Tinnitus, Reactive Hissing, and Sound Distortion: Two Years of Challenges

I don’t know what this is anymore.

I think I’ve had tinnitus for as long as I can remember, but two years ago, I decided to try ear cleaning by microsuction. Unfortunately, it didn’t make much of a difference.

Since then, whenever I’m around an air conditioner, a fan, or even low to moderate levels of white noise, my ears react by hissing. It’s accompanied by a background noise that sounds like cicadas and a slight ringing, which goes away when I turn the devices off.

It’s been two years since that procedure. Of course, I’ve seen ENT specialists, and my hearing tests came back normal. I’ve done my best to avoid loud noises and protect my ears as much as possible.

I haven’t had an MRI or CT scan because I didn’t want to risk worsening my tinnitus. However, I think I need to consider getting one now, as I sometimes experience numbness on the left side of my body, along with these low noises.

I’ve also taken Accutane at a low dose for acne, which didn’t affect my tinnitus. So, I thought I’d try an SSRI to help calm my nerves (I was a bit concerned about potential toxicity, though).

Right now, my tinnitus isn’t unbearably loud when I’m in a quiet environment—it’s what I’d describe as “mild.” But this constant hissing and distortion of sound is really difficult to get used to.

 

Do you go a day or two without hissing? Does it affect your sleep and wake you up a few hours after falling asleep?

 

I hear the hissing over sounds 24/7.

My sleep is terrible since I can hear the hissing/ringing clearly over the AC.

 

When you had the hearing test, did they tell you your Eustachian tube was OK, and you didn't have Eustachian Tube Dysfunction?

 

Everything looked normal to the ENT specialist.

 

How is the SSRI working for you? It seems like this type of tinnitus is different from "normal" tinnitus, so I'm curious if it responds differently to treatments. Or maybe the SSRI doesn’t affect the tinnitus directly but helps you feel better overall. I have the same type of tinnitus as you, but I've had it for much longer than two years. Does yours get worse after eating?

 

I started taking Escitalopram and Bromazepam (both at low doses) four days ago. So far, there have been no changes to my tinnitus, but it's still too early to tell. However, the medication has definitely helped me sleep a bit easier.

My tinnitus remains unaffected after eating, though I sometimes hear crunching and popping sounds while I chew.

I'm now on a journey to pinpoint the cause of this sound distortion and reactive tinnitus issue. I have yet to explore the possibility of it being related to TMJ problems, but I'm hoping to resolve it soon.

 

Thank you for the updates! I'm hoping the SSRI will break the cycle of your brain thinking it needs to make a sound to compete with the other sounds and that the hiss will go down a few notches or back to your old baseline. Please keep us posted.