Hi, I'm a first time poster. I've been dealing with my tinnitus in my right ear for a month now. This forum has been a huge savior for me to help cope and get some helpful information.
I have no idea (not convinced) why my Tinnitus has started and am hoping this forum may be able to help! So here is my long winded story...
Some possibly useful background information: Mid December I had a sore in my esophagus right next to my heart, it had me thinking I had heart issues. So I went to the doctor and was told that my blood pressure is 136/80 and that there is no heart issue, just a sore from bad heart burn. This turned out to be the case. So over the next month I worked on exercising and lowering my blood pressure. Blood pressure was probably high due to some anxiety.
Near the week the ringing began: While exercising on January 7th I did something to my neck, when i shook out my arms, felt like a pinched nerve or something. It took about 1.5/2 weeks for this to finally heal up. Initially for the first couple days I couldn't move my head back over my shoulders. Was definitely one of the worse neck pulls I've ever had. By the second week I started to notice the ringing in my right ear. Both ears also felt clogged and had some pain in both ears. Also my right ear with ringing was pretty sensitive to loud noises.
1'sh weeks after the ringing began: The following week on January 21st I went to my Primary Care Physician about the ringing. The doctor said the ringing is most likely due to allergies and fluid build up into the inner ear (ear was clear when he checked it). So he prescribed prednisone for 6 days to reduce the inflammation. I do not remember having any allergy symptoms at the time (if so it was very mild). Also my blood pressure was back down to a better level 122/70.
After a couple days on the prednisone in the middle of the night the ringing changed from ringing to beeping, then stopped for about a second (amazing!). Then started right back up. I remember being in an odd position when it happened laying on my back.
2'ish weeks after the ringing began: Finished the prednisone treatment and went to the doctor again (a different one). Was told my ear was perfectly clear and that I should load up on allergy meds to ensure no fluid gets in there while it heals. Also was given an antibiotic (cefdinir) to ensure no infection exists that could not be seen in the ear. So in conjunction of the antibiotic I also took sudafed, allegra and flonase for a week.
3'ish weeks after the ringing began: A couple days into the 3rd week the ringing turned very loud for a second then very soft and a weird drainage type feeling happened in that ear. But again the ringing went back to its normal tone but a little softer (thank god!). Near the end of this week I met my first ENT who told me to get used to it, its life. He gave me a hearing test and said my hearing is excellent. He did mention that if the prednisone helped then it might be worth trying again.
4'ish weeks after the ringing began: Since the ENT mentioned trying prednisone again, my primary care physician gave me another 6 day order. Well after the 3rd day of being on it I felt what seemed like a drainage sensation going from my eardrum down the back side of my jaw for about 30 seconds. The ringing continued the whole time. Was a weird sensation I hadn't felt before. Was that really drainage? Could it have been a nerve in my neck?
This same week my jaw also felt very tired. I have a night guard and was told I have aggressive grinding (have had the night guard for years). So I think that might have been from me being very anxious about not sleeping well, and being scared. I've taken it very easy on my jaw and it seems to be just about back to normal now.
At present a full month'ish after the ringing began: I am able to sleep at night now with the help of a humidifier running all night and some calming tea (alcohol helps too). During the day I'm noticing that my brain is tuning out the ringing better and I don't notice it as much (thanks to this forum I've been working on coping with it). But now I am noticing what some people on this forum call, 'head noise', where its a variably loud hissing sound that comes and goes. The vents at my work seem to trigger this pretty hard. It feels like its in my head and not my ears per say. My ears are no longer sensitive to loud noises as they were as well.
The future: I'm at an impasse currently. I feel I have the following options moving forward...
More questions:
I have no idea (not convinced) why my Tinnitus has started and am hoping this forum may be able to help! So here is my long winded story...
Some possibly useful background information: Mid December I had a sore in my esophagus right next to my heart, it had me thinking I had heart issues. So I went to the doctor and was told that my blood pressure is 136/80 and that there is no heart issue, just a sore from bad heart burn. This turned out to be the case. So over the next month I worked on exercising and lowering my blood pressure. Blood pressure was probably high due to some anxiety.
Near the week the ringing began: While exercising on January 7th I did something to my neck, when i shook out my arms, felt like a pinched nerve or something. It took about 1.5/2 weeks for this to finally heal up. Initially for the first couple days I couldn't move my head back over my shoulders. Was definitely one of the worse neck pulls I've ever had. By the second week I started to notice the ringing in my right ear. Both ears also felt clogged and had some pain in both ears. Also my right ear with ringing was pretty sensitive to loud noises.
1'sh weeks after the ringing began: The following week on January 21st I went to my Primary Care Physician about the ringing. The doctor said the ringing is most likely due to allergies and fluid build up into the inner ear (ear was clear when he checked it). So he prescribed prednisone for 6 days to reduce the inflammation. I do not remember having any allergy symptoms at the time (if so it was very mild). Also my blood pressure was back down to a better level 122/70.
After a couple days on the prednisone in the middle of the night the ringing changed from ringing to beeping, then stopped for about a second (amazing!). Then started right back up. I remember being in an odd position when it happened laying on my back.
2'ish weeks after the ringing began: Finished the prednisone treatment and went to the doctor again (a different one). Was told my ear was perfectly clear and that I should load up on allergy meds to ensure no fluid gets in there while it heals. Also was given an antibiotic (cefdinir) to ensure no infection exists that could not be seen in the ear. So in conjunction of the antibiotic I also took sudafed, allegra and flonase for a week.
3'ish weeks after the ringing began: A couple days into the 3rd week the ringing turned very loud for a second then very soft and a weird drainage type feeling happened in that ear. But again the ringing went back to its normal tone but a little softer (thank god!). Near the end of this week I met my first ENT who told me to get used to it, its life. He gave me a hearing test and said my hearing is excellent. He did mention that if the prednisone helped then it might be worth trying again.
4'ish weeks after the ringing began: Since the ENT mentioned trying prednisone again, my primary care physician gave me another 6 day order. Well after the 3rd day of being on it I felt what seemed like a drainage sensation going from my eardrum down the back side of my jaw for about 30 seconds. The ringing continued the whole time. Was a weird sensation I hadn't felt before. Was that really drainage? Could it have been a nerve in my neck?
This same week my jaw also felt very tired. I have a night guard and was told I have aggressive grinding (have had the night guard for years). So I think that might have been from me being very anxious about not sleeping well, and being scared. I've taken it very easy on my jaw and it seems to be just about back to normal now.
At present a full month'ish after the ringing began: I am able to sleep at night now with the help of a humidifier running all night and some calming tea (alcohol helps too). During the day I'm noticing that my brain is tuning out the ringing better and I don't notice it as much (thanks to this forum I've been working on coping with it). But now I am noticing what some people on this forum call, 'head noise', where its a variably loud hissing sound that comes and goes. The vents at my work seem to trigger this pretty hard. It feels like its in my head and not my ears per say. My ears are no longer sensitive to loud noises as they were as well.
The future: I'm at an impasse currently. I feel I have the following options moving forward...
- Get a second opinion at another ENT?
- See a dentist to rule out TMJ issue?
- See a upper cervical chiropractor about neck?
- Take a higher dosage of prednisone for a longer period of time?
- Just wait and see what happens and continue to try ignoring/coping with it.
More questions:
- Does anybody think this ringing in my right ear actually started due to allergies as doctor suggests?
- Is it possible that my neck injury started this?
- Does anyone think the 'drainage' feeling I mention going from my eardrum down the back of my jaw under the ear was actually fluid draining, or perhaps it was a nerve doing something?
- Is anyone from the Maryland/Pennsylvania area and have recommendations for Tinnitus specializing doctors?
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