Tinnitus, causes and the cinema? Please help!!!

Posted , 4 users are following.

Hi all, my first post here, I have a few things I would like to ask so I'll start by telling you all about my Tinnitus first.

So, My tinnitus started last January when I was suffering a bad cold ( it came on day 3 of my cold) , when I had my cold my T was the worst I had ever had it , the only way to escape it was going outside. Then a month later it was gone , once my cold had gone my tinnitus was gone , then four weeks later in Feb 2017 it was back one morning when I woke up, I had not been anywhere noisy like concerts, cinemas ect, I had stayed at home the day before so was really confused why it came back , so I went to my GP who said both ears were full of fluid it took from feb until April last year to clear it but tinnitus was still there over a month later so as my ears were clear she sent me to an ENT specialist but I'm still waiting to see him\her as i have only just got my appointment for 19th of April? At the beginning from Feb - may last year was when my tinnitus was it's worst I could hear it over the TV , couldn't sleep and could not focus on anything but then sometime in may last year my tinnitus seemed to be getting lower ( I'm not sure if it was getting lower or I'd just had enough of letting it ruin my life so just learnt to live with it) I was able to watch TV in peace , I can sleep now even without a masking machine at night, this is how iv been since may last year and my T is still like this today that I hardly hear it, most days I even forget that I have T the only time I hear it now is if I'm in a quiet room or if I'm purposely trying to hear it. Luckily i have not had another cold and am dreading having another cold.

My GP dosernt think my T is noise induced as never been to a club in my life and iv never been to any live events either the only loud place I go is the cinema ( before T) but I only go like once a year as most films I'm happy to wait til DVD release, i also dont work in a noisy environment, I don't listen to music through headphones or earphones and never have , i only listen to music through my iPad and always have it low , the only thing I was exposed to every day was my hairdryer I would dry my hair everyday and it would take an hour so not sure if you can get T from using a hairdryer everyday but since T I stopped using a hairdryer.

I have also see a private audiologist for advice and said he's unsure what's causing my T that's why I'm seeing a ENT but he said he's never know of anyone getting it from simply using a hairdryer and he feels it's not noise induced as like I say I never have been to live events or clubs ect and don't work in a noisy job. So he feels that it was my cold that caused it as it started when I had a cold and he thinks that because I'm always congested that could be why I still have T. I have always been congested even as a kid and I tried dozens of different prescriptions from my GP for De- congestions and nasal sprays and they do nothing for me, iv never been able to breath through my nose at night either, being congested is normal for me.

My GP has also ruled out my medication as I take an antihistamine as I'm allergic to mold spores but it made no difference to my T when I came of it, and since being back on them it still makes no difference, I also take lansaprazole as I have acid reflux but again no difference in T off it and no difference when back on them, and I suffer with very heavy painfip periord so I'm on the depo shot but again no difference when I came off so we have ruled out medication.

So now you know my Tinnitus story I wanted to ask a few things

1) can you get T from a hairdryer? ( It was the only thing considered loud I was around on a daily basis)

2) do you think my GP and audiologist could be right that it's not noise induced and could be linked to my long battle since I was a kid with being congested?

3) iv not been to the cinema since getting T but I really want to go see avengers infinity war in cinemas in April , but am worried it might make my T worse, my audiologist said that I should be fine as long as I wear noise reducing earplugs as mine is not noise induced , he said he would only advise those who T came from noise exposure like loud music , concerts etc to be careful with the cinema but he said as yours is unlikely to be caused by noise he thinks I'll be fine aslong as I wear ear plugs, do you agree?

Any advice very appreciated

1 like, 19 replies

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  • Posted

    I always take musician earplugs to the movies in addition to ear muffs. I find it I only need both during the trailers and only the ear plugs during the movie if the movie is noisy.

    So far, I don't feel my tinnitus has gotten worse and my tinnitus, the ENTs believe it was noise induced.

    • Posted

      Hi, thanks dymaz , from what I've said above do you think my GP and audiologist could be right that mine is probably not noise induced?

    • Posted

      I've read in many forums of people who think they got tinnitus from using a hairdryer and most that have tinnitus, regardless of the reason, use earplugs when blowing their hair and /or buy a quieter model.

      Did your audiology results show any hearing loss or nerve damage, like a small notch somewhere? If not, it's possible your tinnitus is not noise induced but then again, the possibility of hidden hearing loss still exists.

      It seems like you're in a better condition then me. I would still protect my hearing just in case.

    • Posted

      No nothing showed up , I hardly hear my T except for when I'm in a quiet room , I never hear it outside either, he thinks it's my cold that caused it and he said a hairdryer is a very rare cause but since colds and congestion are known to cause T it's highly likely that it's the cold, and he also said I should be fine at the cinema as long as I have plugs.

  • Posted

    Hi Sarah - I can relate to so much you said.  I am waiting for an appoint to ENT.  I have never had T in my life.   But this Jan suffered a viral flu followed by cold/congestion and sore throat.  My T started mid Jan - like you woke up to this buzzing noise in my ears.  Didn’t even know about tinnitus until I googled my symptoms.  I have been to the walk in clinics 3 times since January and the doctor on call confirmed presence of fluid in my ears.  I saw my family doctor last Tues March 13 - and I still have fluid in my ears.  Since the nasal spray and over the counter decongestants the walk in clinic doctors prescribed aren’t working my family doctor has referred me to an ENT but it may be 2 months before I can get into see one.  Waiting on a call.

    My doctor feels my T is due to the virus and so there may be hope it may go away.  But it’s been 2 months and hard to live with.  Due to the fluid I experience vertigo too and there are days I am so dizzy I cannot keep anything down due to nausea.

    Since you can pinpoint to your cold I too think it isn’t noise induced or your hairdryer.  Coincidentally my doctor recommend blowing hairdryer on low heat into my ear to see if that will help drain it.  She says exercise might help too.  

    I keep trying different things but nothing eliminates the buzzing completely.

    There are days it is significantly less though.  Seems to be in a pattern right now.  One day good followed by 2 days of louder buzzing.  This too makes me think it’s a virus.

    Have you had previous experiences with viruses causing side effects?  I did two other times in my life.   Once affected collegen and 2nd time my thyroid.   Both those took months to clear up.  

    Wishing you relief soon as this truly is miserable.

    • Posted

      I've never had an side effect from colds before last Jan. The first couple of months were the worst but after a while you just get fed up with the T to a point were you just don't care about it anymore, iv had mine for over a year now, and it's a lot quieter now than a year ago. I still had the T even once I got rid of all the fluid in my ears but my sinus was still congested that was why my GP sent me to the ENT as she was confused when my ears were clear but I still had T. Steam helped clear my ears.

    • Posted

      I know that your suppose to just keep your head still under the towle while the steam works but I turned my head side to side at a time to allow the steam to go directly in my ear and it worked.
    • Posted

      Must try that tonight - thanks so much for the suggestion.  
    • Posted

      Your welcome , I forgot to mention I did it 3 X a day.
    • Posted

      Were results noticeable within a couple of days?
    • Posted

      Hi Sarah - did you put anything into the boiling water?   Did a bit of a search online - seems some recommend tea tree oil and lavender essential oils added to the boiling g water can help.

    • Posted

      Hi, sorry iv not got back sooner I own tow dogs a GSD and a rough collie they just enjoyed there evening walk😄, I noticed results withing a week but when my sister had a cold here was cleared in a few days , if always suffered with congestion even as a kid so being congested is pretty normal to me. I did not put anything in it just the boiling water, I suffer with a gag reflex so I couldn't put anything in it.

      I read some say epsom ( think that's how you spell it) salts.

    • Posted

      Thanks Sarah - I enjoy walking every night as well with my neighbor and her dog.   Yes someone mentioned putting Epson salts.   I have some so going to try it tonight.   May also try the essential oils in it too as I have had some success with my eczema and the oils.  Thanks for your help.  Crossing fingers this will take the T away.
    • Posted

      Hi Sarah been trying this steam tent for 2 days.  I fortunately haven’t been able to do more than 1 per day 20mins.   Hopefully just weekend will be able to do 3x a day.  So far no improvement but maybe only once s day not enough?
    • Posted

      It was my Dr who told me to do it 3x a day but I did not see any improvement until doing it for a week.

      I'm suffering a spike at the moment so my T is louder than usual, anyway iv been drinking roobios tea and it's been helping , it's also known as redbush tea, at first I hated the taste but I'm starting to warm to it now, I'm also eating more spinach again as in medical trial's it's been proven magnisum is good at reducing Tinnitus , supplements are the best way but I'm not fond of them so iv been eating loads of spinach as it's high in magnisum.

    • Posted

      Will try to get up earlier tomorrow to try tent steam thing in morning.  Is 10 mins. Enough of steam or need to do longer.

      Yes I read was a help Ginko tea was one I read that was good for T

      Thanks Sarah - I will keep motoring on with these suggestions- they can’t hurt.

    • Posted

      The redbush tea seems to be making me happy weirdly enough. Take a look at this , these are some of the health benefits of redbush\roobios tea , I was shocked at some of them https://draxe.com/rooibos-tea/, my Dr said 30 mins for the steam but it's so darn hot I can't stay under that long so I just did 20mins but 10 mins would be fine , the most important thing is to do it as much as you can. The only thing I will say is try to make sure your salt intake in low as salt has been a proven trigger, some say avoid caffeine but it depends on if it bothers your T as i know some people who caffeine has no effect on but others it bothers there T, like mine hates caffeine I have a spike if I drink anything with caffeine in or medication with caffeine in yet I'm fine with chocolate.

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