My Story

Posted , 6 users are following.

I have had tinnitus for the last 15 years. No doctor seems to give a care and tells me to live with it and they ignore my complaints. I have been told to live with it, use herbal remedies, you have a  Eustachian tube disorder, you have sinusitis/rhinitis. It all started when I had a really bad respitory virus. I complained to the doctor and he said it would go away. Well it did not. A year later (14years ago) I had septoplasty and my turbinates trimmed by an ENT. He said I would have to live with the tinnitus and he said it was because of my blood pressure which is being treated and he said it was my stomach which its not. The level of noise at the time was a constant hissing in both ears. I had a long history of sinus problems with ear pain and post nasal drip. When I got a cold I was plugged for weeks. 

Since 14 years ago I learned to live with the hissing and sometimes roaring noises 24/7. 4 years ago I started flying a lot and experienced increased tinnitus and sinus issues. Saw an allergist who said I didn't have allergies at least common allergies. Have had terrible ear aches, chronic post nasal drip of many colors, feeling crappy all the time. Saw an ENT who prescribed prednisone which I was to take after flying. It did nothing. I used sudafed an Afrin when I was going to fly and that helped. For the last 3 years I continue to have tinnitus which is mostly a hissing sound but could be a pounding roaring sound. My right ear has the biggest problems and I have a 24/7 high pitched sound that sometimes becomes a constant whine. The change in tinnitus is disturbing and depressing. I have not had a good nights sleep in months. Yes, I have had a hearing test and at 62 it showed a decrease in hearing though I don't notice it. 

I am now using Allegra, Nasacourt and a baby shampoo saline rinse twice a day. The saline rinse with the baby shampoo is supposed to flush out bacteria from the nose as I have chronic post nasal drip of various colors which by the way the ENT said was not an infection.   None of this has any effect on the tinnitus. Though after irrigating I notice a slight decrease in the tinnitus. 

I am at my lowest point in 14 years. I could live with the subtle hissing but I cannot live with the roaring or high pitched whine. Thanks for listening!

3 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi Marlene

    Very sorry to read of your problems, I am pretty new to  "tinnitus" and unfortunately I feel that I aslo will be stuck with this for life as there would appear to not be a cure. Being told that it is not serious and that millions of us live with this does not help at all, if the Drs I have seen were to suffer from tinnitus themselves maybe we would be taken more seriously. 

    All the best to you.

    Robin

    • Posted

      Hi Robin,

      Thanks for your kind words. After 14 years of tinnitus you would think I would be used to it. I was until my right ear started up with its own sounds. In my case it's much more than tinnitus or noise its Eustachian tube deficiency ,sinusitis, rhinitis and post nasal drip. With that said you would think doctors would take me seriously.

      No tinnitus won't kill us but for some of us it is due to another medical problem such as Lyme disease , thyroid problems etc.some of us could be cured if they took the time to find the cause. Not all tinnitus is just sounds and no other complaints.

      Maybe someday someone will care enough to find a cure.

      Thanks again for your kind words.

  • Posted

    Hi,

    Have you tried medications that can help you sleep or numb the noise like Clonazepam or Ambien?

    Have you tried using white noise to help you mask the tinnitus at night?

    • Posted

      I tried Ambien years before the tinnitus set in. Did not like the side effects. Occasionally I'll pop a few Benedryl at night which does help with reducing the tinnitus and I do get some rest. Tried melatonin as well but it does nothing . It is only in the last 2 months that the tinnitus has gone wild in my right ear. Have an appointment with my GP tomorrow.

      Usually I leave the TV on for a while and that helps but like I said the last 2 months...... last evening it was very hot so I ran the fan . It did not help. I'll see what happens tomorrow. Maybe I will give the white noise machine a try.

      I'm hoping we can find a reason my right ear is so messed up.

    • Posted

      Maybe ambien at a 5mg dose will help you, the full 10mg leaves me groggy and drowsy all day. 

      Klonopin/Clonazepam, start at .5 once a day, I think it will help you alot. 

  • Posted

    Hi anther Marlene here ,I've had Hissing Tinnitus and Sinisitis / Rhinitis for 12 yrs . No cure for tinnitus . Some say it's an ear thing ,others say it's the brain .Ive also developed Mdds 6 yrs ago after a visit to an osteopath for my bad Sinisitis . I think the sinuses are root cause of the Mdds ( on a boat ) Im on a BP med also . The latest thing I've got is an AVAMYS spray perscription , but not eased any of it . Sudafed can't have as it increases BP . 

  • Posted

    My ent today told me sinatrol vitamins. Spelling might be off. Listen as bad as this might sound i recently started thump feel and hear it..muscle soams thing and these ents dismiss it, its weird. And cruel. They have no cures.  The hissing and such can be inflammation related and calm down when the inflammation calms down. Be very careful with nsaids and oto toxic too. Maybe slow down on so many nasal rinses. Seems like too much twice a day. Wiping out everything in there maybe drying it all out. Too much. Have you ever used xclear spray too? 

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