@Nick M Your post above shows thoughts of value that I often discuss. First, there's no doubt that an inner ear viral infection is behind your onset of tinnitus. With this there are about 35 possible processes where any may now be involved. 500 professional articles discuss biology per possible intervening. We will have to discuss this more, including cranial nerves V, VII, IX and X that send signals. Medical journal note this processing research is complete along with what I will further discuss. In other words, all the physicals that can cause or associate to tinnitus have already been found. No other biological functioning that can associate to tinnitus has been found in the last few years - it's all known.
I was quite sure that you are capable of being borderline hypertensive. This is why I mention beta blockers and you just mentioned:
I was on beta blockers for a 4 month period and the episodes were almost non-existent. My anxiety and mood changes were gone and my BP was down to the 130/80 range.
Hypertension is most likely causing any of a possible 35 processes to react. Hypertension moments or a hypertension crisis - both medical terms - are a
quick, sudden and BRIEF rising of blood pressure. So much to say about hypertension moments with other biology and also with tinnitus. A hypertension moment or crisis can cause organ and eye sight problems. Often veins, arteries and nerves or any physical existing physical weaknesses becomes involved, including those associated to nerves of the ears and arteries and vein of the neck that connect to other processes and then to the brain. Even peripheral artery disease of the legs and feet can cause the carotids to react, more so with hypertension as a trigger. Many older people have some increasing white matter, but this is key with tinnitus when one has hypertension.
I started getting these episodes where the tinnitus shifts to the center of my head the tinnitus is no longer distinctive to one ear along with all the other symptoms I described earlier. Again what's interesting is that ones these episodes fades, almost everything goes back to normal. My thinking and memory is crystal clear, no brain fog, no anxiety, no depression, no headache, no tinnitus and no vibration/drunk sensation.
When tinnitus shifts to center of head, hypertension artery and vein flow is often part of the equation. Most of the time episodes will fade when young, but at times eye problems remain. Most of the time when under stress or excitement, it not realized that a brief hypertension moment is happening.
My work is hours behind a computer and I've had upper back and neck issues for years. Also when I'm in one of these episodes, I have somatic tinnitus on top of it all so if my extend my head to the extremes from side the side, I can notice an increase in tinnitus. However, even though my back and neck issues could make matters worse, I don't believe them to be the primary cause of these episodes.
Your neck is no doubt cause of somatic tinnitus and hypertension and any of 35 possible processes causing your other problems from ear trauma does not help somatic tinnitus. It's possible that infection has also placed more stress on your neck. The C1 and C - spine and occipital areas, neck muscle tightness, veins and artery pressure/narrowing can reflect to blood flow from other processes where hypertension can increase conditions/disease more rapid.
As part of a possible 35 possible processes -unless you have block arteries of neck, looped, twisted or comprised veins, arteries, nerves, cranial nerve involvement, occipital and neck stress, then treatment should consist of ways to control hypertension. You have not mentioned pulsatile tinnitus - so stenosis is probably not a problem.