1 week of horrible tinnitus

[Vincent1982]

(Excuse my Englisch, not my native tongue).

Hallo everyone. My name is Vincent. 37 years old. My biggest hobby is running. Last couple of week i ran in some vary bad weather (wind, rain, cold). Normally i don't care about it. But this time i develloped some feeling of fullness in my ears. NOT pain. Like every year i went to my doctor to syringe my ears a couple of days later. (every year for as long as i can remember i have regulair waxplugs wich are removed).

2 days after the removal 1 still felt some fullness in my ears and.. my ears started ringing. They started ringing so badly i havent slept a proper night during the last week. I returned to my docter who was a real ass about it; "well, your ears have a slight infection. The ringing is called tinnitus. Not sure if this ever goes away. But hey... just accept it because people throw themselves of a bridge because of it". This was exactly what he said. At this moment i was like... What?? Never heard of T before, but this scared the sh#t out of me. He gave me some eardrops (sofradex) en nasalspray. And told me to come back after one week if it still was the same.

My question to you, the enforunate experts; is it possible the T stays for life after a infection in the ear or is this a common (and temporary) side effect?

Kind Regards,

Vincent (the Netherlands)

[starveycat]

Might I suggest next time you go running you wear some sort of ear covering as wind in your ear can cause tinnitus

[Vincent1982 in reply to starveycat]

An excellent suggestion! Thank you. Hope it's not to late

[Claire1210]

I had some bad doctors say some horrible stuff. It scared the hell out of me. I have hope for you that it will subside you are just stressed about it. Get back to usual everyday things like running (wearing some ear muffs or a hat to keep them warm) get a sound masker to help you sleep take your mind of the noise a little. Sleep is the best medicine if you can do it. And try not to Google about it cause you will scare yourself and make your stress worse. Take care x

[emily62]

Hello. Not always ears can take a very long time to get better. I have had T and Hypercuses for four years and the last six months I have again just been able to watch TV! Without it ramping up my T

Remember ears are one of the most delicate organs in the body. Keeping calm because stress and anxiety can make T worse

I know it's easy to say!

I do feel your pain and I am so sorry this has happened to you

Take care

Emily

[-Gliderman-]

Vincent, do you own a 'smart phone' and have WIFI at home? Try finding something you might enjoy on YouTube. As you settle down to try to go to sleep, listen to your programme, using your smart phone and ear phones. An audio book, using an App like Audible, or your public library may offer an audio book service, would be an alternative.

Due to tinnitus I can't get to sleep unless aided by this means. However once asleep, it continues to play in my ear and I sleep like a baby. It is kind of 'comforting'.

Without being dramatic, tinnitus is a life-changing affliction, but, my experience is similar to yours, and believe me, whether or not your condition ever improves, you can and will come to terms with it, and be able to enjoy life as before. It just takes time. Take it one day at a time, and I do believe my tinnitus is very very slowly, getting better. Maybe I am just 'habituating' to it, but I am sure in time your condition will improve or you will be able to cope, sleep, love, live and enjoy your sport and everything else in life that's good. Here endeth the lesson, but don't let the tinnitus 'get to you' don't let it define you, you beat it. Best wishes to you. Philip.

[Vincent1982 in reply to -Gliderman-]

This gives me so much hope! Thank you so much.

It seems that my brother had T to. To my surprise he told me yesterday. He never ever told me before, and we are close. He was the leadsinger in a metalband for many years... so.... no surprise he suffers from T.

He told me that in 2010 he was ready to kill himself, but now he's able to live with it only noticing it when very quiet. This kind of conversations give me hope.

[Marlayna67]

I've had varying degrees of tinnitus since I was 11. I'm 54 now. From my level of experience, I would advise that you relax, train your mind to not focus on the sound, and quit thinking about it. Easier said than done, I know, but it's essential to your sanity.

I've had years where I barely gave it a thought. And I was one of those people who wanted to jump from a bridge.

Peace to you!

[Vincent1982]

Wow.... suchs wonderful and loving reply's. It brings tears to my eyes how much sincere love, understanding and good you are sending my way. Thank you so much all!

[LisV in reply to Vincent1982]

I've only just been advised about this chat-line (is that what you call it?) and am finding it a great source of comfort, my tinnitus, after being able to manage it for 11 years, eventually having to go private for good enough hearing aids, has ramped up its volume over the last couple of months sending me into panic and dread, and yes, wanting to die. I also used to love the silence, and especially going for late night walks, listening to night sounds which are very subtle, and feel there'll never be that silence again, and its hard to accept. I want to just fight it, but am constantly told that we are into an acceptance game rather than a fighting one. I've now got to carry my portable sound generator from room to room as the masking sound in the hearing aids isn't effective any more. sometimes the only thing that can distract me from the tinnitus is severe back pain, which I also have being in mid seventies. Getting old is no joke, not for me anyway!

[cjb2]

Hello Vincent

The answer is 'No'. It sounds like that you have got a Eustachian tube (the connection between the back of the mouth and the middle ear to equalise the air pressure on both sides of the ear drum) and/or middle ear infection which can take 1-2 months to clear. I had this last summer and I used to inhale steam with a couple of drops of Olbas Oil twice a day whilst at the same time sucking to remove the catarrh and putting a hot compress against each other like a microwave muscle warmer. You should also try sleeping on your back with your head raised to allow the tubes to drain under gravity otherwise it can run back into your middle ear. Also to ease the sound of the tinnitus, I had used some tinnitus masking apps and had played these at low volumes when it was quiet like during the night and can either or ear buds or as I have got, a sound pillow. The brain needs to be focused on the something else rather than the noise of the tinnitus. I would also suggest if you have not done so already make sure that the mineral and vitamin intake is at recommended daily levels to fight off the infection quicker.