I Think I May Have Tinnitus...

[JamesWalker95]

Hi guys, nice to meet you all.

I'm posting this because since Sunday night (3 days ago) I've had an extremely high pitched frequency type noise in my right ear, and I'm worried that I may have tinnitus. On Saturday I was out at a club (which I rarely ever go to) and I'm starting to think that may have caused the problem, although I'm pretty sure I didn't notice the ringing at all on Sunday until when I was trying to go to sleep. I'm a 22 year old musician, and I understand that this is very much a occupational hazard, but I wear in ear monitoring systems whenever I rehearse with bands, or perform live, so doubt that this could be the case.

I went to my GP yesterday and he told me that I have excessive wax build up in my right ear, told me to go buy some ear drops, and to return on the 2nd of January to have my ear syringed and the wax (hopefully) removed. As well as the ringing I tend to have random bursts of pain in my ear, as well as neck pain also on the right side. I'm really hoping this isn't permanent as it's already effected me a great deal emotionally, and is making me stay up at night crying. Music is my passion, and currently I can't even listen to my favourite records without hearing this consistent drone in my head. I understand that worrying about it will only make it worse, and I'm trying to avoid that - it's just extremely difficult.

I'd just like to hear anyones opinions, whether you think it's going to stick around, or if it's because of my wax build-up/neck pain. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much.

 

[Bill Bauer]

There is a high chance that it will be gone. See the studies in the thread below
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/
T tends to change (get quieter, pitch changes so that it is easier to ignore), so even if the worst happens, the sound you are hearing now is likely not the sound you will be stuck with.

The bad news is that now that your ears have been compromised, even if your T goes away completely, it will now be much easier to cause T to return. Sounds that healthy people won't even notice will have the potential to give you T spikes (T gets louder), which can be temporary or permanent.

To promote healing, for the next year or two, you might want to stay away from even moderate noises (like that of a vacuum cleaner, blender, air conditioner). If you choose to continue being a musician, you risk making your T permanent and/or making your T louder. Some musicians can handle it, others can't. This forum is full of horror stories of people learning the hard way that hearing protection like ear plugs can provide a false sense of security.

 

[Rick Garner]

I went to my GP yesterday and he told me that I have excessive wax build up in my right ear, told me to go buy some ear drops, and to return on the 2nd of January to have my ear syringed and the wax (hopefully) removed.

First of all, don't let your ENT to syringe your ears as this would most probably make your tinnitus permanent. Instead, ask him to do it manually like my ENT did. If your tinnitus is caused by a wax build up, chances of recovery is pretty high but it will take a very long time. So, prepare for the ride.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I didn't notice the word "syringing" in the original post. There are many people on this forum who got T as a result of syringing. Others had their T get louder as a result of syringing. Many people have it done and are ok afterwards. However, if I were you, I would never take this risk (that is completely unnecessary).

 

[Joel Waterman]

http://tolbecs.co.nz/ear-conditions/ear-care/ear-syringing

I too warn you about getting your ears syringed. I tried to do it myself a few years ago and again recently, both times with very negative results. Wish I had learned my lesson the first time. It's up to you, but please research the dangers if syringing before you go, and I strongly advise against having it done. There is definitely a chance that it could make your situation much worse.

 

[JamesWalker95]

Thanks guys, looks like I'll cancel my syringing appointment. Definitely don't want this to get any worse. I'll see if I can look at it getting manually done. Trying to tell myself that this will just be a temporary thing but at the moment it's pretty difficult to stay positive...

EDIT: Do you guys recommend I stop using in-ear headphones when I listen to music? because at the moment it's the only way I can completely drown out the T. I've been trying to listen to white noise played on my computer out of it's speakers but I can never get it loud enough to completely drown my T out. Any advice on this would be welcomed!

 

[GregCA]

Do you guys recommend I stop using in-ear headphones when I listen to music?

I simply recommend that you keep the volume in check, which means avoid loud noises, whether through headphones, speakers, or just any "naturally occurring" noise.

because at the moment it's the only way I can completely drown out the T. I've been trying to listen to white noise played on my computer out of it's speakers but I can never get it loud enough to completely drown my T out.

That may be too loud - it depends on how loud your T is. Mine is loud enough that if I try to mask it completely, I end up having to use an unsafe volume, so I can't do that, but if your T is mild enough, you may be able to completely drown it with a much lower volume.

 

[Bill Bauer]

at the moment it's the only way I can completely drown out the T.

Sometimes "sound masking" is referred to as "sound enrichment". The idea is not to drown out the sound of T, the idea is to give yourself something else to listen to, besides your T.

For manual wax removal, your doctor should use tools that look like

and ear curette like

 

[JamesWalker95]

Thanks for the responses guys, I've been quite upset again about it all day today, it's especially getting to me whilst I'm at work, I can't concentrate on anything and the thought of it being permanent literally makes me spontaneously burst into tears, or near enough in front of co-workers, which is obviously quite embarrassing. I've noticed that it does sound exactly like temporary tinnitus I've experienced before, like after a gig, that has eventually gone away, and I'm hoping and praying on my lucky stars that this is exactly that, and that it is going to fade after a few days. Again, it has only been around since Sunday night (4 days). Should I still be hopeful of it leaving?

Thanks again guys for all your help.

 

[Bill Bauer]

I can't concentrate on anything and the thought of it being permanent literally makes me spontaneously burst into tears

This is a common reaction. I had never cried as an adult, but during the second month after onset I wept uncontrollably multiple times a day, every day. Don't worry, this stage will eventually pass.

Should I still be hopeful of it leaving?

If it doesn't resolve within a week, you might still hear silence again, but it might take 3-6-12-24 months before that happens. Some published sources consider T to be permanent if it doesn't resolve after 2 years. In my opinion (shared by several others here), if it continues to gradually improve, then there is still hope that it will be gone, even if it is still there after 2 years. There is no reason for the improvement to stop after 2 years.

 

[GregCA]

Again, it has only been around since Sunday night (4 days). Should I still be hopeful of it leaving?

Yes. There's no reason to lose hope. But there is also no reason to be unreasonably optimistic. Keep your options open to both scenarios.

 

[JamesWalker95]

After getting dumb upset last night, I have spent the whole day not minding my tinnitus at all. I haven't even got upset once. I think I've found an optimism and that if it's gonna stick around, that's that and I'm gonna have to learn to live with it. And I'm happy about this because if that's the case... That means it's gonna eventually fade & be just a memory.

Thanks for your support so far guys, I will keep my journey updated on this thread.

 

[Maureen777]

I had my ears syringed about 2 months ago. I wish I hadn't, because 3 days later my tinnitus got louder than it had been in years. It could've been a coincidence I suppose, but now that I'm reading other people's posts about it, maybe it did make the tinnitus worse.

 

[Holly_93]

Hi James, I am having a similar situation to you. I have it in my right ear and have had for 6 days, doctor says my ear is completely waxed up. How did you go about your wax build up? Did your T ever decrease?