Tinnitus from a Slap to the Ear — Could I Have Perilymphatic Fistula?

[AnonymousWasp]

This is my first post on here as I finally decided to make an account after I found myself coming on here a lot to look at questions I had.

Long story short, almost exactly one month ago I was being a drunk idiot and let my friends slap me in the face. It was only a couple of slaps and none of them hurt me at all. The very next morning I woke up and my ear felt clogged and I started to hear a quiet white noise sound. The very next day I went to a 24/7 ER type place as it was still bothering me. There I was prescribed Prednisone. I took that for a week and on the very first day when I was driving I felt almost as if a liquid was going to drip out of my ear. Other than that it didn't seem to offer any signs of help. Fast forward a week and I went to see an ENT as it wasn't getting better. I took a sound test and found I have normal hearing and they found no signs of a rupture or anything. I was told to wait 2 weeks and call back if it doesn't get better.

Because of COVID-19 I wasn't able to see that same ENT but I was able to go to another further away. There I was told by the doctor that I have tinnitus and that I was likely going to have it for the rest of my life, that's all I was told and this is when I started to freak out.

Fast forward another week/week and a half and it seems as if I started to few random pressures in my ear throughout the day. My tinnitus also seems to fluctuate throughout the day where sometimes it's louder than others. My tinnitus has been a light white noise as I am grateful for after hearing other stories on here. However, it still bothers me and is very annoying and hard to deal with as I am only 21.

I've also started to lift again recently as I just got dumbbells since gyms are closed now. When I do certain movements such as shoulder press or chest press I notice my tinnitus increases a lot when I am bracing for my lifting and when I just clench my jaw hard. But this almost immediately goes away after I'm done with the set. This is what really worries me as I am super into lifting and powerlifting. Has anyone had a similar experience with lifting and tinnitus?

It's so hard to just not think about the worst and having this forever after reading on here all the time. It's only been a month and i'm trying to stay positive but it's been really hard. My life has been great and this just really hurt me and brought me down a lot. I struggle with depression at times and lifting is the only thing that can make me happy a lot of the times. Sorry for the long post but any information or knowledge from you guys would help! Also, I'm having a video call with the first ENT I visited this upcoming Monday so I'll be sure to address all my concerns to him. In the meantime I've been avoiding loud noises and wearing in ear headphones along with playing white noise when I sleep.

I've read posts about other people having tinnitus from a slap to the face but was wondering if anyone more recent on here has had it happen to them that has anything to share with me regarding recovery or just anything in general? Also, when I press on my ear I can hear a ringing noise in my ear (don't know if that means anything). I'm trying my best to get used to it and I think I could over time but what's really stressing me out is damaging it more to a point where it's debilitating.

Also, could this be a possible perilymphatic fistula? I've read that there can be procedures done to fix that. And of course I'm looking into everything as this is new and I already have had a doctor tell me this will be stuck with me forever.

 

[Backpacker]

also, could this be a possible perilymphatic fistula? I've read that there can be procedures done to fix that.

You should avoid any kind of straining (let alone weightlifting) for at least six weeks, you should not bend over at all for six weeks, and even when you sleep your head needs to be elevated (30 degrees, put 2-3 pillows). Google it. You might have a mild form of PLF and I am pretty sure your tinnitus (and/or pressure) is worse during the movements you shouldn't be doing, at least not for now. Just take it easy.

 

[AnonymousWasp]

You should avoid any kind of straining (let alone weightlifting) for at least six weeks, you should not bend over at all for six weeks, and even when you sleep your head needs to be elevated (30 degrees, put 2-3 pillows). Google it. You might have a mild form of PLF and I am pretty sure your tinnitus (and/or pressure) is worse during the movements you shouldn't be doing, at least not for now. Just take it easy.

that's that i was going to start doing today and ask my doctor about on monday. my last ENT said it was just a coincidence that i was slapped and listening to music loud with my friends.... i've always been very careful with my ears and never put them in loud and uncomfortable situations. do you know about how long it could take for me to start noticing improvement following strict rest and only moving to get food? it's going to be really hard for me as i haven't gone over a week without lifting in probably over 10 years. hoping that it is mild since i can hear fine and the sound isn't too noticeable.

 

[AnonymousWasp]

Hi everyone,

So 4 months ago I was being an idiot with my friends and let one of them slap me in the face. Being really drunk at the time i didn't notice any pain or effects until the morning after when i noticed heavy ear fullness. I was immediately put on prednisone which cause a sensation where i felt liquid moving around in my bad ear. This fullness feeling lasted for about 1.5 months and now has basically gone away. With the fullness i was very sensitive to a lot of sounds. It wasn't pain but some sounds were uncomfortable to my ear and made me jump. as the fullness went away, so did my sensitivity to a lot of noises. now, it's just a little uncomfortable if someone yells in a closed in place or dishes move around in the kitchen. I've been to 3 ENTs, the last one told me everything looked good, my hearing was normal, and the pressures in my ear were good. I've been on multiple anti inflammatory and steroid medications from my GP. All of the doctors including my ENT, were very surprised that i am still having problems with this after 4 months and from such a minor slap.

The two main symptoms that bother me are the mild tinnitus i have in my "bad ear" which sounds like a hiss/gas leaking out of a pipe. i can very easily increase the sound of this by a decent amount by flexing/tensing my jaw and biting down hard. the other big thing is that i hear a crackle most of the time when i swallow, it's not crazy loud but very annoying. Another thing that really bothers me is a sound i hear when i'm our in open rooms where it's silent.... I hear a rumbling noise on top of the hissing noise. it's the weirdest thing and i only mainly notice it when i'm in my basement. Other symptoms include a vibrating noise in my ear when i yawn loud and burp. my jaw crackles when i bite down sometimes and almost always when i move it side to side. all of this occurs on the side of my "bad ear". This brings up where i tried a TMJ doctor. On the X-Ray he found a cyst in my jaw as well as that my jaw was slightly misaligned. reading another story on here, i saw that another lady had a slightly misaligned jaw the caused an impingement on a nerve and eustachion tube which caused bother her T and clicking noise. I wonder if the slap caused this misalignment which is now causing the T? TMJ doctor referred me to the chiro where i was dry needled and adjusted minority, no improvements. I'm currently using saline nasal rinse 2x a day as well as a steroid nasal injection. I'm thinking about maybe getting a CT scan or MRI? but it seems iffy if either would benefit me. With the other symptoms i have, i'm trying to have hope that the T is a part of something that can be fixed but i am quickly losing hope as i seem to be running out of options to try and doctors to see. thought i might add that stress, lack of sleep, caffeine, and alchohol do NOT affect my tinnitus at all.

Sorry for the long post but i am getting very afraid that this is here to stay. I find i crazy that i can't find a whole lot of other people out there where something similar happened if all it took was a simple slap... If anyone has any recommendations for doctors to see, scans, methods to try, I would love to hear them!

 

[Zugzug]

Take massive amounts of precautions. You had an ear injury. With some luck, it will greatly improve with time. Maybe consider curcumin, NAC, or other anti-oxidants. Ginkgo Biloba is probably worthless, but can't hurt. Consider going light on headphone usage....certainly make an effort to avoid loud noises as much as possible. Wear protection if you have to be around something you know is loud. Good luck, and don't listen to the people who fear monger about over protection. You need healing. Going on prednisone was a very good move. You seem to be taking the right steps.

Also, I encourage you to wear earmuffs when working in the kitchen. Your friends and family members will think you're crazy, but this is a place where tons of sound accidents happen.

 

[AnonymousWasp]

Take massive amounts of precautions. You had an ear injury. With some luck, it will greatly improve with time. Maybe consider curcumin, NAC, or other anti-oxidants. Ginkgo Biloba is probably worthless, but can't hurt. Consider going light on headphone usage....certainly make an effort to avoid loud noises as much as possible. Wear protection if you have to be around something you know is loud. Good luck, and don't listen to the people who fear monger about over protection. You need healing. Going on prednisone was a very good move. You seem to be taking the right steps.

Also, I encourage you to wear earmuffs when working in the kitchen. Your friends and family members will think you're crazy, but this is a place where tons of sound accidents happen.

I guess what I'm worried about is that it's not from an ear injury and it's related to my jaw/TMJ... I think I'm going to consult with a facial surgeon and get another opinion.

I also thought I read to only protect your ears if the sound is causing pain/damage? I read that if you have them covered too much it can make it worse since you aren't allowing yourself to get back to "everyday noises". Again, these noises don't cause me any pain or discomfort. It just makes my ear jump a little bit but the fact that's it's improved over the past few months makes me wonder if I should just jeep doing what I'm doing?

 

[Zugzug]

Ignore the literature about overprotection. It's incorrect; I'm sorry to break it to you. Listen to your self. You should question my advice -- that's good, that means you are listening to your body over others. This is essential. If something feels like overprotection to you, then it probably is. If it feels like under protection, it probably is. Don't listen to the people who try to make sweeping generalizations like "sounds under 85 decibels can't harm you! You have phonophobia!" Listen to yourself!

I still stand by my advice about wearing protection in the kitchen, at least while you are healing. Maybe in the future, this won't be necessary.

 

[Backpacker]

I felt liquid moving around in my bad ear. This fullness feeling lasted for about 1.5 months and now has basically gone away. With the fullness I was very sensitive to a lot of sounds. It wasn't pain but some sounds were uncomfortable to my ear and made me jump. As the fullness went away, so did my sensitivity to a lot of noises. Now, it's just a little uncomfortable if someone yells.

Why would liquid moving around in your bad ear be a symptom of TMJ? I don't know, I'm asking. And would you maybe describe your tinnitus as "streaming water-like tinnitus"?

 

[AnonymousWasp]

Why would liquid moving around in your bad ear be a symptom of TMJ? I don't know, I'm asking. And would you maybe describe your tinnitus as "streaming water-like tinnitus"?

Not because of that... but because I can increase my tinnitus when I tense/flex my jaw and face. My jaw clicks when I bite down and move side to side. I've also had instances where when I'm eating it sounds like liquid is moving around my TMJ area.

 

[Backpacker]

I asked if your hiss reminded you of "streaming water-like tinnitus" because this sounded similar:

mild tinnitus I have in my "bad ear" which sounds like a hiss/gas leaking out of a pipe

and if yes, you can read this:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00016489.2017.1300940
In any case I think you should avoid caffeine for a while and when you burp or yawn try not to cause pressure to your membranes. When you have to burp, do it like you would do it if you were alone in the house and if you have to sneeze, do it loudly, do not try to suppress it.

 

[Zugzug]

Not because of that... but because I can increase my tinnitus when I tense/flex my jaw and face.

FYI: I'm not saying your problem isn't jaw related (a slap to the jaw seems relevant). But altering tinnitus with facial movement is extremely common, even with people who got it from noise trauma or something else.

 

[scotty03874]

Hi everyone,

So 4 months ago I was being an idiot with my friends and let one of them slap me in the face. Being really drunk at the time i didn't notice any pain or effects until the morning after when i noticed heavy ear fullness. I was immediately put on prednisone which cause a sensation where i felt liquid moving around in my bad ear. This fullness feeling lasted for about 1.5 months and now has basically gone away. With the fullness i was very sensitive to a lot of sounds. It wasn't pain but some sounds were uncomfortable to my ear and made me jump. as the fullness went away, so did my sensitivity to a lot of noises. now, it's just a little uncomfortable if someone yells in a closed in place or dishes move around in the kitchen. I've been to 3 ENTs, the last one told me everything looked good, my hearing was normal, and the pressures in my ear were good. I've been on multiple anti inflammatory and steroid medications from my GP. All of the doctors including my ENT, were very surprised that i am still having problems with this after 4 months and from such a minor slap.

The two main symptoms that bother me are the mild tinnitus i have in my "bad ear" which sounds like a hiss/gas leaking out of a pipe. i can very easily increase the sound of this by a decent amount by flexing/tensing my jaw and biting down hard. the other big thing is that i hear a crackle most of the time when i swallow, it's not crazy loud but very annoying. Another thing that really bothers me is a sound i hear when i'm our in open rooms where it's silent.... I hear a rumbling noise on top of the hissing noise. it's the weirdest thing and i only mainly notice it when i'm in my basement. Other symptoms include a vibrating noise in my ear when i yawn loud and burp. my jaw crackles when i bite down sometimes and almost always when i move it side to side. all of this occurs on the side of my "bad ear". This brings up where i tried a TMJ doctor. On the X-Ray he found a cyst in my jaw as well as that my jaw was slightly misaligned. reading another story on here, i saw that another lady had a slightly misaligned jaw the caused an impingement on a nerve and eustachion tube which caused bother her T and clicking noise. I wonder if the slap caused this misalignment which is now causing the T? TMJ doctor referred me to the chiro where i was dry needled and adjusted minority, no improvements. I'm currently using saline nasal rinse 2x a day as well as a steroid nasal injection. I'm thinking about maybe getting a CT scan or MRI? but it seems iffy if either would benefit me. With the other symptoms i have, i'm trying to have hope that the T is a part of something that can be fixed but i am quickly losing hope as i seem to be running out of options to try and doctors to see. thought i might add that stress, lack of sleep, caffeine, and alchohol do NOT affect my tinnitus at all.

Sorry for the long post but i am getting very afraid that this is here to stay. I find i crazy that i can't find a whole lot of other people out there where something similar happened if all it took was a simple slap... If anyone has any recommendations for doctors to see, scans, methods to try, I would love to hear them!

I have identical symptoms from a medium slap to my right ear on 4/7/19. Huge vibrations when I burp or yawn. I'm 1.5 years in and have had very limited improvement.

Do loud noises aggravate your tinnitus for a period of time? For instance if I ride my motorcycle for a while my tinnitus gets pissed off and gets louder for probably 30 minutes to an hour.