Sudden Hearing Loss, Ear Fullness, Ringing Constantly

Hi Sal and company,

I'm a newly minted tinnitus sufferer and it's been affecting me greatly. I initially didn't know what was happening and woke up in the middle of the night in an anxiety attack. I saw an ENT and in my experience, they are useless. I have anxiety 24/7 and cannot sleep well at night. I do play cricket sounds that helps me get some rest but not my usual 8 hours of full rest that I had 5 weeks ago. I had very low tinnitus that came and went but nothing serious, then, 5 weeks ago, I took some business trips and got sick (bad cold - tested negative for Covid and influenza multiple times). Doctor put me on antibiotics and prednisone....then, slowly, I'm where I am today with tinnitus in both ears and slight to moderate hearing loss. The ENT didn't even read my audio analysis to me so I'm still in-the-dark to what it says.

Anyhow, I'm scheduled to meet with a Mayo representative Monday to see someone there in Rochester, Florida, or Arizona. I also have a call into Mass Eye and Ear but they are on holiday until next week. I also see the tinnitus center in UC Irvine in March.

So, I went from 60 miles-an-hour to 20 in about 5 weeks. I did see a huge inprovement in the symptoms over Christmas (XMAS miracle?) and I felt great, like my old self, then the next morning at 2:00 a.m. it started again.

So, what should I expect with this new prognosis? The anxiety is keeping me up and masking only goes so far.

Any help greatly appreciated.

I am sorry to hear this sad news. When I first had tinnitus I visited ten or more different Doctors and ENTs with no success. I understand your commitment to find answers however please keep in mind your brain is in fright not flight. You will have multiple diagnosis and stress traveling. That would confuse me and the stress may increase the tinnitus and especially if your not wearing noise cancelling device on the plane. May I suggest you find one experienced tinnitus audiologist. They may suggest a brain scan to rule out any tumor activity which I have found rare but necessary. Based on your audiogram it should be decided if you require hearing aids and if so please make sure they have both sound and amplification. I used white noise with my hearing aids and you could also use an ipod or your phone by finding noise that is simply delightful as the brain will pick up the new noise and disconnect from the noise your hearing. This takes time and a good attitude. You might also try cognitive behavioral therapy and a phycologist can help you learn about how to control the reaction to the noise. In regard to ENTs they cannot help you unless you have somatic tinnitus or tinnitus outside the brain. That would include having ear wax, estucian tube infections or misaligned jaws. Tinnitus from damaged hair cells in the cochlear nerves are in the brain so basically you hear with your brain. I barely touched on such a vast and complicated disorder as helping you is not just a simple question and answer on a support site. You can look me up under peer support at week.ata.org in Florida under my name Sal Gentile or message me I will be glad to have an on line conversation with you.

I am sorry to hear this sad news. When I first had tinnitus I visited ten or more different Doctors and ENTs with no success. I understand your commitment to find answers however please keep in mind your brain is in fright not flight. You will have multiple diagnosis and stress traveling. That would confuse me and the stress may increase the tinnitus and especially if your not wearing noise cancelling device on the plane. May I suggest you find one experienced tinnitus audiologist. They may suggest a brain scan to rule out any tumor activity which I have found rare but necessary. Based on your audiogram it should be decided if you require hearing aids and if so please make sure they have both sound and amplification. I used white noise with my hearing aids and you could also use an ipod or your phone by finding noise that is simply delightful as the brain will pick up the new noise and disconnect from the noise your hearing. This takes time and a good attitude. You might also try cognitive behavioral therapy and a phycologist can help you learn about how to control the reaction to the noise. In regard to ENTs they cannot help you unless you have somatic tinnitus or tinnitus outside the brain. That would include having ear wax, estucian tube infections or misaligned jaws. Tinnitus from damaged hair cells in the cochlear nerves are in the brain so basically you hear with your brain. I barely touched on such a vast and complicated disorder as helping you is not just a simple question and answer on a support site. You can look me up under peer support at week.ata.org in Florida under my name Sal Gentile or message me I will be glad to have an on line conversation with you.

Hi Sal,

I sent you a LinkedIn connecting and note. I would love to connect with you regarding Tinnitus and lesson's learned.

My email is in the LinkedIn connect.
My cell is in the LinkedIn connect.

Thank you Sal and I look forward to connect with you soon!