Is Tinnitus consistent?

[iraymond]

Hi, I hope you all doing well.

I am am bit frustrated today. My T has been so good for the last week or so, really down to level where I can quite easily manage it. I have felt really good. But today, after some exercise and a shower, suddenly I get this very strong pressure/blocked feeling in my right ear and then, bang, a loud, continuous tone. This is on top of my usual T.

This has happened before, I often get these little moment of pressure in one ear or the other, normally my right. Sometimes I get a lout tone for a few seconds and then it dies away, other times is might stay a while.

I just feel like there is something else going on with my ears. I have always got some uncomfortable feeling in them, normally it is worse in one ear then the other, but it changes/move from one ear to the other. Normally when one is feeling particularly blocked (or pressure.... it is hard to describe), that is the one with the loud T.

I have seen 2 nurses, 2 doctors and 1 ENT and diagnosis ranges from ear infections (which I didn't have) to TMJD (which I am not sure about, I have no pain or ache). I have another up coming ENT appointment for a hearing test. I know that I have some hearing loss, particularly in my left ear at specific high frequencies, and understand that this may cause some of my T. But if I get these new tones when I get pressure/blockage, sure it stands to reason that this is not hearing loss related? I just wish I could get someone to give my ear a thorough going over and look at all aspects rather than 5 mins and a quick diagnosis.

[Happyrosie]

Hello Ian - I've just been rereading your earlier posts and the replies, and I'm sorry you're currently on a downward trajectory. That's the trouble with T - it tries to get your attention in different ways just when you think you've got a little habituated.

You are seeing health professionals, so this next paragraph might not be helpful to you but here goes. I'm assuming you're in the UK (this site has posters from all over the world) and if you are, your doctor should be following the pathways suggested by NICE (National Institute of Clinical Evidence). Guidance given here follows evidence and input from the British Tinnitus Association's input. Go to the NICE website and put Tinnitus into their search box for information.

A book which other posters here have recommended is From Tyrant to Friend - available on Amazon.

You are currently searching for a cause. But, there may not be one (mine hasn't had a cause) and the actual search could be making your T worse. That's what it feeds on - your attention to it.

[doglover1973]

Hi Ian. I'm glad you've had a good week. Enjoy the good days and try not to let the bad days get you down. Good days will follow . The one thing I've learned in the past year is that T is unpredictable. There seems to be no rhyme or reason at times. I try to respond in the same way - whether louder or quieter - but it's not easy. I hope you find some answers at your next ENT appointment. It might be worth asking for an MRi scan.

[purenostalgia in reply to doglover1973]

Hi Ian, I too suffer from a pressure feeling in both ears on occasions, I have been given no explanation for this by the ENT doctor. I do not think the volume of my tinnitus varies much but it is my situation that makes it sometimes less noticeable, it seems more prominent in the evening. I go to bed after midnight and usually wake up about 1.30am then 3 or 4 more times until giving up and getting up at 5pm. I have been fitted with hearing aids and will report at the end of the week on how I have got on.

As my hearing was not a problem I was very sceptical on having them fitted, but as anyone that suffers from tinnitus will agree, anything is worth a try.

Mike

[Kellyc]

Pls get hearing test and maybe mri - they are loud ask for good protection. I had that and left ear has AN. The tinnitus got worse last few months and mri showed neuroma.

[Matt489]

Hi I.

I too at times have a plugged up feeling in my ears and that can switch from side to side, it can be a simple as having a slight cold, Which can cause the tubes that connect your ears to your throat not to operate correctly, this means that the air pressure in your ears can become in equal, it can then make them feel full or plugged up and in my experience definitely make your tinnitus seem louder.

The same thing can happen with the tiny muscles in your ears, they can become tense and make your ears feel plugged up and yep you got it...it makes your tinnitus seem louder.

Try and remain calm and relaxed, as we all know where that leads if we don't.

I have had T for many years and it comes and goes in volume or intensity or sound, however it is how we react to it that really matters. As doglover rightly said, treat it the same as any other time and before you know it's back to what we would call our normal tinnitus...if there is such a thing.

Good luck with the ENT and soon the good days just keep getting longer.

[iraymond]

Thank you for all your replies. It is amazing how little us new folk, and those without T, know. I thought if you had T you had a consistent, predicatable tone/moise. But in reality it is way more nuanced than that. I have layers of sound. The base being a background hiss, in both ears. That I have come to terms with but then on top of thT I get these loud, intrusive whistles occasionally. As was the case yesterday. It has gone now but background T us louder today, especially compared to last week. How do you habituate to tones that cone and go?I appreciate all the advice. I agree, it is how we react to T that is important and I am doing everything I can to learn about relaxation, mindfulness, self-care etc.

I guess I should be pleased. The first two months were all bad days but in my third month I am starting to have good days. Progress, right? I can't expect to suddenly have all good days I guess. There are things happening that are still taking me by surprise and I still have no idea on my triggers (except a good night sleep is usually follow by a good T day).

Thanks everyone

Ian

[doglover1973 in reply to iraymond]

You're doing really well Ian! I lay on the sofa for at least three months thinking dark thoughts. Then I discovered the BTA and the forum and things got gradually better. It's a steep learning curve. No doubt about it. We live & learn I suppose . There's a good book - Living with Tinnitus & Hyperacusis. It covers everything.

[iraymond in reply to doglover1973]

Thanks, I'll check put that book and also the other one often mentioned, Fiend to friend?

[doglover1973 in reply to iraymond]

Tinnitus - tyrant to friend. I don't agree with all the ideas in this one but other people here speak highly of it.

[Glynis-ringingears]

Hi iraymond,

You could have extra mucus from allergies or post nasal drip and while sleeping your eustation tubes get filled up of mucous causing spikes and pressure.

Extra pillow at night can help and antihistamines.

If you get a mucous taste then that's a good sign that's what's happening.

love Glynis