Hi, I am new here, and my tinnitus keeps getting worse and I don't have a clue what to do.
I have had a low ringing in my right ear as long as I can remember, it always sounded like a low Wifi router or something. I used to only hear it at night, and originally assumed it was someone doing works on the road at night! But it was fine and pretty easy to cover up with some music or my PC fan for years. In fact, I don't even know if I'd been unknowingly masking it for years at that point.
But in the last year or so it's developed pretty quickly. About 2 months ago my left ear was all bunged up and a pretty loud ringing started. I spoke to a doctor about that and some other issues with my jaw swelling when I eat, who referred me to ENT and made an appointment for a nurse to have a look in my ear. I saw her and she said the ear was completely full of wax, and getting that removed would sort out the ringing! I was very happy. She also recommended I use Earex to soften it up, so I did, and weirdly by the night before my wax removal the ringing and blocked feeling had pretty much gone.
So I got my ear wax removed via microsuction. I'd read this was much safer than syringing so went for that. I think in my left ear there was a bit of stubborn wax, as I heard something kind of roll around and kind of pop off, and the sound was a lot lower after that. Looking back on it I wonder if my eardrum was perforated, though no doctor has mentioned it since and I've seen a few.
I left and my ears were really sore, but I put this down to having an invasive procedure done and assumed it was normal (it wasn't)
That night at dinner my jaw hurt a bit to eat and speak, until eventually there was a sharp draining feeling that made it feel a lot better, as well
That night I stood in the bathroom and closed my eyes and listened, and all I could hear was that Wifi router REALLY LOW. My ears were really sore, but I'd had a pretty invasive procedure so assumed that was normal (it wasn't.)
Within two days, hell had begun. My left ear had begun to ring again, and would often feel like it was moving to the right ear. My left ear also feels frequently blocked, though not all the time. Since then it's gotten worse and worse, and is now a constant fizz in either ear sometimes, or sometimes a buzz, sometimes that Wifi router, sometimes a car engine that actually predates it all but for a few months I had assumed was some idiot parked outside all night.
And I don't know what to do about it. I've seen various doctors who have made half-guesses at it but won't explore them or give me anything for it, just shrug and say to wait for the ENT appointment that has been exhausting to wait for. I have an audiology appointment next week but don't know how much that will help since it feels so physical with the ear blocking and sometimes pain that accompanies the ringing.
I can't tell if this is actually a new thing or not: for a few months there have been strange sounds that I had assumed came from another source - I'd thought my new PC had a whine, but now suspect this was in my head (and has caused a real headache at one point), had assumed for years that my shower fan had a whine that was maybe in my head, had assumed my headset had a whine that is definitely in my head. There were also times I'd take off my headset and find loud noise in my ears, though this always died down for a while. I also sometimes wonder if I hadn't had it for years, but the cacophony of noises kind of cancelled each other out or pulled my focus in so many directions it kind of worked out okay. One night this happened and my first thought was "ah, it's back to normal" which concerned me.
Regardless of when it started, it seems to be getting worse, and I just feel like I've been left to deal with it alone, waiting for an ENT appointment that might come too late if at all (thanks COVID) and getting no help from doctors aside from a shrug. I don't know how to prevent it from continuing to get worse either, or how I might make it better, which frustrates me endlessly.
I also had a hearing test which came back normal, but when I do online ones I struggle to hear low frequencies and can't hear above 10,000Hz or so. (I have been using this to monitor it: youtu.be/H-iCZElJ8m0)
I'm just so annoyed and scared. I'm terrified that I'm going to end up making it worse or going deaf. I'm exhausted by it. I hate it. And I hate my life right now. I just want to get some help while I still can, but it's proving impossible and I have no idea what to do.
EDIT: Well my jaw just cracked ridiculously loud after feeling uncomfortable for an hour and the ringing got super loud, then disappeared and was replaced by birds chirping, now is back to how it was before, so if I had been terrified before I am now staining my pants.
worse tinnitus spike ever
Unilateral tinnitus - unknown cause
New To Tinnitus - Advice & Tips please
