THIS SUCKS

[Tutuff]

This all started on Sunday the 29th of December with a couple nights of poor sleep. After a couple of nights I began to take stock of my physical and mental condition to see if I could figure out why I was struggling with sleep. It was at that point that I realized I had a very slight ringing in my ears. It was barely noticeable on a conscious level, but it was apparently enough to keep me agitated when trying to sleep. I also noticed a slight stuffiness in my ears and a slight pressure in my lower sinuses. I believe this was enough to cause some minor inflammation in my throat, which in turn caused the lower parts of my eustachian tubes to become partially blocked. I also believe the top parts of the tubes were working fine.

At this point the tinnitus was negligible, and may have resolved itself in short order. Unfortunately my first reaction to any sinus issue is to use saline nasal spray. Once I started using the spray, the tinnitus became much louder. I believe the saline was going down the tubes and backing up into my ears.

On Saturday the 4th I went to an immediate care center because the ringing was becoming quite loud. The doctor said he didn't see any signs of infection, but he also stated that it is possible to have a mild cold/infection that could cause these symptoms and not be detected. He gave me a Z-Pack and cough syrup. I don't believe the antibiotics did anything, but I believe the antihistamines in the cough syrup were very helpful. For the next week I had some slight ringing through the day, but it would disappear at night after I used the cough syrup.

By Friday the 10th I began to wonder why the ringing hadn't stopped completely. I began to look for a common denominator, and I came up with the antihistamines being the beneficial component. I took a 24 hour OTC antihistamine that afternoon, and the ringing stopped completely; until Sunday afternoon that is. My sinuses were really dry by then so I began using the saline spray again. It wasn't long after that, that the ringing returned. Why I did not make the connection at that point is beyond me. But I became angry that my 'sinus' thing wouldn't clear up, so I began an aggressive campaign to clear them.

I began using saline nasal spray like mad. I set up a vaporizer and sat in front of it for hours. And even as the ringing became louder I didn't relent. I used a nasal decongestant spray. At one point I took an oral decongestant. I believe that I did clear my lower sinuses. At one point I felt them break free, and the slight pressure/congestion vanished. Unfortunately I sent my ears into hyper-drive in the process.

Since I quit using any sinus medication on Tuesday the 14th my ears have gotten progressively better. I had one bad 24 hour period after a very strenuous workout on Friday the 17th, but I expect that it may take my ears some time to calm down.

I had another bad bout after a fire alarm went off at work on Monday the 27th. It lasted about 24 hours and my ears seemed to calm down a little for a few days. Then I did another full work out session on Thursday, and my ears went nuts again for several hours.

I took a closer look at the ingredients in the cough syrup i used before, and it turns out it wasn't an antihistamine. It was Guaifenesin, which is a mucus thinner. I've been taking that and an antihistamine and my ears have calmed downed again. There is still some slight hissing/ringing. And now I am constantly worrying whether they're going to go nuclear on me at any given moment.

I have seen an ENT, and he said everything in my ears looks great. I have an MRI scheduled for Tuesday the 4th.

I truly believe that this is somehow sinus related. There are just too many coincidences for it to not be.
But I have to admit; I am a little freaked out. The volume of the ringing can be SOOOO loud. It has actually caused me to have some physical reactions from the anxiety. Even after a couple Valiums.
And the fear that this may be my new reality for the rest of my life is overwhelming.

Has anyone had anything similar to my situation; and did it turn out to be a temporary, or a long term thing?

 

[Beth]

Hi Tutuff, your reaction to the tinnitus is the only thing that will keep it going. You are still in the very early stages with it so do all you can to take your focus away from it and get on with your life. You're doing all the sensible things like getting checked for anything physical so that's fine.

One thing that you may find hard to believe at this stage but is crucial for your wellbeing is that you are actually hearing the perfectly normal safe sounds in your brain/auditory system/blood flow increase because of tension caused by infection/muscle movement etc etc which have always been there but when you got into an anxious state because of your first experience of tinnitus you focused all your attention on it so it became more noticable. Keep as calm and as relaxed as possible and your brain will get the message that the sounds are not a threat and they will no longer be passed on to your concious hearing, ie you will no longer be aware of them. The sounds are present to some degree in everyone all the time but our subconcious 'hears' sounds before our concious mind does and if it's perceived as safe it is not passed on, just like if you're in the kitchen and the fridge is going on and off, you're not aware of it, or a ticking clock. Eventually you will habituate to the sounds and not hear them.

I had so many ear problems that I don't have time to list them and most of them were caused by my worrying about getting them even before I did! Hang on and be kind to yourself.....you WILL be OK. This is a good place for help and support.

 

[Tutuff]

Hi Tuftuf, your reaction to the tinnitus is the only thing that will keep it going. You are still in the very early stages with it so do all you can to take your focus away from it and get on with your life. You're doing all the sensible things like getting checked for anything physical so that's fine.

One thing that you may find hard to believe at this stage but is crucial for your wellbeing is that you are actually hearing the perfectly normal safe sounds in your brain/auditory system/blood flow increase because of tension caused by infection/muscle movement etc etc which have always been there but when you got into an anxious state because of your first experience of tinnitus you focused all your attention on it so it became more noticable. Keep as calm and as relaxed as possible and your brain will get the message that the sounds are not a threat and they will no longer be passed on to your concious hearing, ie you will no longer be aware of them. The sounds are present to some degree in everyone all the time but our subconcious 'hears' sounds before our concious mind does and if it's perceived as safe it is not passed on, just like if you're in the kitchen and the fridge is going on and off, you're not aware of it, or a ticking clock. Eventually you will habituate to the sounds and not hear them.

I had so many ear problems that I don't have time to list them and most of them were caused by my worrying about getting them even before I did! Hang on and be kind to yourself.....you WILL be OK. This is a good place for help and support.

Thanks for your response. I have had some low level of hiss/whine in my right ear for quite some time. I became habituated to that long ago. The low level "T" is nothing. I have been taking college courses for several years, and I had 2 CERT exams yesterday. I managed to spend many, many hours studying while my head was ringing and I still did find on the exams. I can live with that. I can even sleep with that. Its the UNGODLY meltdowns that I have experienced that have me worried.

Take 2 alarm clocks with a really loud buzzer for the alarm. Tape one to each ear and let them run for about 15 hours. That is what i have experienced a couple of times now. I did not believe your ears could generate internal sounds like that.

 

[Beth]

I'm so sorry you're suffering so much. I had sounds so loud that they made me vomit and I had difficulty hearing normal conversation above the sounds in my ears so I do understand. Please keep telling yourself that they are generated in your head and as loud and awful as they are, they can and will diminish. Have you read the TRT website? That explains that tinnitus can be habituated regardless of the volume or the amount of time a person has had it. Maybe some anti-anxiety medication would help to get you through this rough spot. I was very grateful for it and once my anxiety had decreased the volume did too. I wish you well.