? Tinnitus And Ear Pain Still Occurring 2 Months After Head Cold ?

I had a head cold From about 9-17th April this year in which mostly I was getting headaches and my hearing went weird. It may not have had anything to do with it, but I went to a club a few days after and a few days after that my ears have felt; clogged (this affected my hearing a bit for a few weeks), ringing like I just came out of a disco (tinnitus), louder and abnormally erratic clicking or ear popping (due to any facial movement, swallowing or yawning), pressure behind my ears, hearing my voice in my head when talking (which went after a couple of weeks), eardrums feeling physically sensitive (sometimes actually more sensitive to sound), inner ear was sensitive for a week, also throbbing or burning a bit and finally after a recent car journey I became very queasy which also worsened the ringing and throbbing (possibly the result of an ear blockage or something affecting my balance) which now means I’m sometime dizzy or light headed (though this was already happening a bit before then too). If I push my fingers into my ear then I feel a stronger sensation of the brusing feeling presumably from my eardrums. The symptoms never go away (unless previously mentioned) and initially I was said to have had a retracted eardrum with the other ear being slightly inflamed (no blockages of earwax etc), but since then they’ve checked my ears and apparently it’s pretty much gone (the most reliable doctor does not believe that the loud music at the club had anything to do with the tinnitus). Most of the symptoms are directly linked to each other as they all always worsen or improve together (so the tinnitus is better when the throbbing is etc) but more than anything the tinnitus is driving me a bit crazy and at the moment I’m just being told to wait by the doctors in the hope that it’ll pass before they possibly eventually take it further. Incidentally my jaw aches and as a result sometimes clinches (which may have nothing to do with this problem as it comes and goes as a the last few months) but I know this can sometimes be a problem and I’m having that checked out soon too.
Can tinnitus be caused and sustained purely from these other physical symptoms, as I’m desperately hoping it’s not permanent. And what else could be done to at least identify the problem given that I’m clearly feeling physical symptoms as well as the tinnitus?

[tschock]

TMJ comes to mind. Can cause all sorts of havoc on the face/jaw/ear area.

You said you clinch your jaw at times...so it's quite possible.

Did you see a doctor while you were having an " attack" of dizziness?
If so, did they say that there was fluid in your ears?

Ask to be checked for Meniere's disease.
Your symptoms sound so much like mine, that I think it's worth a shot.

[mefromPhilly]

Sorry for the long post...

I developed tinnitus after a bad sinus infection. This was back in 2008. After a few days I called my GP but he couldn't see me so I had a physicians assistant look at me (BIG MISTAKE!). She had me going deaf. So that same day I went to an ENT. In his office an audiologist did  hearing tests...my hearing was perfect. I then saw the Dr. and after examining me and asking a few question he diagnosed me with unilateral pulsatile tinnitus since it was in one ear and synced with the beat of my heart. he did say it can be acquired from a sinus infection.  So...I learned to live with it and most times I don't even notice it. But once in awhile especially when I have a cold or sinus infection especially it will get worse and even both ears will hiss, feel full and lightheaded and is not pulsating.

Around 2010 I went to Jefferson Univ Hosp Balance and Hearing Center in Philly because I was experiencing fullness hissing etc and it was driving me nuts. HA! While I was in the waiting room the fire alarm went off. WOW! That really hurt my ears! I am sensitive to load music or noises. They did a VERY extensive hearing test and told me my hearing was perfect. The Dr. examined me with the 2 sided stethoscope, he couldn't hear anything. I had MRI's from the other Dr. NOTHING abnormal. I told him if I press the side of my jaw the pulsating ring will stop. He said there could be very small blood vessels obstructed causing it or some people have blood pressure in their head higher than rest of body. To test any of this he said there are actually very invasive tests and it was up to me to have them done depending on how bad the tinnitus is. Needles to say I didn't have the tests done. I sleep with a fan on or rainforest mpg playing through clock radio to mask the tinnitus. That works very well and is calming anyway. The rest of the day the ambient noise is so loud I don't notice it.

I have a cold now and tinnitus is bad  fullness, lightheaded/foggy, some pain, hiss. Although it was like that before the cold but I was also very stressed over the summer so I'm wondering if that could have something to do with it. Every once in awhile it gets like this. It usually passes but this has been a bit longer than usual.

Mine could be  Meniere's because my grandmother had it and I don't usually have lightheaded or foggyness. But I don't really have anything like vertigo. Anyway...

It can be very scary, frustrating and stressful but get it checked out...even a second opinion just to make sure it's nothing serious. But if it's tinnitus your going to have to find a way to live with it. Sound masking, ear plugs for loud music shows etc...

The first Dr. gave me Lipo-Flavonoids for ear health which seems to help.