Tinnitus with ear infection, is it there forever??!! Can't sleep and panicking!!

[Runnerbean]

I've had a terrible ringing in my head since last thursday, the doctor said I have an ear infection and it is full of fluid. I've read all the bumf on tinnitus and I've convinced myself I have it permanantly!! Can't sleep, feel tearful all the time and have lost my appetite. Any advice anyone!!

I had this last year, it did go. It took a couple of months to wear off entirely though. But, I was in horrendous pain with the infection (?)

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The chances are that if it's the infection that's causing it then it won't be permanent.

I've had tinnitus permanently for 30 years, and I know it's a pain, but being uptight about it won't help - one of the things with tinnitus is that it always seems worse and sounds louder when you're stressed, so try to relax (easier said than done, I know). Put the radio on so that there's some sound around you - if you tune in to outside noise it can help, as it stops you concentrating on the tinnitus. You can get white noise tapes to play at night to help you sleep from the Tinnitus society, but I didn't find them useful.

Another thing which can help is having a good diet ... so not eating is positively the wrong thing to do! And try to keep active - if you can keep your mind occupied and not thinking about the noises, you're more likely to be able to tune them out.

Something that sometimes works for me is to do a sort of relaxation visualisation where I stop, relax, take some deep breaths and then picture myself putting the noise into a box at the back of my brain. Then I get up and do something to take my mind of it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Thankyou for your replies!
I have been given antibiotics amoxylin I think it's called. I have two more days to go on them but, the pain isn't so bad it just fells 'sloshy' in my ear, and my hearing is a bit muffled, the noise seems to be predominantly coming from this ear.
I know tinnitus is stress related too, I found out my husband is quite possibly diabetic on the day it started, which i guess is a contributing factor. I seem to be able to shut the noise out all day, as i keep busy with the children, but at night it is so loud and I feel awful due to lack of sleep. I am going to try some Natrasleep tonite.
Thankyou WWB for your suggestions. I made sure I had lunch today!!
I feel guilty worrying about myself when it's my husband who needs worrying about!!