Tinnitus Coinciding with Ear and Sinus Infection + Diagnosed with ETD and Conductive Hearing Loss

Good morning. My name is Mia and I have been lurking Tinnitus Talk since June of this year.

My story:

I have had on and off ETD since 2017 but no tinnitus. On May 24th, 2023, I woke up with a high-pitched ring in my right ear and a sinus infection. I went to the doctor who told me I had a dual sinus and ear infection. After a course of Amoxicillin the sinus infection went away and the high-pitched ring stopped. I thought it was over. Then a couple days later, I woke up with terrible high-pitched static and brain noise. I drove myself mad. I went back to the doctor, who told me my ear was still infected. I took another round of antibiotics which I confirmed are not ototoxic. The first week of June, I went to see an audiologist who told me I have conductive hearing loss and severe ETD and that it needed time for the tubes to start functioning again.

Early July I saw an ENT who said the same thing. No nerve damage. Conductive hearing loss. However, I was still not better. From late May - early August I was barely sleeping. Now it seems like I am sleeping better. There are some days where the hissing and static really backs off and I just hear some head noises which I believe I may have always had, now it's just amplified. This past weekend I felt a lot better. Now the static is back.

When they test my hearing, it shows perfectly working cochleas but when they test the hearing through the middle ear, the sound is getting lost. My last test was late July and it showed a 35 dB loss. No fluid or anything, just negative pressure.

My sounds are static and hissing or maracas shaking.

I am really scared. I am really scared that this will be for the rest of my life. I have tried ignoring it. I have tried making peace with it. I take a multi vitamin, Omega 3s and Magnesium.

Tomorrow will be the 3 month mark. I want my old life back. I pray to God that He will help me. I want to be my spunky, happy self again. I want to be a mother. I have my whole life ahead of me.

I am in a lot of despair. I read the success stories on here everyday. I thought this would be over by now. I may try getting ear tubes. My ENT and audiologist have detected that this is a middle ear issue and can be fixed. I am worried it will never be fixed. I wish I could come back and write a success story. I wish for myself and everyone on here to be healed. I would give anything...

 

My tinnitus is caused by Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) and a retracted eardrum. The sound is more of a hissing than a ringing. It's best to avoid Flonase and Afrin as they can make it worse. Instead, try natural remedies to open your Eustachian tube. Steam inhalation to open your Eustachian tube is not too hot though, and use the Valsalva maneuver. If you're having a bad day and your Eustachian tube is closed, one spray on the side with dysfunction will give you relief. I won't use nasal sprays for more than one day because it causes a spike in my tinnitus.

 

Try hypertonic nasal rinse 2 - 3 times a day.

Instructions from Stanford Otolaryngology:

How to use hypertonic saline for Patulous...

The video doesn't mention it, but it's probably going to burn. You may want to try with maybe 2/3 to 3/4 of the packet to start, just to get used to how it feels, and work your way up to one full packet.

 

It is possible you have otosclerosis or a cholesteatoma? The doctors really should be looking into this because it's not normal to have a conductive loss for so long and negative pressure. Something is going on, and they are probably able fix it at this point. You don't want it to get worse.

 

Thank you so much for replying @BuzzyBee.

My ENT did not indicate that it could be one of these things. She is certain my Eustachian tubes have basically broken down and my middle ear is not being ventilated as it should. I am suffering tremendously. I have a 35 dB loss in 8000 Hz and 20 dB loss in the 500 Hz and 1000 Hz. My middle ear pressure is not a tall peak as it should be. Based off a past audiogram in 2017, I had ETD then. It's worsened to the point of causing tinnitus. I hope they can fix this.

 

Have you looked into balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube? It's not for everyone, but if you can't pinpoint any particular allergies and it's not due to teeth clenching or grinding at night or hormonal changes, they can sometimes dilate the tubes with a balloon. I think it's kind of a new procedure.

 

My ENT is suggesting tubes. I need to get my ear drum ventilated.