Unilateral Multi-Tonal Tinnitus from Common Cold

Hello, I am in my thirties, from Europe. This is my unfortunate story of tinnitus onset.

This year in March I went to a public event. For the first time in years I did so without wearing a mask. In hindsight, I was feeling overconfident since I had all the vaccinations and boosters, and thought that nothing serious could happen to me. Almost nobody else wore a mask either.

A few days later I developed the usual symptoms of a cold. They were mostly mild, although they continued for the next two weeks in some form. I did multiple SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests, which came out negative.

Not long after other symptoms appeared, I woke up at night and noticed a pure ~1 kHz tone in my right ear. I was very sleepy, so I put the right ear against the pillow, which silenced the sound, and fell asleep again. In the next days and nights I was noticing the sound more and more, and a new close tone appeared in the same ear, which was constantly modulating, not unlike a Morse code transmission. Simultaneously, a ringing sound also appeared in the same ear. Both sounds were gradually becoming louder, to the point I could hear the ringing outdoors. I also noticed the sounds became louder if my body was in a horizontal position.

For the first few days I hoped this was a temporary symptom from the cold and that it would go away. After a week or so, I started panicking and scheduled an appointment with my ENT. At this point my sleep was already substantially impacted; I would wake up at night and couldn't fall asleep due to the loud sound.

I visited the ENT a few days later. They did a hearing test up to 8 kHz and it came out fine with 0…10 dB HL for both ears. They also said there was no fluid behind the eardrums and that the Eustachian tubes appeared to be functioning. They referred me to multiple tests, including MRI, and prescribed pentoxifylline. The same day my GP prescribed me zolpidem for sleep issues.

For the next multiple weeks, I was doing a lot more examinations and doctor appointments. All tests were mostly fine, didn't show any inflammation, deficiencies or relevant pathologies. The doctors also noted tense neck muscles and referred me to massage therapy. The therapy did help with the tension, but not with the tinnitus.

Meanwhile, the tinnitus sounds started to change. They would become more quiet in the morning and gradually ramp up for the evening. Sometimes in the evening the sound would be very loud, even louder than at onset. A slight hissing appeared in my left ear, followed by another pure mid-range tone which appeared to be centered in the head.

As this continued, I was reading Tinnitus Talk (which has been both the source of information and despair for me), and stumbled upon a thread stating that Zolpidem can cause tinnitus. I understood it could have been the source of the new sounds. I had made the same mistake as @DRobi! The drug description, which I did read before taking the pills, didn't mention tinnitus or anything ear-related. I had been using Zolpidem for about 6 weeks at the time, gradually reducing the dose as it can't be used for too long.

That day I cut the dose in half with the intent of stopping the drug as soon as possible. On the second day of the reduction, this proved to be another mistake as I got intense fever and tremors due to withdrawal. Still, I stuck with the reduced dose, thinking that the withdrawal had passed, and the day after that even didn't take the sleep pill at all. BIG mistake — that night I woke up with 10/10 suicidal tinnitus in both ears. I eventually took the missed dose and the ringing subsided somewhat, but this event also changed the tinnitus characteristics. After this I took a slower two-week path to stop Zolpidem, but the changes from that event have remained.

Then, as if this hadn't been enough, I underwent a second MRI (1.5 Tesla) and got a spike one day after that. If before that I could average 4-5 hours of sleep, now for the past weeks there have been many days I can't sleep at all due to intense ringing. It's been about three weeks since the MRI and the spike hasn't subsided.

Currently I'm taking various supplements: magnesium, zinc, B vitamins, and melatonin or valerian for sleep, but so far I haven't noticed any substantial effects.

Physically and emotionally, this has been hell for me. My life is falling apart, I have been unable to sleep or work for months, and the future looks very bleak. Previously I had good sleep schedule and used to sleep 8 hours or more. Now I just exist day after day being sleepy and fearing the next night. I am using a sound machine, but it only helps somewhat, and the sound itself is a distraction as previously I used to sleep in silence. Ironically, I think I would have been better off if I hadn't sought medical help.

I should add that I used to watch movies with headphones often. This may have predisposed me to getting this ailment.

I feel for everyone who has this torturous condition. Treatment can't come soon enough.

To conclude, here are the mistakes I made due to carelessness/distress, all of which were also entirely preventable:

• Not wearing a mask at a public event.
• Panicking early at onset.
• Using a sleep medicine. STAY AWAY FROM ANY PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES!
• Not heeding warnings about potential MRI harm.

I feel guilt every day for not taking enough care and letting myself fall down this abyss.

 

I've been taking Zolpidem for 16 months most nights, low dose sublingual. Without it, I normally would not get back to sleep when waking up 2:30 to 3:30 AM. There's been no noticeable effect on my tinnitus. I tried the supplements you mentioned and others to help with sleep, and they didn't help at all.

 

Tonight I noticed another symptom. If I wrinkle a blister pack or aluminum foil in a silent room, the sharp sound from this action causes a momentary reactive sound in my ears. The reactive sound feels very close to the sound of a tensor tympani muscle contracting and immediately relaxing. I know how the contraction sounds (a low rumbling sound) because I can control this muscle voluntarily.

 

Two days ago I suddenly got a new reactive tone in the affected ear after just doing some physical work. The tone momentarily increases even from my own voice. The volume and reactivity has decreased somewhat since then, but still very noticeable. All together now I have 6 distinct tinnitus sounds, which all behave differently.

I'm beginning to suspect there is something more than just consequences from a virus...

 

I remember hearing all sort of tones, with changing frequencies, when my tinnitus started. They seemed to change following some trigger. Over a period of time, almost everything was a trigger and I realised that the more I kept noticing this noise the more intrusive it became.

What worked for me was not paying attention to the spikes, triggers, tones, frequencies, pitch etc. I just let the music play without focusing on what it was doing. Eventually, it stopped bothering me as much.

Just so that you know, my tinnitus was very loud and kept me awake all night.

I hope you feel better.

G'day.

 

@SilverFox, for the first 6 months+ of my tinnitus it varied a lot - new sounds, changes in volume for no reason, etc. At one point I had two or three different pure tones in each ear, two different hissing tones, clanging church bells in one ear, a fluctuating whistling tone in the other ear, and probably more that didn't stick around long enough to remember.

Now, at 17 months since onset, a few tones have disappeared altogether or gotten so quiet I hardly notice them. I'm left with only a couple of noises and of those, only one pure tone really bothers me and it's the loudest.

All that is to say that it is normal for tinnitus to fluctuate a lot in the beginning. Have hope that many people's multitonal tinnitus seems to lose tones or all blend into one tone as time goes on. I did notice as I stopped monitoring my tinnitus, the tones faded away. Not sure if it's a coincidence.

I also want to add that it seems like you have TTTS. I got this too in one ear after a few months. It might also be comorbid with hyperacusis. Once again, a lot of people tend to have this symptom fade in time. I've been having trouble with ear infections/fluid lately and I have noticed increased issues with my TTTS. Something to look into.

I hope you feel better soon.

 

Thank you! This gives me a little hope.

Indeed, I have symptoms of TTTS in one ear. I might have had mild hyperacusis at some point (on sounds like door slamming or kitchenware clanking), but now don't notice it as much. Though I have some distortions in this ear after the last worsening.

 

Six month update

The tinnitus volume has not diminished and I don't see any signs of this happening so far. In fact, in the last month I developed a new metallic tone in both ears. Or maybe it is one of the old tones which got louder. Now this tone is probably the most intrusive of all. I can hear the sound outdoors, except on a busy street. Indoors in a very quiet room the sound can become almost deafening. There is also a bit of hyperacusis and reactivity present. I can still feel the tensor tympani muscle twitching over sharp sounds, even keystrokes on a computer keyboard. Overall tinnitus follows a daily pattern where it is most quiet (relatively) in mornings and loudest in the evenings.

I can't even imagine what is habituation, I hear the sound as clearly as in the first days. I could understand habituating to a milder case where the sound stays in "background" and doesn't bother you. Here… not as much. Perhaps a related factor is that I still haven't been able to properly calm down since everything began.

Sleep continues to be substantially impacted. I take some combination of Valerian, Peppermint and Melatonin in the evening, sometimes this helps a bit. On "good" nights I will wake up at 5 AM or so. On some nights I can't sleep at all. There was one week in July where tinnitus volume diminished somewhat and I could fall asleep even without a sound machine. Sadly, it increased again later without any visible trigger. I have some Phenibut prescribed for sleep, but don't really want to take it. Chronic sleep deprivation has seriously affected my overall physical health, not even mentioning constant headaches and dizziness.

I saw a qualified otoneurologist and did an extended hearing test. I have normal hearing up to 18 kHz with a slight dip at the end. I don't hear 20 kHz. Both ears are absolutely symmetric on the audiogram. The doctor hypothesized that it could be damage from the chickenpox virus, which I had as a kid. The virus remains dormant in the body and can activate later in life when immunity is weakened, damaging nerve structures. Of course, this is only one hypothesis. She prescribed me Trimetazidine for improving cell metabolism in case of reduced blood flow and 100 mg each of vitamins B1 and B6 daily for nerve damage repair. Actually, I have a suspicion that the new tone could be related to the B6 vitamin intake, as it can also be neurotoxic in high doses.

I also had rTMS recommended to me as a potential treatment. At this time I don't consider it yet because of all the horror stories I read here.

I returned to work after being on sick leave for several months, mainly because there is not much else to do. Work provides some distraction, but I am still aware of tinnitus at all times. Except work, I don't really have a meaningful life now.

As a side note, it was not very easy to find a place where to test my hearing above 8 kHz. The one I found is with the national university hospital, they had a really good setup.

 

@SilverFox, sorry to hear you are worsening. I am also down because I am getting worse now at nearly 8 months. Not new tones, just louder tinnitus, and more "sticky" hyperacusis.

Your antigen COVID-19 tests could have been faulty/inaccurate. Maybe it was COVID-19? My tinnitus is caused by noise during recovery from "cold". Antigen test negative. I keep wondering if it was COVID-19 after all. I am sure noise was the primary factor, but it could have been double whammy for me.

With your tinnitus not being noise induced, you could perhaps consider stem cell therapy. Might be worth a shot.

Good luck, I hope we both see some improvement one day.

 

@gameover, thank you. I hope everyone here gets better.

It is possible, although I was quadruple-vaccinated. Now I can't know this for sure. Then again, it turns out that a lot of other viruses can also cause such problems. My SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels are high, but they obviously should be after vaccination.

I can afford it, but it seems risky and like a last resort. I was under the impression that it is most effective with confirmed hearing loss to regenerate hair cells. My 20 kHz hearing loss is likely not enough to be considered as such. I couldn't hear this frequency already a few years back, although I could still hear it in late twenties.

Some other options I see before that is trying rTMS (also risky), LLLT (not sure if it actually does anything) and maybe going to the BRAI3N clinic in Ghent for consultation.

 

Well, there are no reported cases of stem cells helping with hearing loss, rather the opposite seems to be true. We do not have enough data, either way, and it remains a pure shot in the dark. I collected some member reports here.

rTMS led to a suicide of one tinnitus sufferer, LLLT seems like snake oil that caused hearing damage in some people. As far as I understand, BRAI3N clinic has nothing but some questionable drug cocktails to offer.

Stem cells might be the most expensive scam of all them, however...