My Tinnitus Is My Fault, I Feel So Hopeless

[Dorothy5271]

So I have posted on here that I think my sinus infection caused my tinnitus until I found out today that I don't have an infection anymore.

I was on Levaquin for my infection and I think that is what caused it. As soon as I google it a million things come up.

It is still a mild ring that can be masked by the tv or the fan but I'm scared it will get worse or that it will never get better.

I'm only 19 and I feel like such a failure, it's only been a couple days and all I want to do is sleep, I know it's selfish because other people's T is 10 times louder than mine. I know worrying and stressing makes it worse but I can't stop crying. I've always taken great care of my ears and this is what happens. I'm so scared.

 

[fishbone]

So I have posted on here that I think my sinus infection caused my tinnitus until I found out today that I don't have an infection anymore.

I was on Levaquin for my infection and I think that is what caused it. As soon as I google it a million things come up.

It is still a mild ring that can be masked by the tv or the fan but I'm scared it will get worse or that it will never get better.

I'm only 19 and I feel like such a failure, it's only been a couple days and all I want to do is sleep, I know it's selfish because other people's T is 10 times louder than mine. I know worrying and stressing makes it worse but I can't stop crying. I've always taken great care of my ears and this is what happens. I'm so scared.

I'm sorry you feel this way. levaquin is a harsh antibiotic indeed and it can cause many issues. What is done is done, don't beat yourself up over it. Let time do it's thing and see how you feel. Don't blame yourself for this, it is not your fault at all.

 

[Bill Bauer]

It is still a mild ring that can be masked by the tv or the fan but I'm scared it will get worse or that it will never get better.

It shouldn't get worse if you protect your ears.

There is a reasonable chance that it will fade. Give it time before you begin panicking.

 

[w-drak]

Please do not worry too much, since you are very new to the T. I am no doctor, but the negative effect of the medication can leave after some time when the body get rid of the active substance.

And I do feel selfish too, so we are in this together. But when you remain positive, you will speed up the healing process.

 

[jimH]

. As soon as I google it a million things come up.
I'm scared it will get worse or that it will never get better.
I know worrying and stressing makes it worse but I can't stop crying. I'm so scared.

.

We can really scare ourselves sometimes when we Google things. I know because I've been there and done that.

I can tell you from many years of experience dealing with the ups and downs of T that sustained fear and anxiety only make it worse. Therefore, getting your anxiety level down is one of the best things that you can do for yourself right now. Try to calm yourself down by reassuring yourself that there's a good chance that it's temporary or at least very likely to improve.
Don't presume that it's likely to get worse. That will only sustain your anxiety and fear at a high level. That's the last thing you need right now.
Take heart...I believe that you're going to begin to see some improvement soon...

 

[butterfly75]

I went through the same panic and anxiety when I first got tinnitus. I developed tinnitus a year ago at the age of seventeen and I'm 18 now. Your tinnitus might not be permanent at all. It's hard, but if you try to get through this it may go away after a very short while. Just avoid loud noises and bring earplugs with you when you go out.

 

[Dorothy5271]

I'm just trying to remind myself that things will only get better but waiting is so hard. It's especially bad at night when I'm all alone with only my thoughts.

Growing up I could literally be the poster child for ear care, I never go to concerts or movies, I leave places if it's too loud, I always wore ear plugs while swimming and I always took care of any infections I had. It just seems so unfair.

I still have pressure in my ears so I could have some swelling still that caused this but the timing of me finishing the meds then getting tinnitus freaks me out.

Most of my schooling is at home so I can just leave a fan or tv on but every Thursday I have an hour class at a library and I'm super nervous about being distracted ):

 

[jjflyman]

I'm just trying to remind myself that things will only get better but waiting is so hard. It's especially bad at night when I'm all alone with only my thoughts.

Growing up I could literally be the poster child for ear care, I never go to concerts or movies, I leave places if it's too loud, I always wore ear plugs while swimming and I always took care of any infections I had. It just seems so unfair.

I still have pressure in my ears so I could have some swelling still that caused this but the timing of me finishing the meds then getting tinnitus freaks me out.

Most of my schooling is at home so I can just leave a fan or tv on but every Thursday I have an hour class at a library and I'm super nervous about being distracted ):

This will pass. IMO you will be fine in a few months. you have not damaged your ears

 

[leledany]

Dorothy do you have such problem in family? I found very strange that a young lady made so much attention on her ears

 

[Dorothy5271]

@leledany When I was growing up I got a lot of ear infections and as a little kid I was scared I was going to go deaf. No one in my family has issues like this so my parents always protected my ears and when given the choice to go to a concert or for example go play mini golf I always chose the latter out of fear.

 

[GregCA]

@leledany When I was growing up I got a lot of ear infections and as a little kid I was scared I was going to go deaf. No one in my family has issues like this so my parents always protected my ears and when given the choice to go to a concert or for example go play mini golf I always chose the latter out of fear.

Did you have ear tubes put in?

 

[Dorothy5271]

@GregCA yes , I've had them for about a year and I've had no issues so far

 

[GregCA]

@GregCA yes , I've had them for about a year and I've had no issues so far

Good! My daughter has had them for a few months, and she complains of discomfort. Do you notice/feel them?

 

[Dorothy5271]

@GregCA For the first week or two I felt them but after a month I forgot about them completely. When I sit there and think about it I do notice them a bit but it is just "normal" at this point.

 

[GregCA]

@GregCA For the first week or two I felt them but after a month I forgot about them completely. When I sit there and think about it I do notice them a bit but it is just "normal" at this point.

OK thanks. My daughter's 3 so it's not easy to know what's really going on with them when she complains about it.

 

[Dorothy5271]

So I have calmed myself down and came up with a plan. My tinnitus is in both ears and in my right there is a higher tone along with the lower.

At night I have been using a fan because it is too hard to try to sleep without it but today I have sat in complete silence. No fan or tv. There is a chance this could fade but if not I will have to make it a normal part of life.

While being in silence I have done my daily activities and there have been moments where I'm so distracted I don't even pay attention to the ringing. It is quite annoying but I need to be able to get used to it if need be.

I know I am lucky compared to many others and I do feel quite selfish for being so depressed especially since my tinnitus is more of an annoyance than something debilitating. I know it can only get better from this point on , I'm only a teenager and I can't let something like this ruin my life.

 

[attheedgeofscience]

At night I have been using a fan because it is too hard to try to sleep without it but today I have sat in complete silence.

Perhaps your tinnitus is not as mild as you think if you need a fan to sleep in silence.

 

[Dorothy5271]

@attheedgeofscience It might not be , it's mainly just when I lay on my right side which is how I normally sleep. I'm just glad it's not blaring 24/7. I guess the best thing to compare it to is a refrigerator hum. It's annoying but It's not going to ruin my day.

 

[leledany]

I am not sure but it could be a possibility that your T is due to your ear infection at your childhood, could you give us more details?

 

[jjflyman]

Perhaps your tinnitus is not as mild as you think if you need a fan to sleep in silence

Did that make you feel better to say something like that? She said she was dealing with it and it was mild. Why try to upset her?

 

[Dorothy5271]

@leledany It started 2 days after I finished a medication that I didn't know was oxotoxic. I've never had tinnitus before this so I'm just guessing that it came from the medication. It could be mild or moderate I don't teally have any background in this.

 

[Luman]

You are showing strong signs of being able to deal with this. I am far older than you are, have had some major medical issues in my life, and I can see that you're made of strong stuff. Everybody gets depressed sometimes. It's not selfish to focus on your feelings, it is very natural, and advised. Hang in there, you're dong great, life will get easier, and your future is going to be fine.

 

[jjflyman]

@attheedgeofscience It might not be , it's mainly just when I lay on my right side which is how I normally sleep. I'm just glad it's not blaring 24/7. I guess the best thing to compare it to is a refrigerator hum. It's annoying but It's not going to ruin my day.

You should be fine in a few weeks. Learn from this and protect your ears from loud music and headphones (I know your T is not from noise, but is is a common cause) because you don't want to go through this again.

 

[Dorothy5271]

Happy update: Well I went to the ENT today and finally got some answers, the fullness in my ear is from TMJ which I now have an antibiotic for. I also learned that the other antibiotics I was on previously were kid doses and didn't even have a chance at helping.

As for the tinntus she believes that the Levaquin I was on caused it but she said it should fade away in the next few months.

I took a hearing test just to ease my anxiety and compared to the test I took last year my hearing is still above average and I have no signs of hearing loss.

Even though I probably won't be on here much I wanted to thank everyone for being so kind and reassuring. Even though I will have forgotten all about these issues soon I will still remember the advice I have been given. I ordered some high quality ear plugs that I will be wearing out and I'm staying away from certain meds. <3

 

[Dorothy5271]

I didn't want to create another thread for this but I'm a little anxious right now, I started taking prednisone today for my inflammation and a couple of minutes ago I was sitting at my desk doing homework and it sounded like someone turned an old tv on. I plugged my ears and it's clearly coming from my head. It's much louder and much more annoying , I know it's only been a week since I developed tinnitus but I was already ignoring it for hours at a time. Could this new ringing be stress or food related ? I doubt the meds caused it.

 

[Bill Bauer]

You should panic only if it doesn't go away after a month. Could prednisone be causing it?! You might consider discontinuing taking prednisone.

 

[Dorothy5271]

@Bill Bauer it actually started two days ago, both times were at night and it went away in the morning when I woke up so I thought it was the tv or something . I took two pills today and it started again after I took the second.

 

[Bill Bauer]

it actually started two days ago,

Were you taking prednisone back then?

It is so difficult to correlate tinnitus with other things!

Prednisone is used to prevent tinnitus after acoustic trauma. But like most things that can be used to treat tinnitus, some people (they are in the minority) develop louder tinnitus.

 

[Dorothy5271]

@Bill Bauer ive never taken it before but my anxiety is so bad I don't want to take the rest .

 

[Bill Bauer]

I have taken it on three occasions and it didn't harm me. The fact that you haven't been taking prednisone when this new sound first began seems to imply that it is not the culprit. You might just want to monitor your symptoms closely. Of course if the condition that you are taking prednisone for is not too serious, then it might be a good idea to just stop taking prednisone.