Tinnitus Round 2 — 5 Weeks So Far

[gek1642]

Back in the Spring of 2013, after a cross-country flight I had a plugged ear for about a week. After a week, my ear started ringing. I remember being afraid that it was going to last forever. However, after a month or two, it slowly reduced in noise and then faded away almost completely (I'd say it was a 1/10 because I could still hear it if I was in a quiet room plugging my ears). I don't credit anything in particular for it going away, I just took Flonase and used a Neti pot to try to keep my sinuses clear.

Since then, I have flown a few times without any issues issues. However, I recently did another significant amount of traveling for a month period. Towards the end of the traveling, on October 15th, I started to hear the ringing again. I had some allergies, but was never really too stuffed up. I figured the Tinnitus would go away after a day or two, but it's still here. On the 31st of October, I was given Prednisone (not sure if this did anything). I also had my hearing checked, and it's still okay again.

I do feel like it might have improved somewhat over the course of the last 2 weeks. I could previously hear it very clearly while driving, now I can only somewhat hear it, and sometimes I have to listen to hear it while driving. However, it is still loud enough where I can almost always hear it, and it's driving me nuts. It's resulting in anxiety - especially when thinking about if it's going to get worse, or not improve further. Some moments I think it's bearable and something I can get use to, and other moments I can't imagine constantly dealing with it. I'm really hoping this follows the same course it previously followed. I will post updates if it does.

 

[Phendran]

Out of curiosity, have you been using earplugs or such when travelling?

I hope your T-noise will lower as it previously has.

 

[MikeL1972]

Hi Gek,

Welcome aboard!

Hopefully your tinnitus will abate in fast order.

If not, do not worry for it is not the end of the world. As I sit here typing this out to you, my left ear has been ringing non-stop since March 2016 and I could care less. Indeed in the beginning I was incredibly anxious and stressed-out about it. However, as the months passed, my mind gradually became used to it and eventually filed it into the 'not important' drawer. This is what they call "habituation".

Best of luck.

 

[Sorien]

Back in the Spring of 2013, after a cross-country flight I had a plugged ear for about a week. After a week, my ear started ringing. I remember being afraid that it was going to last forever. However, after a month or two, it slowly reduced in noise and then faded away almost completely (I'd say it was a 1/10 because I could still hear it if I was in a quiet room plugging my ears). I don't credit anything in particular for it going away, I just took Flonase and used a Neti pot to try to keep my sinuses clear.

Since then, I have flown a few times without any issues issues. However, I recently did another significant amount of traveling for a month period. Towards the end of the traveling, on October 15th, I started to hear the ringing again. I had some allergies, but was never really too stuffed up. I figured the Tinnitus would go away after a day or two, but it's still here. On the 31st of October, I was given Prednisone (not sure if this did anything). I also had my hearing checked, and it's still okay again.

I do feel like it might have improved somewhat over the course of the last 2 weeks. I could previously hear it very clearly while driving, now I can only somewhat hear it, and sometimes I have to listen to hear it while driving. However, it is still loud enough where I can almost always hear it, and it's driving me nuts. It's resulting in anxiety - especially when thinking about if it's going to get worse, or not improve further. Some moments I think it's bearable and something I can get use to, and other moments I can't imagine constantly dealing with it. I'm really hoping this follows the same course it previously followed. I will post updates if it does.

Your post gives me hope that tinnitus can indeed go away!

 

[gek1642]

Thank you all for the kind words.

I used earplugs once or twice, but not for very long (I can't sleep sitting upright). I also tried using my earbuds once or twice, but ended up taking them off after a few minutes (too hard to hear over the engine noise) and I didn't want to damage my hearing by blasting them.