Thought My Tinnitus Was Caused by Hearing Loss — Maybe I Was Wrong...?

Hello, fellow ringers:

About a month ago, I got tinnitus. This coincided with a few days after a weekend of going to clubs (two in three days). At first, I thought that sound damage was the culprit. My ears were sore, sounds were more sensitive than usual, and of course, there was tinnitus. I went to an ENT and tested well on a sound test, for what that's worth. (I know, hidden hearing loss, hidden hearing loss.)

Since then, the tinnitus has gone down marginally, maybe a 2 or 3 out of 10, primarily in my right ear. The sound has changed, too. It's gone from crickets-plus-chalkboard-scratching to crickets-with-softer-high-pitch-noise. Occasionally, I'll hear spikes that last for a few seconds, where other tones come in the mix. Overall, the sounds seem to be changing for the better.

My question is this: when I swallow, or even just flex my ears, I hear a clicking. To my understanding, this is a Eustachian tube thing, but I'm not sure. Is this ETD, and if so, could this be the cause of my aural fullness (which has greatly diminished over the past month) and tinnitus? One important piece of information is that I have been sleeping and commuting with earplugs, which are in for a significant portion of the day.

Thanks for your help. It's greatly appreciated.

--n

 

My opinion is that you have noise-induced hearing loss.

 

I have heard many cases of tinnitus being caused by hearing loss and neck/jaw issues combined.

I believe hearing loss is the main culprit but also that their are other factors at play but technically hearing loss is the root problem as the audiotory brain is generating tinnitus to compensate for hearing loss.

 

Sounds like noise induced hearing loss is the major culprit here, although there may be other factors coming into play.

Do you need so much earplug use? Is it all foam earplugs, or some musician earplugs or something else?

 

Your T is fading rapidly. Some people take a year or two to get to where you are now. If I were you, I would keep doing what you have been doing (e.g., protecting your ears during commutes). Your T ought to continue fading. Assuming that you won't hurt your ears again, in a year or two you ought to feel a lot better compared to how you are feeling now.

Most of us (and many healthy people too) have that clicking when we swallow. No need to worry about it.

It seems to be working amazingly well for him. Why would he want to change?

Check out
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...eone-else-who-has-tinnitus.26850/#post-307822

Also take a look at the posts below.

 

noise induced heaeing loss