Tinnitus for 2 Weeks Now — Just Had Hearing Test Showing No Loss — What Does This Mean?

Hey,

As per the title really,

Just got back from appointment with an audiologist who performed a comprehensive hearing test on me.

I was really nervous as I assumed my tinnitus to be NIHL caused due to clubbing/partying excessively without earplugs for the last 5 years.

Turns out he said I am showing no signs of hearing loss at all, and that in fact my right ear can hear sounds below 0 db(a), indicating very very good hearing.

This has cheered me up massively and restored some faith in my hearing, but has left me perplexed as to the cause of my T.

Does this mean that my inner ear hair cells aren't bent over and damaged in likelihood, or can they still be damaged but leave me with excellent hearing?

Thanks in advance

 

Tinnitus is an ongoing mystery. My hearing tests have also come back good (and I quot my audiologist, "you hear better than a cat") and yet they had no explanation for the tinnitus.

From reading this forum there's apparently also something called "hidden hearing loss". Apparently this is hearing loss in very high frequency range and most audiologists don't test that high.

Have you had your jaw checked for TMJ issues by a dentist?

 

Thanks for your reply. Yes I was most suprised when he said my hearing was excellent!

I haven't had my jaw checked by a dentist, my last checkup was about a year ago with nothing to report.

I just went to this site http://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/ , and I can hear right up to about 16,000Hz very clearly!

 

This sounds a lot like what happened to me. I use earphones at the gym (well not anymore) and beleive I had too much noise exposure and got tinnitus the day after a retirement banquet.... Also had a perfect better than average audio gram. Other possible causes could be medication, a benign tumour - especially if its unilateral tinnitus - Ménière's disease, and even radiation treatment for cancer. Mine lasted about 3 weeks of a high pitched eeeeeeeeee sound mostly at night or when laying down. I think mine is due to high frequency hearing loss from those damn earbuds. But the good news is, it went away. Now I am very protective about my ears. You need to wear plugs at loud events - I got discreet ones from Amazon so they aren't so obvious. I'm getting married in 3 weeks and I'm wearing the plugs at the reception!!! I am not sure how effective those online tests are, btw. Take it with a grain of salt.

 

@Jordyn how long did yours take to go away?
Did you have unilateral

 

You only have T in your right ear?

 

Hidden hearing loss manifests itself through a normal pure-tone audiogram for the speech frequency range (0-8 kHz) followed by the ability to also pass a speech discrimination test. When the same speech discrimination test is performed in a noisy setting (simulating a cocktail party situation), then difficulties arise for those with tinnitus (more so than those without). This is especially true in young adults.

Testing in the higher frequencies is not related to hidden hearing loss although there is some literature which proposes using assessment of the very high frequencies (> 8 kHz) as an early indicator of auditory damage for those undergoing chemotherapy (before it progresses to the speech frequency range).

The topic of hidden hearing loss has been covered in several papers in the past year via the research topic on tinnitus heterogeneity:

• http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2016.00293/full
• http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnagi.2017.00224/full
  
• http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2016.00288/full

 

@JoyBenz007 Well I got it on June 10 and I would say it went away 2 weeks ago so I had it maybe 3-4 weeks of just high pitched ringing and it was gradual before I could say for sure that it was going away. I didn't hear it so much during the day less I really listened for it. But at night?? WOW.

Now, I'm not sure what kind of head noise I ever had before the eeeeeeeeeeee started (because I wasn't listening back then) but I would say any ringing I have now is just common head noise/white noise. It was unilateral till I started listening and panicking and then I started to hear the right ear too but not as bad, manageable, maybe not even noticeable if I wasn't already upset. But originally when it started, I noticed the left ear turned into a train whistle one morning like as if that ear went to a concert and the other one stayed home.

 

Hearing loss is only one of many possible causes for tinnitus. There are other causes which can trigger or aggravate tinnitus including but not limited to drug reaction or side-effects from ototoxic drugs, ear wax build-up, ear or Eustachian tube infection or ETD, ear drum injury, fluid build-up in ears feeling pressured or fullness, sinus infection & congestion especially with a bad cold, TMJ, TTTS, high blood pressure or blood circulation problem, loud noise exposure or acoustic trauma/shock, head trauma & injury, neck injury or muscle problems, Meniere's Decease, barotrauma from sudden change of air pressure such as during landing & taking off on flights especially with blocked nose causing failure to balance the pressure changes, slapping of the ears, deep grief for the loss of loved ones, untreated sleep apnea, extreme, extended stress, anxiety & panic disorder, etc.,

 

I am in the same boat. Have it 2 weeks now, some days better some worse. Happened after gun range. Stay positive and try not to dwell on it. Protect your ears and give it time. Dont let anxiety take over - it makes it worth.