Tinnitus, please help me.

[TinnitusHelpMe]

Please, any comments or anything at all, I need help.

My symptom of tinnitus started last Sunday, Jan 6th. I'm not sure what is causing it, but I went to take a audiology test and it shows that my hearing is above normal, which it shows that my eardrum and the hair in my ear are not damaged. The audiologist, she told me I don't have that much of earwax either. I told her about my cold and there's this stuffy feeling in my ear, and she said its probably the cold that caused the ear congestion, which leads to tinnitus. The cold first caused me to have stuffy nose, then it goes up to both my ears, now the muscle of my neck feel like its stuffy and hardened like my ear.

So what could be the reason I have this symptom of tinnitus. It's not the earwax, as the audiologist said. My eardrum and hair are not damaged. But my cold is not going away yet, it been 11 days since i catched the cold. I still feel this stuffy or air pressure deep inside of my ear.

So the questions I have:

1. Could the cold caused me to have a permanent tinnitus?

2. How long do you think this symptom of tinnitus will last, if it's temporary?

3. What can I do to get rid of the cold and the congestion in my ear? (I'm taking Claritin-D 12Hour which help Nasal Decongestant.)

[senita]

I didn't understand what you said..is ur ringing gone permanently?

[friggy]

Duke University just released a treatment for tinnitus, called Neuromonics.  The device is pretty expensive at this time, but it looks like the best thing going.

[102051]

I had bad cold two weeks ago since then have awful stuffy feeling in my ear and noise like I am in wind tunnel this is starting to drive me nuts have appointment with md soon but what is it?

[neurotic]

Did you find out what is the secret, because there is very little study on Tinnitus.

[neurotic]

My husband has had Tinnitus for years but he was able to deal with it.  2 years ago after a blocked artery was discovered and a stent implanted his tinnitus got so bad that he could not take it anymore.  He was put on Paxil for his anxieties and that did not help.  Had trouble sleeping, that got better but now is so much worst.  He is seeing a new audiologist next week and one of her treatment is a new FDA approved device called Neuromonics.   Have you or other members of this forum heard of this?  and if so what was the results.  Did it HElP!!!!!

[TinnitusHelpMe]

I'm the poster of this thread. I posted it back in Jan 16, 2008. It had been almost 2 years and my ear is still ringing. The good part is, the rining is almost gone. We just have to be patients. In addition, I think I know how to decrease the noise. I just need more testing to make sure it helped, which the first time it did dramatically helped. Its a secret I found out. :) Not any antibiotic or drug or consumable stuff.

[kjelltp]

Do *not* listen to people who recommend antibiotics for colds and viral infections( has 0 effect and is counterproductive).

Tinnitus can be permanent.  I've had it for 20 years.

[Tinnitusnewby]

Ok I'm 18 and have been hearing quite loud, constant and annoying ringing in my left ear from more than 21 days now. I know I am young but I have had 8 ear infections in the last ten months and yet my ENT consultant was very complacent about the reoccurance of these infections. I went to a doctor and I am on 7 different sets of antibiotics, antihistamines, ear and throat drops the works..
She is sending me for an audiogram next week, but wasn't very clear about whether the noise in my ear will fade. She mentioned pharyngitis but told me that both my ear are inflammed both on the outter and middle ear. This all arised priop to a simple 'Winter Cold' , just a week before the ringing began in my ear. I want to ask does anyone know how to actually stop the annoyance of the noise? PLEASE! :(

[bulk]

I have had it in my right ear for 5 months now - it has decreased in volume and I hope it will soon go away. Have your ent do an mri to make sure it is not from a tumor. Check with ENT what medications you are taking as that can cause tinnitus. I have heard from people who have had it for a couple of days and one for a month. I have taken claritin (4 x 10 mgs a day) and it has really helped me (allergist does not think I have an allergy but the claritin his releaving pressure somehow, somewhere.) Just keep up your courage and hang in there - if your hearing is normal it is most likely a virus and will go away. Mine was extememly loud for 3 months and then went down some and about 2 months later went down and now is almost gone. Talk to ENT about Ginko as well.

[OtisATL]

Tinnitus,
You caught the same cold, bacteria, or virus that I did in the days after Christmas.  The ringing in my ears began on Jan 3rd and have neither stopped nor diminished since then.  Yes, like Cindee says, you have an ear infection, and your use of Claritan will not help get rid of that....only prescription antibiotics will attack the infection. So get to a doctor.

Go to two other posts to read more about what you will go through:

"Anyone with Ear trouble after a winter cold?" by me (otisATL) posted Jan19

"Continuous breathing, pulsing noises..." posted Jan18

You should compare your experiences to these.

Now let's answer your 3 questions

1. Could this cause permanent tinnitus?  A bacteria infection...probably not (says my ENT Doctor) but if a virus has attacked the inner workings of the ear, like the Cochlea, then absolutely.  He was clear when he pointed out that there are certainly best case and worse case scenarios.  Infection goes away-all symptoms go away.  Virus causes permanent damage.  That was the "range".

2. How long will the ringing last?  I'd like to tell you that it will quit tonight, but I am on day 19 with no end in sight and it's driving me nuts.  I estimate that my hearing is being impeeded by 50% in my right ear (left ear for me is OK) and my hearing test shows a complete loss of the 4,000kHz range. I expect that the ring I hear is a 4,000kHz level sound.  My next ENT appointment is in 2 weeks, so I expect my total time with this ring will easily exceed a full month (ouch).

3. How should you get rid of the congestion?   Forget the Over The Counter drugs.  Your situation will need perscription antibiotics. But beware...even when my cold was over (two weeks ago) my persistent symptoms of ringing and fluid in the ears remained. I cannot "clear" my right ear, it sounds like I'm in a big empty room, and the loud ring is still there.  

I now know of 4 total people with this ear problem after having a seemingly normal "winter cold".   I will try to convince my Doctor to do some research as to what could cause this and to take steps to ensure symptoms do not become permanent.  I took 2 rounds of antibiotics, steroids, and had an MRI (brainscan) on my head all within the last 2 weeks.

I will be checking back here to see if I can gather even more info.  Good luck. This isn't fun.

OtisATL

[Cindee56]

It sounds like you have more than just a cold.  It could be a sinus infection, in which case you need antibiotics.  I would try a doctor for the cold, see what he says.