in ears feeling pressured or fullness, sinus infection & congestion, TMJ, TTTS, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma/shock, head trauma & injury, neck injury or muscle problems, hearing loss, Meniere's Decease, barotrauma from sudden change of air pressure such as during landing & taking off on flights especially with blocked nose causing failure to balance the pressure changes, slapping of the ears, deep grief for the loss of loved ones, untreated sleep apnea, extreme, extended stress, anxiety & panic disorder, etc., etc.

Regardless, if T is bothering you and your anxiety level is high whenever T spikes, you may want to consider masking it. If you haven't tried masking, here are some suggestions:

1) Mask at bed time so you can sleep better. Find whatever sounds/music that are soothing to you. You can use a sound machine or sound pillow for this, or a computer with speakers.

2) If you need masking on the go, try load an ipod with nature sounds or music using itune. If you have a smart phone, you can download free APPs for soothing or T-masking sounds.

3) If you have computer and speakers, you can try these excellent masking sounds too:

TT's audio player: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

or this online sound library, particularly the self-mix nature sounds: https://mynoise.net

or download free sound generator 'aire freshener': http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

or search youtube with words like 'tinnitus masking sounds', 'white noise', 'rain sound' etc.

 

[naz7]

@maltese thanks. i hope it will go away soon. will try to play some nature sounds.
my problem with me is whenever i want to sleep, i need a very quite environment as my ears are very sensitive to sound.

@billie48 thanks a lot for the links. will definitely try the masking method. was having the hard time last night as i keep on waking up.