Tinnitus? Please help

[Jlavoie 14]

Hello alll! I developed ringing in my left ear in February and then my right ear started as well right after a bad cold. Went to dr and I had no fluid but said I had eusatian tube dysfunction and referred me to EnT. Well Covid came and I couldn’t go. But the ringing subsided and was just very faint in my left ear and I barely noticed it at all until two weeks ago. I now have loud ringing in my left ear went to dr and no fluid but said my ear drum wasn’t pressurizing correctly but that shouldn’t cUse ringing. I’m freaking out that this will never go away it’s so loud and I am having such a hard time sleeping!! Any info on if people go through spurts of tinnitus flares! Could it be something bad? Please help! I should add I have been having some minor ear pain. Just worried it could be something bad but I know it’s a common thing that sadly people get. I’m 24 so just worried and really appreciate all input 

[MARC 431]

I have tinnitus pretty much all of the time in my left ear. When I told my internal medicine and ENT physicians, there respone to me was they have it too and not to worry about it. 

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[Jlavoie 14]

@MARC thank you for the response! I know it usually nothing to worry about but I just didnt I or if it’s normal to have flare ups where it gets much louder and now it’s both ears 

[MARC 431]

I get mine mainly in my left ear and it changes in intensity pretty much without warning. Like today, it is more noticeable to me. 

[Jlavoie 14]

@MARC thank you! Ugh just something I need to learn to live with just very uncomfortBle and frustrating. Was just curious if like season changes and stuff can cause this as well 

[BedDweller 1]

I'm 26 and I've had tinnitus for as long as I can remember (sometimes I wonder if I was born with it), so I can assure you that it's harmless. :3  Many different things can cause ringing in the ears such as allergies, anxiety, and loud noise.

[MARC 431]

My ENT physician told me sinus issues, loud noise over time, aging and for no reason at all can cause tinnitus. 

[Jlavoie 14]

@BedDweller thank you so much for the response! It brings relief that someone my age has experienced this(I wish neither of us have had this but it helps knowing it’s nothing major) do you do anything for relief or have you just come to live with it? Do you also go through times of it being louder than others? And @MARC interesting okay so i now need to find ways to just cope with is because it clearly is just a common thing sadly that can occur for no sinister reason. Once again I truly appreciate both of your responses it’s helping just knowing how common it can be and any advise I really appreciate 

[BedDweller 1]

3 hours ago, Jlavoie said:

@BedDweller thank you so much for the response! It brings relief that someone my age has experienced this(I wish neither of us have had this but it helps knowing it’s nothing major) do you do anything for relief or have you just come to live with it? Do you also go through times of it being louder than others? And @MARC interesting okay so i now need to find ways to just cope with is because it clearly is just a common thing sadly that can occur for no sinister reason. Once again I truly appreciate both of your responses it’s helping just knowing how common it can be and any advise I really appreciate 

I'm used to it, but having background noise does help with the ringing. In general I don't like being in a silent room, so I always have a fan on for white noise. It doesn't lessen the ringing sound for me (being in crowd or other noisier events is when I don't hear it as much), but it works as a distraction. As for periods of it being louder, that doesn't really happen to me, but sometimes I do experience a brief change in sound and pitch that quickly resolves itself.

You're welcome, and I'm happy that I could help with reassuring you. 😁 I'll also add that my mom deals with tinnitus, but I'm not sure if hers is constant or not

[PennyPanic 276]

I've had it for so long...I don't remember not having it. Sometimes it gets louder, sometimes softer...sometimes I think it goes away. I think allergies make it worse. I don't know. It's just there. It's amazing what we can get used to, I guess. Others in my family have it as well. One of my best friends has it too. I think it's pretty common. I have it right now. Didn't notice it until I read your post. 😊

[Jlavoie 14]

@PennyPanic thank you so much for replying! Very interesting to hear, since February mine goes through spouts of being softer, louder and then times when I didn’t even think about it or notice it at all, which is what I need to try and do! My mother in law has it as well and drs said the same nothing they can do. Since I’m younger people my age don’t really talk about their health or don’t even pay attention to much. I went through a bad bout of health anxiety and got much better but still have minor set backs and this was one of them, so it’s helpful to have you guys to get advise from and help calm me down! I agree I think it’s very common and most people probably pay no attention to it, but one of those things that was driving me nuts and freaked me out a bit and still slightly is but I’ve really tried to stop obsessing over if i hear ringing or not and seems to be better. ☺️

[Jlavoie 14]

Question- does anyone have any tips on how to cope and sleep with the ringing? I have fans going and a sound machine and sometimes I’m just so hyper focused I make it worse and don’t know if there’s things I can do to help me not focus on the ringing in my ears when trying to sleep? 

[AriaRen 19]

I get it from time to time, and I find scratching beside my ear and focusing on the sound of the scratching instead of the ringing tends to make it fade. Super weird one, I know, haha, but it always helps me! 

[Jlavoie 14]

@AriaRen I will have to try that out! I appreciate the tip! ☺️ It’s been lingering for like 6 weeks but I’m kinda congested so hoping it’s just allergies and will subside soon but it’s really messing with my sleep 

[Debant 0]

TMJ CAN CAUSE RINGING IN YOUR EARS.  DO YOU CLINCH/GRIND YOUR TEETH AT NIGHT, WAKE UP WITH SORE JAW MUSCLES AND/OR HEADACHES, MUSCLE TENSION IN YOUR SHOUDLERS AND NECK, NECK PAIN, EAR PAIN (MILD OR SEVERE)?  IF YOU DO, YOU SHOULD SEE A DENTIST AND GET A BITE GUARD MADE TO SLEEP IN.  IT WILL WORK WONDERS FOR YOU.  

[Jlavoie 14]

Hi @Debant I don’t believe I clench or grind, this came on in February during a bad head cold, went away this summer and came on again in October out of the blue. Been having ear pain on and off and do have very stiff, sore neck and shoulders. My anxiety has ramped up thinking that I have something bad going on. But had a clean MRI January 2019. I’ve tried Benedryl and allergy meds but they don’t seem to help. Here in New Hampshire the it has gotten cold and winter is coming. Since I was fine all summer and I do have ear pain I’m thinking it’s sinus related? Seems like lots of people have tinnitus I just have been focusing on it since it’s so new for me and I’m struggling.

[MARC 431]

My friend has Tinnitus too and at first he was quite nervous about it. His physician said there is nothing that can be done about it so he has told me has learned to accept it. 

[Jlavoie 14]

@MARC sadly I think that’s what I need to do. I keep focusing on it which I’d making it worse. 

[Fishbomb 2]

I've had tinnitus since I was a small child and learned to just live with it- in fact, I had no idea that some people didn't have ringing in their ears til I was much older and heard the term "tinnitus". It's just one of those things that some people get, but I understand the constant sound can drive some folk nuts! 

There are quite a few youtube vids that play tones and background sounds that have provided me INSTANT relief. I have no idea the science behind it, they just work for me! Just search "tinnitus sound therapy" and a few will come up. I had no idea I had also been experiencing a sense of pressure along with the tinnitus til I listened to one of these clips and it disappeared. I know I sound like a maniac or someone selling something, but these things work for me. When I'm tired, the ringing in my ears becomes harder to ignore, so I keep this method in my back pocket.

[Jlavoie 14]

@Fishbomb I truly appreciate your helpful response! I am going to try that tonight I use fans and a white noise app on my phone and it helps me a bit I think it’s just cause it’s so new for me I’m hyper focusing and keep checking to see if it’s gone since it went away once before. But I will search YouTube tonight! ☺️

[davide.h 26]

I've had it twice. In 2018 and now. It's in my right ear. Not sure if it's relevent but that's the ear I always sleep on.

[Jlavoie 14]

@davide.h it started in my left then now it’s in both since it flared up again a few weeks ago! Going to try to get in with ent but hoping it’s just a flare up and will settle down soon since it has before. Hoping it’s just seasonal allergies

[Jlavoie 14]

Hello all! Question.. I’m still struggling with my ears ringing my dr said he has no worries and sadly lots of people have tinnitus but not much they can do. My question is does anyone who has it have like a few days or a week when the ringing is really loud then others when it’s there but not that bad? I had about a week where I barely even noticed it at all and was relived now this week it’s back and making it hard for me to sleep. I do use a fan and sound machine.. mic issue is my right ear.. the sound in my ear sends a weird sensation down my spine and back and it’s very uncomfortable so it makes my hearing in my right ear more sensitive. Just trying to get use to this and understand what I can about it

[MARC 431]

I have had ringing 24 hours a day 7 days a week for years now in my left ear and have gotten used to it. Sometimes it is more noticeable than other times. My ENT and internal medicine physicians told me they both have it too and not to worry about it. 

[Zazz 20]

Tinnitus is super duper common and can be caused by a really wide variety of things. I recently learned earwax can even cause that and pain too. The most common causes are probably exposure to loud sound or change in pressure (which could even just be a change in weather). I'm 33. First time I had it was probably in my early teens after driving over the mountain... lasted the entire weekend till I came home and was really frustrating.

Currently have it with other symptoms (pulse in my ear, pain in the ear, head, and neck, hearing loss) and the ENT said I have impacted earwax.

Not gonna lie, I considered far more serious possibilities since my PCP thought it was swelling. But nope, it's not even that.

My brother also has tinnitus and has since he was probably 17. To be fair, he ran his bike into a parked car... so that's how that happened. He once got annoyed that I mentioned it (can't remember the context). In his words (paraphrasing): "I'd forgotten about it and now I can hear it again!". Oops! 😅