Thanks for the tips and sorry you're experiencing a similar situation.
Are there a lot of cases where concussion related tinnitus goes away or gets better?
"Post Concussion Syndrome: In most people, symptoms occur within the first seven to 10 days and go away within three months. Sometimes, they can persist for a year or more."
From Mayo Clinic, they list ringing in the ears as a symptom.
I'm scared that my tinnitus will remain high pitched <it's gotten higher since onset> or won't go away at all. I don't want to end up with my career, quality of life and everything robbed forever by tinnitus. I can hear it with the tv on. I can hear it in the car with trucks passing by on the road.
I don't have hope that it will improve cause it's already so high pitched and disturbing.
This is the one thing keeping me going, don't know if it's true for my high pitched tinnitus from an ear injury.
"For many patients who have experienced tinnitus for less than six months, its natural course is to improve over time, and most people do not go on to have persistent, bothersome tinnitus."
Sorry to hear this happened to you as well. It seems we are in a similar predicament but yours does sound more severe than mine (at the moment) unfortunately. Mine is a low buzz or hum, mainly noticable in silent rooms and especially at night. I bought a cool mist/humidifier machine and put it about 5 feet from my head next to my bed. The hum and sound of the spray drowns out the buzzing (look into one of these machines). My ear also feels full and unable to pop at times. I also am sensitive to sound. My tinnitus is only affecting the ear I was hit in or around —jaw, side of head etc. My other ear is okay (knock on wood). I am 7 weeks in, so it looks like we both suffered physical assaults around the same time.
For what it is worth, I have found a few posts here and there on MMA sites and a few guys who said it went away for them around 3 or 4 months, one guy around 6 months or so. I have no detectable hearing loss. I was tested by an audiologist. The audiologist is still referring me on to an ENT because he is concerned about the assault/head trauma and the symptoms of one sided tinnitus along with the occasional headaches I am experiencing. I don't know what the ENT will be able to do but I feel it is worth going. Also, the audiologist said based on his experience, the Tinnitus he has seen in patients with minor head injuries usually goes away.
The good news is that from what I have read, most sites seem to say things go away after a while but of course everyone is different. Only 12% of all tinnitus cases are reportedly from head trauma so not sure if that is because it goes away in a lot of cases or that it is just rare or possibly a combination.
I honestly think the best thing we can do is look at post concussion recovery protocols. I didn't know this but you can get a concussion from just having whiplash. I was never unconscious but again, you do not need to lose consciousness to suffer a concussion.
Just based on observations, I have found that stress is a huge trigger for me. It makes things so much worse. Just having quiet days but also keeping busy. No car stereo, limited TV (no movies with explosions etc.), basically, I am living a low key life at the moment, eating healthy and keeping my adrenaline down at all costs. Meditation for 20 minutes before bed works wonders and helps with calming my mind and sleeping. There are lots of guided meditations on YouTube, just play them on your phone WITHOUT EAR BUDS. Just put your phone on speaker and the phone on your bed.
So try to remain calm and also talk to your Doctor about a sleeping aide and an anti-anxiety medication to help you manage (I am on both and find them helpful). Mirtazipine 15mg at bedtime for sleep is excellent and I also take Klonopin 0.5mg 3x per day. Klonopin is a benzodiazepine similar to Xanax but not as strong. Both of these I have learned are used by a lot of Tinnitus sufferers.
Not sure what your work situation is like but if you can get some time off, or work from home, that could help too. I find being around the office is stressful for me right now with all the noise. My employer has been very understanding so I am lucky and able to do some work from home right now where it is quiet. But if you are able to get time off, you also want to keep busy and not just sit and think about the Tinnitus.
Hang in there. There is a fairly good chance that in 3-4 months or even a year, we will be in a much better place. I am not sure if you follow hockey but I am in Canada and Sidney Crosby has had 4 concussions and the first or second one (can't remember which) sidelined him for over a year but he came back, symptom free and went on to win two more Stanley Cups. It is just one random and somewhat meaningless example but point being, there is hope. Everyone said he was done (career wise). There is no treatment of magical pill a Doctor can give us to heal our head trauma, we just need to eat healthy, stay low key and give the brain/ear and body a chance to heal. So just think about these kinds of things and try to be patient and keep the physical/mental stress down. I know it is hard.
From your quote, here is the same. Remember, they said in most people it goes away within 3 months and sometimes it can persist for a year or more. So those are pretty comforting words. No guarantees but a reason for optimism imo.
"Overview
Post-concussion syndrome is a complex disorder in which various symptoms — such as headaches and dizziness — last for weeks and sometimes months after the injury that caused the concussion.
Concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that usually happens after a blow to the head. It can also occur with violent shaking and movement of the head or body. You don't have to lose consciousness to get a concussion or post-concussion syndrome. In fact, the risk of post-concussion syndrome doesn't appear to be associated with the severity of the initial injury.
In most people, symptoms occur within the first seven to 10 days and go away within three months. Sometimes, they can persist for a year or more.
The goal of treatment after concussion is to effectively manage your symptoms.
Symptoms
Post-concussion symptoms include:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Loss of concentration and memory
- Ringing in the ears (Tinnitus)
- Blurry vision
- Noise and light sensitivity
- Rarely, decreases in taste and smell
Post-concussion headaches can vary and may feel like tension-type headaches or migraines. Most often, they are tension-type headaches. These may be associated with a neck injury that happened at the same time as the head injury."
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