Tinnitus

[Quiver0f10]

Anyone ever deal with this? All of a sudden yesterday I noticed a ringing in one of my ears and it's driving me nuts!

 

I have had off and on sharp, deep pain in this ear for a few months but I had thought it was either fliud or a cold in my ears. The pain would only last a few seconds to 30 seconds at the most and come every few weeks so I didn't think it was an infection.

 

Now today I have ringing in my right ear, some dull pain and it feels like their is fluid in there ( I don't know how else to describe it) and my left ear feels clogged, but I can hear out of both ears fine. Edited: After my surgery I had a few days of dizziness even with just sitting down. I am still light headed and black out just about every tme I stand. I wonder if this is inne ear related?

 

One thing I remebered today is that when I would use my cell phone for the last few months it would hurt my right ear. Like the phone was too loud. Again, not every time, but every now and then. Now I am worried I have ear damage, but my left ear is weird too so I don't know. My sinsuses have been bugging me and I have been taking sudafed.

 

I don't listen to loud music or any loud noise. I did have surgery last week( not on my ear) and they gave me a large dose on IV antobiotics during it, which I read today that some antobiotics cause cause Tinnitus.

 

So now I am at a loss. I made an appontment with an ear nose throat Dr for Thursday but in the meantime I am trying to not lose my mind. I have been under a lot of stress so I am sure that is part of this too. My left eye has been twitching for days. It just seems like there is one thing after another wrong with my health and I have about had it. I am eating well, excersizing, lost 100#s+ and I am dealing with all this crap!

 

Any else suffer from this? Any help or tips? What @ Ginkgo biloba?

[Laura Corin]

Neither has found anything that really helps with it. My mother listens to the radio/music most of the time, to drown it out. Husband just deals with it.

 

I hope you find some relief,

 

Laura

[Erica in OR]

He has tried a lipoflavonoid supplement specifically marketed for tinnitus. I've found it in drugstores such as Rite-Aid and Walgreen's. Unfortunately, it's fairly expensive ($30 a bottle, I think?), so I only buy when it's on sale. From what I've heard, it can work for some, but not necessarily everyone. He didn't think it yielded a major improvement, but it may have helped.

 

A wishy washy answer, I suppose, but it's one option.

 

Erica in OR

[Jenny in Atl]

I've had it for years now. I guess I just have gotten used to it. I also listen to a lot of music (have a hard time with total silence now). Make sure you don't have an ear infection or maybe an allergy?

[elegantlion]

I have it when I have sinus issues, which seems to happen more lately.

[jacqui in mo]

Medications certainly can cause tinnitus. Aspirin can cause it as well as your antibiotics. Also if you have fluid in your middle ear that can contribute. Seems like you have several factors that add up to the tinnitus, but hopefully that means it's just temporary. It's very annoying even temporarily. I'm glad you're going to the ENT but don't expect a quick fix. Jacqui

[Quiver0f10]

Thank you all. I am trying to stay positive, but it's hard at this point. I am just praying it's temporary.

[Laurie4b]

Thank you all. I am trying to stay positive, but it's hard at this point. I am just praying it's temporary.

 

It probably is temporary given all that you've described. I have it and I have mostly gotten used to it. I have an alarm clock that can play ocean sounds and if it's distracting me at night, I play that.

 

If you keep background noise going, your brain will pay attention to that instead of the tinnitus. (The noise is actually generated by your brain because of damage to the ear which is sending signals it can't interpret, so it assigns a "noise" to those signals. It prefers external noise, so it's easy to overcome the effect of the brain-generated noise.)

[Quiver0f10]

Thanks. I did notice it's less annoying when there is other noise or when I am busy. I slept with my son's Ipod playing Third Day, really low. I would wake often but I was able to get some rest.

 

Edited: I went to the Dr yesterday and he said my outter ear looked fine, but that my sinuses were probably infected. I am wondering if my sinuses can affect my inner ear? Cild I have fluid behind my ear even if he said my ear looked fine? ( Could he see the inner ear with just that light thing he used?) Both ears hurt today and feel blocked, I have a head ache and my nose is runny, but thank the Lord, only ringing in my right ear. He gave me Mucinex-D and an antibiotic.

Edited February 22, 2009 by Quiver0f10

[Cheryl in NM]

I have tinnitus. It can be maddening at times! I've noticed when I run the humidifier at night it helps because it's a white noise. Also, when it's particularly distracting when I'm trying to go to sleep I'll turn the TV on at a low volume (I can't even understand what they are saying), set the timer for 30 minutes and I'm asleep before I know it.

 

I agree with pps that this is probably temporary. It sounds like you might have more than 1 problem going on. My tinnitus is worse when my allergies are worse.

 

Good luck!