Tinnitus Following COVID-19 Infection / Stress

[Fuzzer]

Hello everyone,

Nice to 'meet' you all. I apologise if my query has been asked before, but here it goes:

Since having COVID-19 (August) I started to notice a chiming in my ears. Over the months it has been sporadic. In addition, I am now just coming out the other side of a nervous breakdown / crisis and I now have a constant sound in my ears like an old TV for the last week or so.

My question is, have any of you had tinnitus brought on by COVID-19 and / or stress? If so, does it fade away over time? And how long did it take? Anyone have any advice please? I've not had my ears checked as of yet.

I'm trying not to worry, but it's so hard not to.

Thank you x

 

[billie48]

Welcome to the forum.

I am not sure if the vaccine can cause tinnitus but stress and anxiety have been known to trigger tinnitus or aggravate it. The best you can do is to try to relax and be positive as best as you can. This can calm your limbic nerves from taking over and make things look worse by the fight and flight reaction. Try some relaxing exercises such as walking, jogging or yoga, or go outdoor to get busy and distract from focusing on the ringing. Reading success stories will definitely help so check them out. I wrote mine "From Darkness to Light..." and share some helpful strategies. Check it out and other stories. If tinnitus bothers you, try masking it. If sleep is an issue, try melatonin and other calming natural supplements such as chamomile tea, lemon balm etc.

Give it time. Most people will get better in 6 months to 18 months. So don't worry.

Best wishes. God bless.

 

[Fuzzer]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. It means a lot.

I am hoping that the tinnitus will ease off as my depression / anxiety improves. As far as I am aware, there is no damage to my ears and I have been reassured that it should pass in time. It's just the last thing I needed on top of everything that I'm going through. I'm terrible for obsessing over things when I'm depressed, too! Which certainly doesn't help. I would love to hear from people whose tinnitus has improved after stress etc has passed.

Blessings.

 

[billie48]

If your depression lingers, do check with your doctor if you need anti-depressants such as those SSRI ones. They are usually not addictive unlike benzo. They can replenish the brain's serotonin level so there will be less severe mood swing.

 

[Holy Moses]

My first post...

I too believe I got tinnitus as a result of COVID-19. I'm about a week into it. Constant, low-level ringing that I can really only hear at night or when the room is quiet. But it's definitely annoying - bordering on more than just annoying.

I've never experienced any hearing issues before. I was scheduled to get my COVID-19 Moderna booster last Wednesday. I thought I might have been exposed to COVID-19 a few days before, so I got a rapid test and a PCR test before I got the booster. I believe I started experiencing tinnitus last Tuesday, right as I began to experience COVID-19 symptoms. The rapid COVID-19 test came back negative, so I got my booster shot. A few hours later, I tested positive for COVID-19 via PCR.

That was about a week ago and my doctor put me on a Prednisone regimen when I called him up complaining of tinnitus. I'm hoping my tinnitus goes away sooner than later, but I've heard that in some cases it hasn't.

 

[Brian P]

I know about 3 people who got tinnitus from COVID-19 and sadly theirs is still the same.

 

[catchthebus]

I developed my tinnitus from COVID-19 too in mid October 2021. I was young and healthy and could never have thought this would happen to me. The tinnitus started out sporadically like yours, chirping but it always went away in 10-30 seconds during my acute infection and never concerned me. But on November 20th, it suddenly became a constant static that grew louder over time. Now it's evolved into high frequency cricket chirps in my left ear, as well as alternating sporadic yet 24/7 constant and horrendous low, medium, and high buzzing sounds and tones which play out rolling around cacophonically in both of my ears. It's only gotten worse I'm sorry to admit and doctors have said there is nothing they can do. Please keep me updated on yours. I hope yours gets better.

 

[AndrewLee]

My story is similar, my tinnitus came with COVID-19. I'm a very stressed and anxious person and this seems to be a common theme for us who have tinnitus even from COVID-19.

I've had good days since my infection, and that's what I keep trying to remind myself.

Did yours improve over time?

I'm at 5 months now, but still hoping every day for it to stop.

 

[Jans_tinn]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me. It means a lot.

I am hoping that the tinnitus will ease off as my depression / anxiety improves. As far as I am aware, there is no damage to my ears and I have been reassured that it should pass in time. It's just the last thing I needed on top of everything that I'm going through. I'm terrible for obsessing over things when I'm depressed, too! Which certainly doesn't help. I would love to hear from people whose tinnitus has improved after stress etc has passed.

Blessings.

Depression and anxiety can certainly make tinnitus worse, which makes the depression and anxiety worse yet... try not to let it snowball out of control. It is hard... I am learning how much of a role stress factors into my tinnitus. I too need to take the advice given above, to try and relax, stay positive, do relaxing exercises - maybe restorative yoga, or just walking... wish I had a better answer. We all do....

 

[Getoutofmyear]

@Fuzzer, did your chimes go away? I have this from COVID-19 infection/vaccine.

 

[kmt]

My story is similar, my tinnitus came with COVID-19. I'm a very stressed and anxious person and this seems to be a common theme for us who have tinnitus even from COVID-19.

I've had good days since my infection, and that's what I keep trying to remind myself.

Did yours improve over time?

I'm at 5 months now, but still hoping every day for it to stop.

Did your tinnitus get better with time?