A little background - I'm 32, about to graduate vet school, and have a very long history of anxiety and misophonia. On 3/9/2022, I was working at my computer when all of a sudden the sound in my right ear cut out and a high frequency ringing started. This has happened a few times before, but always resolved within 30-60 seconds. This time, it didn't. The hearing came back, the ringing stayed. To say it's causing distress, anxiety, desperation, and hopelessness seems like an understatement. It genuinely came out of the blue, no exposure to concerts or loud sounds, no trauma, nothing. I do have TMJ, but the character of the tinnitus doesn't seem to change based on the position of my jaw which I had read is one way to distinguish TMJ related from something else (maybe that's false, who knows...).
Because of my misophonia, I've always slept with earplugs in as I can't stand the sound of my cats cleaning themselves, drinking water, etc. I have to admit I'd shove them in there pretty deep. I don't know if this could have been an inciting cause, but it's the best reason I can come up with. There's no earwax to easily explain the sudden onset, and no history of hearing loss or events that would cause hearing loss. I'm truly at a loss, and I'm always feeling like I'm at the precipice of a panic attack. I've cried myself to sleep every night since it started. I can't get in to see an ENT until 4/1, and I'm terrified that the longer this goes on the more likely it is to become permanent. I'll add that the ringing is now predominantly in my left ear, and is associated with a mild feeling of fullness in the ear like I need to "pop" it and occasional mild aching pain.
So I come to you, knowledgeable fellow tinnitus sufferers. Does anyone know statistics about spontaneous disappearance of tinnitus if there's no obvious reason it began in the first place? I'm definitely and acutely aware that maybe there's something more serious going on within my inner ear or brain, which is equally terrifying. I've found some relief actually in playing the exact frequency of my tinnitus (~3600 Hz). For some reason playing the frequency will cause my own ringing to briefly stop after I pause the sound for about 5-10 seconds. Those 5-10 seconds of silence are utter bliss. I'm trying to stay hopeful that one day I will be able to appreciate silence again, that I can listen to the wind in the trees and the crashing of waves on the beach without the intrusive and horrible ringing. I can't imagine how people cope with this over years and years. I already feel like I'm losing my mind, and it's greatly impacted by ability to perform during my clinical rotations. I feel like my nerves, my memory, and my clarity of mind are shot to hell. I can't sleep. I'm angry all the time. I just pray that there may be hope for me.
Because of my misophonia, I've always slept with earplugs in as I can't stand the sound of my cats cleaning themselves, drinking water, etc. I have to admit I'd shove them in there pretty deep. I don't know if this could have been an inciting cause, but it's the best reason I can come up with. There's no earwax to easily explain the sudden onset, and no history of hearing loss or events that would cause hearing loss. I'm truly at a loss, and I'm always feeling like I'm at the precipice of a panic attack. I've cried myself to sleep every night since it started. I can't get in to see an ENT until 4/1, and I'm terrified that the longer this goes on the more likely it is to become permanent. I'll add that the ringing is now predominantly in my left ear, and is associated with a mild feeling of fullness in the ear like I need to "pop" it and occasional mild aching pain.
So I come to you, knowledgeable fellow tinnitus sufferers. Does anyone know statistics about spontaneous disappearance of tinnitus if there's no obvious reason it began in the first place? I'm definitely and acutely aware that maybe there's something more serious going on within my inner ear or brain, which is equally terrifying. I've found some relief actually in playing the exact frequency of my tinnitus (~3600 Hz). For some reason playing the frequency will cause my own ringing to briefly stop after I pause the sound for about 5-10 seconds. Those 5-10 seconds of silence are utter bliss. I'm trying to stay hopeful that one day I will be able to appreciate silence again, that I can listen to the wind in the trees and the crashing of waves on the beach without the intrusive and horrible ringing. I can't imagine how people cope with this over years and years. I already feel like I'm losing my mind, and it's greatly impacted by ability to perform during my clinical rotations. I feel like my nerves, my memory, and my clarity of mind are shot to hell. I can't sleep. I'm angry all the time. I just pray that there may be hope for me.
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