New here! How normal is this?

[warrenv9]

I was diagnosed with a bacterial middle ear infection after I started getting persistent ear ringing for a few days. This was diagnosed over the phone by an ENT doctor so it's possible that I didn't actually have the infection. I was prescribed amoxicillin.

Is it normal for the ringing to persist even if the infection has cleared? I finished my antibiotics last week Friday and the ringing is not as noticeable during the day unless I put headphones on or I'm in a quiet room.

It seems to come back in the night just before I'm about to go to sleep then lasts throughout the night until morning. I don't have any feeling of fullness in my ear, had a hearing test and the results were normal. There's some occasional popping in my right ear and a bit of of an ache in both ears.

Ringing first started on 2nd June, finished antibiotics on 11th June.

I am quiet worried that it won't go away but the audiologist did say my right eardrum looked "abnormal" so I'm waiting to hear from my GP about that.

[Happyrosie]

Hello Warrenv. I think that tinnitus does sometimes start from this sort of thing - have you gone through the British tinnitus Association website for further clues?

Once you’ve had a good read of the website you’ll be in a better position to talk to your GP.

[warrenv9 in reply to Happyrosie]

Hi, thanks for your reply. Yes I had a look on the site but was not able to find anything regarding my current circumstances.

[Happyrosie in reply to warrenv9]

I don't suppose that every single circumstance can be covered - but there's general hints about how T might start. As long as you have as much information at your fingertips you can talk to your GP with as much knowledge as is possible.

Other posters might have different replies of course.

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

As you say, it is difficult to judge whether or not you had an ear infection if it was diagnosed over the phone. It is one of the most common ways for people to experience tinnitus, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for that to potentially be the cause for you, given the results of your hearing test show no issues on that front.

Infections can take a while to heal fully and tinnitus can be present during that process - if the infection is the only reason that you're experiencing tinnitus, it is possible for it to diminish and essentially disappear, once that infection has been successfully treated.

Following up with your GP on the audiologist comments seems like a very good idea in terms of reassurance about positive outcomes.

[JanAtherton]

I had frequent ear infections when I was little and it always made my tinnitus louder, it can take a couple of weeks after your complete your prescription for your tinnitus to calm back down to it's normal base level again. You could always arrange a follow up appointment to make sure that any infection has cleared up and any damage to the eardrum is repairing itself. It sounds like you got your treatment early before further damage to your eardrums could occur. I hope you a feeling much better.🙂