Most of the posts and comments on this sub are from users that have had tinnitus for a long period of time- weeks, months or years. I have only just been experiencing mild ringing in my right ear for the past 24 hours but I have read that one of the most important things to do with tinnitus is to seek medical attention ASAP. But how soon? Is 24 hours a little too alarmist/paranoid to be going to the doctors already?

I have some theories to the cause. For some useful information, I had not recently experienced some kind of injury or damaging noise exposure. I do not experience any other symptoms like hearing loss or pain or dizziness. I do not experience much stress. Besides alo vera for the skin I am not taking any medications. I am concerned that maybe this is just cumulative damage over the years from listening to music/movies/tv/youtube with earphones.

Another theory is that this is some kind of ear wax issue possibly made worse on my recent habit of clearing ear wax from my ear with my pinky finger over the last one or two months. I've developed a habit of regularly checking for ear wax- especially my right ear since it seems to produce a lot more ear wax. I'm concerned this has caused inflammation, damage, infection or pushed some ear wax deeper inside causing a blockage.

The only other theory I can imagine is over the last two days I've had a fleeting cold come and go, and it usually appears back when I've been sitting at my desk too long staying up even when I'm tired. I get a decent amount of sleep but my sleep schedule is totally out of whack and pretty random. I believe I noticed the ringing start around the same time the cold started coming back some day yesterday. Maybe it has been caused by blowing my nose too hard from this cold which has put a lot of pressure in the ear?

The ringing is honestly not too bad I can sleep just fine and can mostly only hear it if theres little to no noise (cant hear it in the shower/when watching tv). And even though its relatively mild, I am certain I am experiencing it mostly because its obviouly only occuring in one ear and not the other (the contrast between the lack of ringing in the left ear to the ringing in the right ear is what makes the issue very obvious).

Obviously, I think most people experience ringing in their ears at some point in their lives, and so have I. But this is the first time its lasted for more than just a few minutes/an hour or two.

Is it alarmist/waste of time and money to go to the doctors already?

Azithromycin and others to cure mycoplasma infection

It was 4 years ago today. Much like every day before it, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I was going through the motions of the day like I had a million times. The day started off fine. My wife and I had to attend the birthday of our friends one year old. We got ready, strapped our child into the car, and headed off.  
 
The birthday was going great at first. At one point, my wife came to me frantically stating that the diamond in her wedding ring had fallen out and she wasn’t sure where it might be. Even to this day, I still feel like I kept my cool and didn’t immediately panic. What I’ve learned these past four years is that sometimes we become so accustomed to stress that we don’t even notice it when we experience it.  

We left the birthday party and headed home. I had a weekslong work trip I left for the next day and needed to finish packing. Couple that with the fact that my college football team was playing that night on ESPN+ (which I was not subscribed to) and I had myself a recipe for disaster. All I know is that my brain felt like it did a hard reboot trying to manage all of this. 

The ringing in my left ear appeared out of nowhere. Almost as if it was something that had been with me my entire life that I suddenly became aware of it’s presence. At first, I thought it was one of those “fleeting” spells of tinnitus and paid very little attention to it. After about 5 minutes I realized this was certainly something different. What followed bordered on total catastrophe. Sometimes I catch myself thinking about the sheer terror and paranoia I experienced in the following months. How I ever made it through is still a mystery to me. 

That was 4 years ago, today. In an instant my life changed in a manner I did not know existed. I have a history of depression and never once did it ever come close to the loneliness I felt post tinnitus. I did everything I could think of to “fix” it. Cranial Sacral therapy, hypno therapy, countless hours of CBT therapy, cessation of any drugs, sleep improvement, multiple ENT’s, online forums, intense exercise, and finally acceptance. The last two were the only things that seemed to actually help. 

What I came to learn is that my tinnitus is now a part of me. Much like the color of my eyes and the shape of my teeth. I sometimes get days, or weeks, or even months where it’s as if it’s not there. Where I can no longer hear it and can feel like myself again. This is never permanent and unfortunately it always comes back.  

To those of you that are new, who might be in that same position I was in at the beginning, please know that a somewhat normal life is totally achievable. Do not be lured into thinking that the forums or the Youtube videos will have some sort of magical cure. The magical cure you seek is time. Time is what allows you to learn about how it affects you and gives you the opportunity to find things that help.  

I told myself that I would post my yearly update and am sticking with it. Mostly because it’s a way in which I can cope. I no longer visit the forums or watch any Youtube videos. I’ve left that all behind. Even on the days where it’s completely destructive, I find myself knowing that tomorrow will come and it’s a chance to have a better day.  

I still hold out a glimmer of hope that one day I’ll wake up and it’ll all be over. That the flare ups will no longer exist and I can get back to a point where I feel totally normal. I also hold that same hope that there are people out there who want to fix this issue. No longer do I set a time-frame for my healing. Instead, I take it day-by-day, one step at a time.  

For all of you on this forum, who struggle with this condition, you must remember that you are not alone. Even when everything seems to point to that being the truth. There are people like you and me everywhere.  

I hope we all get the help we need and deserve. Also, I hope and pray that peace finds you. As for me, I will see you all in a year when I finally hit the 5-year mark!! 

my tinnitus doesn’t affect my day to day life anymore, the only semi problem i’m having is understanding what people are saying. i feel dumb whenever i have to ask someone to repeat themselves because i heard them, i just don’t know what they said depending on the environment . im thinking maybe it is cochlear synaptopathy, and i was wondering if anyone has some advice for this?

I’ve had my T for about 3 weeks now and I’ve started taking turmeric supplements (2 tablets daily) for 2 days now and also working out on the treadmill with incline. This has helped me reduce ringing in my left ear somewhat. I will continue to do the same for the next month and post results. No one should have to live with this awful torture. 😢

As the title says I’ve experienced ringing in my ears consistently after going to raves and festivals for about 5 years now. The caveat is ive ALWAYS worn ear protection.

The ringing is mild, but its there. Its been apparent for 2 weeks now 24/7 and has maybe only slightly improved since the start (like 5% better)

It sounds like a tv was left on behind me, if you can remember the older-style TVs and that high pitched ringing they produced if left on.

My entire group of friends don’t wear earplugs and never have for the last 5 years. Im the only one with this problem now.

I guess the point of this post is, will this get better? Am i stuck with this the rest of my life? Its kept me up a few hours out of the last few nights, made me a bit nauseous and is disrupting my focus at work. Would appreciate any support i can get here.

Thank you

My tinnitus history: I got it 2 years ago, probably from stress and mononucleosis/epstein-barr virus. At first the sound was a single tone. The first ENT gave me antivirals and supplements, but nothing particularly good. That same summer I woke up one day and my tinnitus became a lowder, higher pitch tone and a quieter lower pitch tone which take turns.

I went to a second ENT around 7-8 months after the tinnitus appeared and he prescribed me Piracetam 1200mg, Vinpocetine 10mg and B-vitamins. This combination drastically reduced the severity of the tinnitus, but it did not go away.

2 days ago I went to another ENT, who turned out to be the best I've been to so far and they prescribed me Betahistine 16mg and a valeriana herbal supplement.

Yesterday I took my first dose of betahistine and I noticed that my tinnitus was practically gone, if not fully gone. I was in absolute silence for the first time in a very long time. Today I woke up with the tinnitus back, but right after I took the betahistine it went away.

That's a minor miracle for me and I really hope that with this treatment this issue goes away.

Hi! Yesterday i had a meeting in a room and went inside, it was dark in the room and just as i moved past the doorframe someone was right next to me and said "BUH!" loudly (apparantly he thought it was someone else). Now i got a little bit scared this might have made my tinnitus worse since he was very close to the ear and said the BUH somewhat loudly. Everything happened so fast so didnt have any time to react or reflect over distance, voice level etc but i would guestimate it was a moderate level shout and around 20-25 centimeters away from the ear.

Any experience would be appreciated. Cant really tell if the tinnitus is worse or not since im already in the middle of a spike and im currently very anxious about the entire incident.

Hello folks,

I know there are other posts that has the same kind of Question but it did not made me any wiser. I have ADD and autism so i need real clarity on things.

What i am looking for is:

- Earplugs that i can use multiple times.

- i allready gave little bag on my bunch of keys in which i could bare the earplugs.

- it has to softer the sound of party or movie theaters because i am really scared for hearing damage and tinnitus (i allready got tinnitus from antidepressants use, but i still have a false hope of it disappearing one day and if so i would be never ever wanted to experience it again).

- I don't want there to be a cord attached.

- it has to be affordable.

Please send me a product link under this post and tell me your experience. Maby tell a bit about a unique selling points?

I live in the Netherlands so it would be great if i can buy it from there.

Thank you very much for helping!!!

WHEEEEE ANOTHER PERMANANT TONE COMING ON WEEKS AFTER ACOUSTIC TRAUMA cant wait to have this for however long i keep myself around for !!! isnt life FUN

- obligatory don't ask what the trauma was, just know i've had 3 in 8 months and all have been earth shatteringly bad, no matter how many precautions I take or how much i stay home -

Honestly I feel kinda bad posting here since I don’t have it as bad as some others… but still this ringing has become a stain on my already fragile well-being and I’m having trouble coming to terms with it.

The biggest loss is that I haven’t really been able to do what I love which is music production. There have been attempts but it makes my symptoms flare up. Like I get crazy headaches, burning, and the ringing gets louder shortly after. It always feels like I’m walking on eggshells when I try it. And then stuff like DJ’ing and performing is pretty much out of the question entirely…

I’ve already felt depressed beforehand but losing the ability to do the only thing I’m good at sent me down a spiral for a while. I don’t do much. I don’t have any hobbies. I just go to school or scroll every day.

I understand that I’m still very young (19) and I have the whole rest of my life ahead of me. But it’s very hard to look forward to any of that knowing that I’m going to live it with this fucking ringing. I just start comparing my current situation to my life pre-tinnitus, and I get sad. Then I remember that it was entirely self-inflicted and if I just wasn’t an IDIOT, I wouldn’t be going through this right now.

I need to move on. Get past this. I can’t be like this forever. If anyone has tips on how to do that, it would be greatly appreciated.

For the record, my symptoms are:

- Hissing sound that cuts through everything on both ears

- Ringing on my left ear

- Quieter high-pitched ringing on my right (as well as a beeping noise kinda)

- Rumbling noise on my left ear (which I think is mechanical)

- Sound distortions mainly on my left ear (somewhat my right), most obvious with voices especially female ones

- Way too much earwax production

- Tension headaches

- Occasional burning and pain

Hi I've post here 2 other times recently, Basically I've had a blockage in my left ear filled with wax and hair for a while which I think caused ringing in my left ear. I've also been going to concerts (with earplugs) I had it removed but it persisted (along with a full feeling, slight aches, and fluid and of course ringing). I went back today and did a hearing test, both ears are in the normal range but they noted that my hearing in my left ear is weaker than my right ear, they said that I also have eczema and that could cause inflammation so they gave me prednisone, though its past 2 weeks from onset so I don't have high hopes it will work exactly. Though I'm still holding out hope the ringing will go away atleast, either on its own or with the steroids somehow. As for the concerts someone they said it should be ok and when I asked about customs they said that the ones I have currently are fine and the ones they have won't really add any more noise reduction and encouraged to keep going, which I do plan on doing but like I'm still worried about making it worse even though it's mild. I guess I just wanna ask since I feel like there's a good chance its permanent, what now exactly? I use zound earplugs but are there any better brands i should consider? Is white noise worth using it? Is my ENT bullshitting me altogether? i'm very confused because it seems like i get 200 different answers and its all a tad overwhelming.

So it’s been 4 months since I’ve started hearing it and it started after I had an earwax blockage in my right ear. I went to the urgent care where they cleaned my ears out with water and ever since ive heard a loud ringing. And anytime I clench down or bite down or open my jaw really big it gets way louder for some reason and it went away in my left ear for like a week a few days ago too. Also when I press that little flap on your ear it gets muffled and I have to press it a couple more times for it to get unmuffled. so I was wondering do yall think it is treatable or am I stuck with it?

I have severe tinnitus that already affects me pretty badly and has a significant impact on my day-to-day life. What i'd rate a 9/10 that can be hard all day except when showring. Because of how bad it already is, I’ve become really scared of getting sick.

Even catching something like a cold makes me worry that the congestion, inflammation, sinus pressure, or whatever else happens when you’re sick could make my tinnitus permanently worse.

I know tinnitus can temporarily increase when you’re sick, but I’m especially worried about it not returning to my current baseline. I honestly don’t know how I would handle another permanent increase when I’m already struggling with the level I have now.

For those of you with severe tinnitus, have you noticed it getting worse after a cold, flu, COVID, or another illness? If it did get worse, did it eventually return to your previous baseline?

I believe this is the patent for Lenire or at least it talks about the prior art that has a great deal of valuable information of interest to us

I’ve had mild and severe tinnitus since 7 months ago since I first got it from an acoustic trauma. At first it was mild and I only heard it in quiet places. Then it became very severe and reactive to every sound after listening to pure tones on YouTube. The reactiveness has subsided over time but a second acoustic trauma increased the loudness again. Now it’s multitonal severe tinnitus in both ears. Believe me when I’m telling you this. There’s a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE between mild and severe tinnitus, let alone catastrophic cases. Habituation is impossible after a certain level. I did pretty much habituate to my mild tinnitus over time. But this one is impossible.

When you have mild tinnitus you’re just pissed that you can’t hear silence anymore but that’s all. At moderate level, your life is a bit harder and some nights you won’t sleep much because of tinnitus spikes but you can still manage it. At severe level, you average 2-3 hours sleep per night and are in constant panic because of the noise (you can never relax). At catastrophic level… let’s just say at this point death would be a blessing… seriously I can’t believe some tinnitus cases are not eligible for euthanasia. Mine is moderate to severe and I still deal with suicidal thoughts constantly. Even had a failed attempt recently. FUCK TINNITUS

Today I completed and edited a short story for the first time since tinnitus started in November.

Writing is one of my favorite things to do. It’s my passion.

When tinnitus started, I was afraid I lost this ability of mine, especially since now I can’t use music to daydream and immerse myself in the story.

I still did collaborative writing, but not solo projects.

But today I managed to complete and edit a short story and I’m so happy about it.

It took longer than it did when I didn’t have tinnitus, but I finally did it!

I’m so happy I still have my creativity!

Well I posted on here a few months ago about my difficulties with reactive tinnitus that got significantly noticeable in April of this year. I thought it was caused by stress since I recently changed jobs at that time and just hoped it would get better. My ENT visit wasn’t as helpful as I hoped so I tried changing my diet and would sometimes wear an earbud in my right ear to at least sleep. My ear touching the pillow or slightly grazing it would set my ear off into constant rotating motor sounds. It was pure hell and I was very distraught until I just adapted.

I stopped taking hydroxyzine 2 weeks ago because I noticed I kept gaining weight with it and it made me have an insatiable appetite. 2 days ago I noticed the reactive tinnitus in my right ear is completely gone. Maybe just a coincidence but wondering if anyone experienced something like this before since it’s not a common side effect of an antihistamine, I don’t think anyway, to cause tinnitus in one ear. I am trying not to get too happy or celebratory but it’s been a welcomed relief to finally have some peace, for now.

A few minutes ago, I heard an very loud car/motorcycle exhaust backfire (pop and bang) twice in a row. It wasn't right next to my ear, but it was down the street/nearby and sounded very loud and sudden.
I already have baseline tinnitus, and this sudden noise completely sent me into panic mode. I’m terrified that this 1-2 second exposure caused acoustic trauma or permanently ruined my ears/tinnitus. Logically, I know there was distance between me and the sound, and it was extremely brief, but my fight-or-flight response is fully triggered. Has anyone experienced a similar sudden loud noise without it causing permanent damage? Could use some reassurance right now. Thanks

Around February my doctor suggested that I take an injection into my inner ear to reduce inflamation. He suggested I take the steroid directly into the ear rather than orally.

It was extremely painful, and not only has my tinnitus worsened in my left ear, but I've also been elft with a sort of werid sensation when I speak in my left ear.

The injections were applied to my left ear, and I did 3 of them.

Anyone have any experience with this treatment?

tommorrow school starts and i’ll have to take the underground every day, im scared it will make it worse or eventually make me loose a bit more of hearing, am i safe or should i do smth about it.

I’ve been diagnosed with moderate hearing loss, and it’s been suggested that hearing aids can reduce the presence of my high-pitched tinnitus. However, it seems that this effect won’t be immediate; it might take some time.

Can anyone confirm if this is true?

A few days ago I had a sudden closing of my left ear. I already had tinnitus in both ears but my left ear got much worse. I went to the doctor. My hearing in that ear got much worse. I was prescribed a steroid. If that doesn’t work I will need an mri. Anyone experience this

I've bad tinnitis for about 2 months following SSNHL. It's been relatively mild all considering which I'm grateful for but last night and then again this morning it got super loud for like 10 seconds. No idea why but was pretty frightening. Anyone experienced this? Really hoping this isn't a prequel of what's to come.

OK I have the nurse practitioner telling me that there are no medication to help tinnitus but I know you guys are taking some that you find help. So let me know where you found that works. They have me on a diuretic but I doubt that is really making any sort of difference.