Tinnitus Due to Concussion with Possible Sinus Involvement

[TinThom]

I got whacked in the face playing basketball a few weeks ago and immediately noticed a ringing in my ears along with right side aural fullness. I split my lip open pretty badly and heard some troubling crunching sounds.

I went to the ER the next evening and had a CT, which indicated no major damage. I felt terrible for a few days but most of the concussive symptoms have passed save for the tinnitus. I saw an ENT who looked in my ears, saw no signs damage, told me my ears were fine, and then told me I needed deviated septum surgery. He felt that the tinnitus would resolve on its own.

I really doubt it. It has been two weeks and the tinnitus has neither abated nor modulated in any way. I can't sleep. I can't concentrate. The intial neck pain is now back pain. My face hurts stil lhurts at the point of impact, as though hot, cold and numb all at the same time. I'm slow in responding to people.

I really don't know how I can manage a normal life with an incessant 4khz tone. I'm thinking of going back to the ER right now.

 

[TinThom]

Welp, I'm at one month out and rapidly losing hope. Nothing at all has improved. I'm still mentally slow, my face still hurts, and the ringing is exactly the same. I'm massively depressed. I no longer exercise. I eat garbage. The body I worked so hard to get is disappearing by the day.

All I had to do was not play that basketball game.

 

[Path Maker]

Can you make an appointment with a neurologist to more completely assess the blow to your head? Please make sure to seek medical attention now, even though your symptoms are at their worst and you might feel less inspired to do so. NOW is sooner than later on, and the earlier you investigate your injury more fully, the greater the chance for positive help. Sending you support!

 

[glynis]

The impact to your face may have caused your facial nerve to get inflamed and this nerve starts in your middle ear so all conected and that could be causing your tinnitus.
A short course of Steroids might help you but you need to see your doctor for them.
Keep us posted how you get on.....lots of love glynis

 

[InfiniteLoop]

@TinThom

There are other members that got it from concussion or similar (@Asian , @martin12, etc....). As far as I know they still have it. You are in the early stage and it is possible that will subside. If it does not, you will get used to it even if it seems impossible now (it takes a long time). You should get check more in depth in case they can find something that is fixable. In my opinion, in many concussions the T mechanism is not so different from acoustic trauma. The concussion shockwave can destroy hair cells and start the T chain reaction. You should get audiometry test to 16KHz (the ordinary to 8KHz is not very useful) and DPOAS (to check hair cell health) to see if there is hearing damage, especially in the high frequency region. Indeed, there are other mechanisms for concussion induced T.
You are describing a very similar life down spiral to what I experienced, and I will recommend you to get psychological/psychiatric help if you see that keeps getting worse. You will see with time that T management is all about controlling your emotional response and your attention. Very challenging.

 

[Asian]

@TinThom also get your neck checked by a chiropractor. Most concussion cases involve a hidden injury to the neck(C1,C2) which is often overlooked by almost all the doctors. A minor subluxation of C1 can send your neck muscles into a constant spasm mode and this can cause blocked ears feeling and ringing and all sorts of ear problems. C1,C2 in the neck are often the hidden culprit in most concussion cases if the symptoms of a concussion dont resolve even after a long time. A physiotherapist or a chiropractor will be of help here. Check with an ent and ask about oral steroid treatment asap. I am posting a link of a very informative concussion forum link below. Read the vitamins and supplements sticky in it. Good luck

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92

 

[TinThom]

Thank you all for the replies and support. I've reached a point of defeated confusion. How is it possible to go six weeks post-injury and have no discernible improvement?

Ive got another ENT appt in two weeks or so and plan on asking for the tests as suggested by @InfiniteLoop . I'm waiting for an inusrance change to apply before seeing another doc. @glynis @Path Maker The two doctors I've seen already (ENT and GP) both said that anti-inflammatory drugs wouldn't do anything. I also had a concussion test done and holy balls did I fail. Terrible balance and short term number recall. Tyring to remember the numbers as they were read to me was like holding onto a newly caught fish: they just slipped away into the dark and were gone. My upper lip also feels weak/numb and my nose hurts. It's apparently broken, or more broken than it was before.

I've totally given up on exercise. I had a work out using only my warm up weights and the tinnitus was startlingly louder. Work is surprisingly a reprieve from all this. I tire easily and mentally I'm not where I was but I'm thankful that for eight hours a day I can go and worry about something else. At least I've begun regaining control of my diet.

Overall I'm utterly stunned at how profoundly this injury is affecting my life and demeanor.

@Asian I'm taking Vit D, B complex, Fish Oil and zma, and I've taken this combo for years. I've recently added coconut oil to deal with the concussive symptoms but havne't noticed much difference. I'll look into the chiro route.

Thanks again all.