Ringing, headaches, cracking... ETD? Tinnitus? Help!

[erik759]

Alright, one month ago I was sick with upper respiratory flu and watching a movie when all of a sudden my ears just started to ring like crazy. At first I thought I was going mad, and I think I may have had an anxiety attack, but afterward the ringing decreased to a level where I felt like I wasn't losing my mind, and the anxiety wore off. Today I still have had a constant ringing in my ear. It has not once gone away, even for a second. I have tried amoxicillin in case of a sinus infection, but that has done nothing, and I have also been using Nasonex daily to no avail. My first doctors visit came to the conclusion I had fluid in my ears which was causing the problem due to what they thought was ETD. but that was 5 days after the initial ringing. I've had two more doctor appointments since then, and they have done nothing to help. On my latest visit, the doctor said he could see no fluid in my ears, yet I still had the ringing and all these symptoms... I get headaches daily, sometimes multiple times a day, my ears seem to crack every time I swallow or yawn, and I have a fullness feeling in my ears. Coupled with my chronic insomnia, sleep is nearly impossible it feels like I am going to be stuck like this forever. None of the doctors seem to really know much or care. They haven't taken any MRI's or CT's, or had any bloodwork done on me. I feel as if they almost aren't taking me seriously. My quality of living has dropped dramatically and I don't know if I can imagine living the rest of my life like this. I get pain all the time in my head and around my ears and I am constantly fatigued from a lack of sleep too. I have not yet been to an ENT but I called to get an appointment set up. Who knows how long that may be though.... It could be a month before I'm seen by anyone.

Anyone have any similar problems or information? This is by far the toughest thing I have ever been through. Any help would be immensely appreciated.

thanks

[Peter789]

Hi Eric,

a few years ago my ears started ringing. Louder and louder. First I was able to keep it
under control simply by drinking more water during a day and trying to go to bed earlier.
But later on the ringing got the upper hand again.

But today I succeed again. I own an apple iPod and there is a medical software called
"tinnitus help". I use it before going to sleep and I think It helped already a lot (5 weeks, 15 min. each day).

Perhaps this experiences can help you and other tinnitus patients.

Best regards.

Peter

[erik759]

Hey everyone, I've been through a lot lately forgot to get back to this.

It's been 7 months now and the ringing has not gone away. I've tried gingko biloba and lipo flavanoid off and on but haven't had any success. I've been having horrible stomach/abdomnial issues too which is partly why I haven't been religious with that route. I've since been to two ENT's, has an audiology test done to see if there was any damage or too much pressure within the ear. All tests came back clear. I think I've come to the conclusion this is just something I'm going to have to live with. It's very uncomfortable, but I can manage. Time does indeed help. The sound doesn't necessarily decrease, but I'm just more used to it and I'm able to block it out.

So yeah, no luck. I may look into those two medicines you suggested OHNS, but I feel like this is just one condition that cannot be solved at our current medical state. Maybe 10 years from now I will be healed or there will be some new breakthrough. For that I'll be painfully optimistic.

Best wishes to everyone,

Erik

[ENTMD]

I generally don't recommend medications for ETD and tinnitus, as I am not aware of any well-controlled studies that support their benefit (with an exception of the benzodiazepine class for tinnitus, but this is rarely indicated) over placebo.  I noticed that you have been recommending Fexofenadine and Neurobion forte (respectively) for these problems.  Perhaps there has been some new research.  If you have a chance, I would be very interested in reviewing any references you may have for these!

Thanks

[OHNS2010]

Hi Erik,
          what you are going through is one of the common problems people face following an attack of upper respiratory tract infection. The reason for this is, following an attack of cold there is blockage of the Eustachian tube (the tube which connects the nose and the ear), this happens because of the swelling around the opening of the tube at the nasal end of the tube following the infection. So there is negative pressure created inside the middle ear leading to accumulation of fluid inside as the secretion can not drain into the nasal cavity because of the blockage of the tube. This accumulation of fluid causes ear blockage as well as ringing in the ear.

           It is usually very irritating but you can reduce it by taking stem inhalation 3-4 times per day and drink plenty of warm water. Try taking the following medicines:
1. Tab. Fexofenadine 180mg once in the night (this opens up Eustachian tube) x 10days
2. Cap. Neurobion forte once a day (reduces the ringing sensation) x 10days.

           Also get Impedance Audiometry done to look for the pressure in the middle ear. Hope you try this. Good Luck.

with regards
Naveen ENT

[maryg117]

Hi - I understand how much this can take over your life - my dad has had tinnitus most of his life and the doctors weren't much help to him either.  I don't think anyone really understands unless they have tinnitus or know someone who suffers.

Even if the doctors won't help there is plenty of help and advice out there - try http://www.squidoo.com/how-you-can-cure-your-tinnitus

[TragicOHara]

Hey Im 23 and im going through the same problem right now. Been to the doctor and told me to take sudafed which didnt work, i then left it for a couple of days and took it again with a nasal spray which made it much worse. Went to the doctors again and he gave me nasonex. That can take up to 2 weeks to build up and then something like 6 weeks to clear it. Im 3 weeks into the nasonex today and i feel it getting better.

Ive got ringing in my ears, they crack and pop when i swallow to. Theres a couple of things that have helped me. One simple thing is chewing gum. I chew gum all the time and it seems to relieve the pressure and they dont crack half as band. As for the ringing it is bad and gets better all the time. It hasnt went completely away and over the last couple of days it gets really intense in my right ear for like 10-15 seconds then dissappears.

Ive had it for 6 weeks now but the hardest thing to deal with is im a musician. Im just starting to get somewhere with my music just getting my 2nd LP out and then this happens. Ive been wearing earplugs all the time before this happened but its still pretty scarey. The things thats helped me the most is just getting on with it. Played my first show since it happened on Saturday and came back and my Tinitus felt better than ever. Think alot of it has to do with stress and worry. I also looked into it and some of the greatest musicians had Tinitus such as Thom Yorke from Radiohead, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Lemmy from Motorhead even William Shatner and Leonard Nemoy have tinitus from shooting Star Trek. That was a big comfort for me. The thing is we have ETD and it will go away, If they got blocked they can be unblocked. It will get better. I see you posted this a while ago. How are you getting on. Hope everythings good?

All the best
Tragic O'Hara