Intermittent tinnitus for 4 months - will it stay or will it go?

[BlueCricketer08]

Hi everyone, it’s been quite a while since my last post.

My experience with tinnitus began in December last year - I had a couple of really bad colds very close together, within the space of a couple of weeks. Once the colds cleared I started realising that I was having dull pain and aches in both of my ears, and I suspected that I had developed ear infections. After a visit to the GP, this was confirmed and they gave me antibiotic sprays to treat them. After using them for about 10 days, the infections cleared up but then the tinnitus started ramping itself up.

I have several different sounds, some like a loud hushing, hissing sound, an ‘ear to a seashell’ kind of sound, some more like a subtle tinkling, electrical kind of noise, and also the classic high pitched ring which comes and goes for a few seconds, sometimes longer. The thing is, I feel very fortunate that my noises are intermittent - I don’t have a constant tone that many sufferers have. On the one hand this is a blessing, but it also makes it very hard to habituate to because when it’s gone for a while, I get used to the silence, and then as soon as it comes back it’s impossible to ignore or block out because it’s such an obvious change.

My question really is, in other people’s experience of T with ear infections, did theirs go away, and if so, how long did it take? Googling my symptoms is a bit of a scare tactic for me, but I’ve been reading that lots of people say if you still have T after a six month period, you’ve most likely got it forever. This is what I’m so concerned about - if I’ve still got this come June, I’m guessing I’m stuck with it long term. For me, T fluctuates massively - at one point I had about 10 days of no bothersome tinnitus at all, making me think it had gone but then it came back -it always comes back one way or another.

I want to be able to prepare myself if this is long term, but I can’t do that if I’m stuck in limbo and not sure which way it’s going to go.

Thanks so much in advance for any responses, I really appreciate any help on offer.

[Felldweller]

Hello BC08. Having read your post, my immediate response to it is this. There is (or at the moment, SEEMS to be) absolutely nothing any of us can do about our T. It is what it is and I firmly believe that each and every individual who has to live with T has their very own personal version, as it were. There is no set pattern, there are no set rules to which everyone must abide if they wish to get rid of the T and, bluntly, there is no cure or remedy. I can look back to some 18 months or so ago, when my own T was raging and I realized, in retrospect, how many months I spent, like us all, desperately hoping, searching and praying for an answer to it all. My own, personal, advice to you would be to tell your T that, ok, we have to live together for now....and get on with living your life with your T as a passenger. It might well disappear for good, in time, or it might well (as mine did) reduce in frequency/noise/volume and be there for as long as it will be there. Acceptance was the major game changer for me and my T is just there....buzzing away, but I barely notice it now. So go ahead, accept the fact that you are sharing your life with this noisy but invisible companion and trust me, it will get so much easier for you. Sending best wishes. X

[BlueCricketer08 in reply to Felldweller]

Thank you so much Felldweller. You always have the nicest and most constructive things to say.

[Felldweller in reply to BlueCricketer08]

Am more than happy to help in any way I can. Tinnitus can cause immense misery and distress and I know from experience that positivity from a fellow sufferer can help enormously. X

[Jimac]

You need a hearing test, including a Tympanometry test which checks the middle ear including the eustachian tube. If your middle ear isn't draining properly ie eustachian tube dysfunction, you may be prone to intermittent tinnitus. Go back and see your gp.

[xxxxxa]

My T started in november last year and it's the same as you describe it, comes and goes but more in the evening. Also it change sound when i'm turning my head left.

I started to investigate as this is my only problem since november and I want to ask you if you have any root canals done on your teeth?

God bless!!!

[BlueCricketer08 in reply to xxxxxa]

Hi, no root canals done. Thanks for your reply. Have you learned how to cope with yours yet? If so, how?

[Kalyanin]

I feel your problem is confined to the ear. Follow the advice of Jimac. I am sure you are close to a cure.

Best wishes. Kalyanin