Sinus-Related Tinnitus?

Hi everyone,

I wanted to come on here and ask some advice because I have been scrolling, googling, lurking all over the internet looking for solutions, diagnoses or just something to ease my worries. My apologies if this is long, I feel the need to be very descriptive.

Two weeks ago I got a flu-like cold that quickly went up to my sinuses. I had the feeling of plugged-up ears and some rushing with it. While other symptoms got better, I started dealing with more mucus. One morning I got up and tried to unclog my ears, but nothing budged in my right ear, resulting in pressure, pain, ringing and panic. I started damping, got Sinutab from the pharmacy and tried desperately to balance out the pressure in my ears. The next morning everything felt more open, but the ringing stayed together with a little bit of hearing loss on the right (more like there is something slightly covering my ear). After this I also experienced some mild dizziness for two days.

I saw a GP and she confirmed fluid behind both eardrums. She gave me Prednisolone nasal spray for five days and Mometasone nasal spray for after that. If it didn’t go away after a week, she said she would give me antibiotics. After a week of using the sprays, all my symptoms got better, my ears felt normal aside from some cracking and popping with jaw movements. Only the ringing got worse, with now on and off buzzing in my left ear as well. Some days it was clearly very strong in my right ear, other moments it felt more towards the middle of my head, which made me go a little insane not knowing anymore if it was really there or if I was making it all up.

Yesterday I saw another GP (mine was unavailable), she saw the same fluid and she prescribed me Medrol (which I feel slightly iffy about since a LOT of people are sick right now and this medication suppresses your immune system). Today my ears feel more blocked again.

I am really seeking out some advice on how to deal with this for now. Everywhere I look seems to say that this will most likely take a while. I also have an acquaintance who has a similar story, and it took a lot of time for them to get to a specialist. They suffer from tinnitus to this day, so that only makes me more worried. I’ve been wary of tinnitus since a young age (I’m a musician and music researcher), so this has caused immediate distress and anxiety. I’ve never been irresponsible with sound except for the few loud noise situations in your life you cannot control. I have been unable to pick up my work, missing deadlines and crying a lot. A lot of people around me try to calm me by saying I’m reacting too much too soon, but that isn’t really helping. The thought of this never going away is pushing me into a really dark place.

I should mention that a few years ago I walked around with post-nasal drip for 6 months. No GP could make it go away. When I finally got to an ENT, they saw my septum was deviated, tested for any allergies (I had none) and ordered a CT scan. The scan showed that I had one acute and two chronic sinus infections, despite not having many symptoms. Ever since then I have always felt my ears plug up when I have a cold/flu.

On Wednesday I see an assistant at the ENT department (specialists are fully booked until April). I’m a bit scared of being brushed off so I wondered if anyone has advice on what to say or ask for to hopefully get to a next step?

Are there people with similar experiences? Anyone who can offer advice or soothing words? I feel like I can’t make anyone around me understand how much mental pain this is causing me.

Thank you!

 

Welcome to the forum @Mirabbm. Sinus infection is a known cause of tinnitus. I hope your ENT can help to heal the infection. When the infection is healed, hopefully the fluid build-up will be over too. ENTs are usually not trained to deal with tinnitus. But if the tinnitus is caused by some medical issues of the ears, then things will get better when the root cause of the tinnitus is removed.

In the meantime, try not to worry about tinnitus. Either it will fade or you will likely habituate to it. I suffered a lot mentally initially too but today I don't give a dime and live a good life. I even wrote 2 success stories to share some helpful strategies. Check them out if you have the time. Take care. God bless.

From Darkness to Light, How I Recovered from Tinnitus & Hyperacusis

How to Habituate to SSHL and New Loud Tinnitus

 

Hi, @Mirabbm. I would love to know how you are doing now?

 

I have allergies, and when they flare up, my tinnitus also flares up. Coming from the desert in the American Southwest to the Deep South, where I'm originally from, has been an adjustment too. High humidity is a problem with tinnitus. I'm acclimated to the humidity after 1 1/2 years, but there are still days when we get locked in with rain that my tinnitus is bothersome. Thank God my box fan by the bed and my little sound machine gave me enough masking to help me sleep.