Hi everyone,
I unfortunately do not have enough time to get into the specifics, but I will add a post to the (Introduce Yourself) section shortly.
I have had tinnitus (both sides) since 2007, it started suddenly and my hearing tests have all been perfect ever since. It took me 2 years of daily hell and a few years more to accept my tinnitus and to live my life. I actually managed to live a tinnitus "carefree" life for the biggest part of the last 10 years, tinnitus seldomly crossed my mind and I never complained about it, googled anything, (it was liberating), up to a point where it did not affect my life anymore.
I had gone through some horrible, stressful periods in my life, none of these events caused a significant change in the long term (for my tinnitus).
Now... 2020.
Since October 2020, I have been dealing with a horrible spike (that never ends) and my tinnitus has become unbearable and I am trying my best not to fall deep into depression. It. is. hard.
I felt like I was set back 10 years (minus the ignorance I had about tinnitus back then), it just felt so much worse. None of my coping mechanisms, habituation methods seem to work. I wake up in the morning and it's just so loud , instantly... hearing is still "amazing" and all the tests came back inconclusive.
Now, my situation is hard enough as it is. Since October I have been paying EXTRA attention to protecting my ears (on top of the already existing precautions I have been taking for 10 years, you guys know what I mean).
Now I want to avoid any acoustic trauma at all cost, the prospect of my tinnitus getting worse or to have hearing loss on top of my existing non acoustic induced tinnitus is unthinkable.
So today, I FEEL like I experienced an acoustic trauma with the slamming of a steel door against a steel frame (it slipped out of my hands). It was quite loud and I immediately felt anxiety ridden... holding my ears closed to check if my tinnitus increased... well it's still loud, but when I press (and I mean really press) my finger on my right ear to keep it shut I hear a different tinnitus sound (usually HF). It sounds like when you circle a glass with a wet finger in the rhythm of a telegram... very faint, almost sounds exactly like the sounds they play in the beginning of a hearing test if that makes sense?
Now, I went to a locally available ENT (the kind that doesn't care) and got prescribed Prednisone (20 mg) for 5 days (starting tomorrow) after doing a hearing test (again... perfect).
I am asking myself: How likely is it that this "new" sound was already there but I didn't notice? How likely is it that a few days/weeks down the line I will have complications because of this event (without treatment)? Will this make my not noised induced tinnitus worse by adding a potentially noise induced component to it? Can the slamming of a steel door on a steel door frame cause that much damage?
More importantly, this stress I have been under since October and the many ENT visits, CT scans, tests and medical visits have really been triggering all my long forgotten anxiety and OCD...
Considering the current pandemic is it even safe to take Prednisone? Was I prescribed it just so I would "shut up"? Will taking the medicine just aggravate my anxiety and OCD and put me down a dark path of "seeking reassurance"... stressing me out much more in the long run?
Should I wait and see? I feel like I should but also like I would regret not acting quickly now if things get worse in the future...
Well... that's my current headspace... not good.
Happy for any advice.
Cheers,
A.