Hi. My tinnitus started on Saturday and my anxiety is already out of control. (I already have anxiety/PTSD/OCD/noise sensitivity, so this is like the worst possible thing to get.)
It's a horrible high-pitched whine only in my left ear. On Friday night, my cat was being loud so I put in earplugs to sleep. Years ago, I'd sleep with earplugs often (because of the noise sensitivity), but my current home is usually quiet so this was the first time in months. When I woke up and pulled out the earplugs, my left ear was pretty sore and itchy. Later in the day, I noticed a weird noise while standing in the master bedroom and tried to figure out what it was. I live near a factory that sometimes emits odd noises, so I figured it was probably coming from that. As the day went on, I noticed I could hear it in other rooms, too. Very strange.
By Sunday, I realized it wasn't coming from outside and tried unplugging lights to see if there was some electrical thing going on. My left ear was still hurting, so I was tugging at it/massaging it a little. That was when I realized the noise was coming from that ear. I remembered that my PCP had told me at my physical last summer that I had a lot of earwax and I should use drops at home to get rid of it. I'd bought the drops but never used them. Dug them out, followed the directions and used them in both ears. Got dizzy and nauseated, the ringing continued, and I started panicking. I heard the noise at yoga, in the car, everywhere. Went into work today and it somehow "joined" with the fan noise as a higher-pitched component of it. I have been in a constant state of panic and obsession.
Is this a delayed punishment for all the concerts I used to go to? My most recent one was more than three months ago. I started wearing earplugs to all shows several years ago and was in the very back row and don't remember any symptoms afterward. Could it take three months to show up? Why wouldn't it affect my right ear at all, too? Did the earplug trigger something? My ear still feels warm and irritated and itchy. The only time the noise stops is when it "pops" by itself and feels temporarily unblocked, and then the noise comes back. Other than the concerts, my life is very quiet. I avoid movie theaters and loud parties and wear earplugs to Zumba and rarely even turn on the TV. I do listen to music, but not loudly. Recently at work I'd been listening to relaxation tracks through noise-canceling earbuds. Could that have done something? I have a thousand questions and a sense of dread that this whine is now my life. Silence is what I treasure more than anything. Help.
EDIT: Forgot to mention, I take Buspar (which I wanted to stop anyway because it's not helping) and Ibuprofen (for about five days each month for cramps and started on Saturday this month), both of which I know have been linked to tinnitus.
It's a horrible high-pitched whine only in my left ear. On Friday night, my cat was being loud so I put in earplugs to sleep. Years ago, I'd sleep with earplugs often (because of the noise sensitivity), but my current home is usually quiet so this was the first time in months. When I woke up and pulled out the earplugs, my left ear was pretty sore and itchy. Later in the day, I noticed a weird noise while standing in the master bedroom and tried to figure out what it was. I live near a factory that sometimes emits odd noises, so I figured it was probably coming from that. As the day went on, I noticed I could hear it in other rooms, too. Very strange.
By Sunday, I realized it wasn't coming from outside and tried unplugging lights to see if there was some electrical thing going on. My left ear was still hurting, so I was tugging at it/massaging it a little. That was when I realized the noise was coming from that ear. I remembered that my PCP had told me at my physical last summer that I had a lot of earwax and I should use drops at home to get rid of it. I'd bought the drops but never used them. Dug them out, followed the directions and used them in both ears. Got dizzy and nauseated, the ringing continued, and I started panicking. I heard the noise at yoga, in the car, everywhere. Went into work today and it somehow "joined" with the fan noise as a higher-pitched component of it. I have been in a constant state of panic and obsession.
Is this a delayed punishment for all the concerts I used to go to? My most recent one was more than three months ago. I started wearing earplugs to all shows several years ago and was in the very back row and don't remember any symptoms afterward. Could it take three months to show up? Why wouldn't it affect my right ear at all, too? Did the earplug trigger something? My ear still feels warm and irritated and itchy. The only time the noise stops is when it "pops" by itself and feels temporarily unblocked, and then the noise comes back. Other than the concerts, my life is very quiet. I avoid movie theaters and loud parties and wear earplugs to Zumba and rarely even turn on the TV. I do listen to music, but not loudly. Recently at work I'd been listening to relaxation tracks through noise-canceling earbuds. Could that have done something? I have a thousand questions and a sense of dread that this whine is now my life. Silence is what I treasure more than anything. Help.
EDIT: Forgot to mention, I take Buspar (which I wanted to stop anyway because it's not helping) and Ibuprofen (for about five days each month for cramps and started on Saturday this month), both of which I know have been linked to tinnitus.
Yes.
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