- Mar 11, 2025
- 1
- Tinnitus Since
- 2018
- Cause of Tinnitus
- Exposure to loud noises frequently
I am a 52-year-old male who developed tinnitus after constant exposure to loud noise, including firearms, concerts, and an ear piercing alarm that was the final straw. My tinnitus started in my right ear in 2018. Although it initially freaked me out, I got used to it fairly quickly, and it only bothered me occasionally.
In January of this year, I had a persistent chest infection that just would not go away. It finally cleared up for a week but then came back. I was prescribed Amoxicillin, but it did not help. Around the same time, I had traction therapy on my neck for pain. It was a pulsing type traction, five seconds on, five seconds off, for about 20 minutes. The next day, my tinnitus became noticeably worse. I am not sure if the worsening was due to the chest infection or the traction.
A few weeks later, I turned my head to the left while reversing my car and suddenly went almost deaf. I had a roaring sensation in my head, and my tinnitus intensified dramatically. My hearing was muffled, but it eventually returned. I do not actually have much hearing loss, but this episode was alarming.
I was prescribed a high dose of steroids, Prednisolone I think, for a week, which seemed to help. My tinnitus fluctuated, one good day, one bad day, then another good day. At times, it nearly disappeared. But now, it has come back with a vengeance. I also experience brief drops in hearing that feel almost like a squeak, if that makes sense.
I am extremely stressed, my jaw is sore, and I am holding a lot of tension in my neck, which is making the tinnitus worse. It feels like an ever increasing problem. An ENT specialist checked me out and suggested Betahistine.
Where do I even start to figure this out? Is the issue coming from my neck, jaw, or ears? The traction strap was around my jaw, and I was sore for a few days afterward.
Sorry for the long first post, I just needed to get that off my chest!
In January of this year, I had a persistent chest infection that just would not go away. It finally cleared up for a week but then came back. I was prescribed Amoxicillin, but it did not help. Around the same time, I had traction therapy on my neck for pain. It was a pulsing type traction, five seconds on, five seconds off, for about 20 minutes. The next day, my tinnitus became noticeably worse. I am not sure if the worsening was due to the chest infection or the traction.
A few weeks later, I turned my head to the left while reversing my car and suddenly went almost deaf. I had a roaring sensation in my head, and my tinnitus intensified dramatically. My hearing was muffled, but it eventually returned. I do not actually have much hearing loss, but this episode was alarming.
I was prescribed a high dose of steroids, Prednisolone I think, for a week, which seemed to help. My tinnitus fluctuated, one good day, one bad day, then another good day. At times, it nearly disappeared. But now, it has come back with a vengeance. I also experience brief drops in hearing that feel almost like a squeak, if that makes sense.
I am extremely stressed, my jaw is sore, and I am holding a lot of tension in my neck, which is making the tinnitus worse. It feels like an ever increasing problem. An ENT specialist checked me out and suggested Betahistine.
Where do I even start to figure this out? Is the issue coming from my neck, jaw, or ears? The traction strap was around my jaw, and I was sore for a few days afterward.
Sorry for the long first post, I just needed to get that off my chest!
