Am I delusional to think this Tinnitus might go away?

[AFridgeHummingInMyEar]

About a month ago, during a time of extreme stress, I suddenly developed tinnitus: loud ringing in both ears (each with a different tone). I went to the GP, he couldn't see anything inside my ears due to wax buildup. Two private microsuction attempts, weeks apart with olive oil and bicarb drops in between, failed because it was so painful and the wax was so hard. So now the GP said they will refer me to ENT, but it will take months to be seen.

In the meantime the ringing in my ears screeched day and night and wouldn't let me sleep. About a week ago it suddenly changed to be less ring-y and more like a low fridge-like drone mostly localised in the more blocked ear (but sometimes it feels like it's in the middle of my head). This can be even more intrusive and annoying than the ringing.

Everything I read about Tinnitus says it's permanent, there's no cure etc. Am I delusional to think it may go away once the wax is dealt with, even if it's been here for a month already? Has anyone else had the same and got better? And what can I do to help the earwax problem myself if olive oil, bicarb and microsuction have failed?

Did the sounds go away as soon as you had the wax removed?

Feeling very stressed at the moment as the sounds seem to get louder and I've had a bad night.

I've had bloods done not too long ago and it was all fine! However it was months before the onset of tinnitus, so maybe things have changed? like I said, this all started during a period of extreme stress so I haven't been eating very well (or too much).

NRFT (sorry) - tinnitus can also be caused by B12 deficiency. And I think B12 deficiencies can appear worsen during perimenopause / menopause.

Standard B12 blood tests are not particularly helpful, unfortunately (thresholds in the UK are much higher than in Europe, eg - so GP might say you are just inside normal range, whereas in other countries they would say you were deficient and would treat it.

B12 Injections are the most useful thing in terms of dealing with neurological problems stemming from B12 deficiency.

So, if you have tinnitus, but also sometimes have tingly or numb feet or hands (or one of the other key B12 deficiency symptoms) the get medical advice :)

Sorry, what do you mean by numb feet? My extremities do "fall asleep" and become tingly very easily. Interestingly some years ago a blood test did flag up folate deficiency and I had to take supplements for a while. Is that a different vitamin?

Mine is constant, high pitched tone with no known cause.

I run audio books at night to help me sleep and also because it blocks out the ringing. The rest of the time there is usually background noise which means I don't focus on it and can ignore it completely. Only really 'hear' it now when everything is totally silent - and there's not much of that these days!

I had some success with this when mine first started with high pitched noises, but now that I also have a low rumbling drone nothing will block it :(

Yes bicarb can break down the wax more but it’s only recommended for a limited period as it can irritate the skin in some people’s ear canals. Olive oil is slower but gentler. You can use bicarbonate and then switch to oil. impacted wax can cause/exacerbate tinnitus, reputable source of tinnitus advice https://tinnitus.org.uk

I agree with PP that it may well calm down. Mine started 13 years ago when I had proper flu right after getting my wisdom teeth out. At first it was unbearable but now I barely notice it. I sleep with white noise on at night.

About 6 years ago, I had tinnitus in my left ear, casualty mentioned it to GP when I were about something else. He said in one ear it can be a sign of an acoustic neuroma, 2 week emergency pathway. CT, which was NAD, audiology tests. Very slight hearing loss. COVID 2023, terrible tinnitus and hearing loss, permanent. They said it had damaged nerves and eustachian tube. I had 3 noises, this was the other ear,my "good" one. Hissing, ringing, blues and twos and an articulated lorry in the living room. I couldn't block it out,so if it bothers me in bed, I concentrate on listening to it. My balance was affected at the time. Hearing aids now. DD had tinnitus 3 months post sinusitis 3 months and it went. DH just before Christmas, tinnitus and sounding like he was under water. It was wax, removed at Specsavers and now completely fine.

I still have it now, sometimes worse than others.

It is an inter-connected system… if you are low on iron or folate, then the body is not able to absorb / use B12 effectively either.

It sounds like you have other neurological symptoms, so I would go to your GP, and ask to have iron / folate / B12 deficiencies ruled out as a cause of your neurological symptoms (tinnitus and tingling / numb extremities).

GPs usually request ‘total B12’ (serum B12) blood test - but actually ‘active B12’ blood test is a much better measure of how much B12 you are able to access. If you are borderline, or in the ‘low normal’ range, and the GP refuses to start treatment - then you have a few options.

One of which is to seek a private consultation with an anaemia specialist (I saw one based in Cambridge who seems to be one of the few people who really understand B12 deficiency / iron anaemia). If you’re interested (and you have no joy with your GP), I can DM you his details (he is an NHS consultant, who has a private practice on the side). I don’t live near Cambridge, so travelled for the appoIntment.

With neurological symptoms, B12 injections (not tablets) are recommended. In the UK, The standard NHS treatment protocol is loading doses (B12 injections) every other day for two weeks, then a B12 injection every three months.

The healthunlocked B12 deficiency / pernicious anaemia forum also has lots and lots of super helpful people who can advise.

It is worth taking this seriously, as it is not called ‘pernicious’ anaemia for nothing - it can strip the protective coating from your nerves (including auditory nerves! = tinnitus), and can cause a huge amount of neurological symptoms - some of which have even been misdiagnosed as psychosis, and even dementia.

As a final note, I am not a medical professional - I have a functional B12 deficiency (meaning while I can get B12 into my blood, I have problems accessing it at a cellular level). I suspect functional B12 deficiencies are massively under-diagnosed… serum B12 blood tests won’t show a deficiency, it can only really be confirmed with a Methylmalonic Acid blood test, and a homocysteine blood test. GP’s can’t request these, they are only really requested within a hospital setting.

ps - I found my symptoms got much worse during menopause - so I suspect something changes in our ability to access B12 during these times.

Sorry for long post!

Thanks for this, sorry to hear you still have yours! It sounds like you have habituated to it, though? It's terrible that COVID can cause hearing loss. When you had COVID, did you have the hearing loss and tinnitus right away or did it happen some time after the illness? I had a respiratory illness recently as well, but the tinnitus started more than a month later.

Thank you for all this information! I'll give it a try with the blood tests. Did your symptoms improve once you started having the B12 injections? I'm 39 so not menopause age, but perhaps peri? My cycle has been extremely messed up with horrific PMS in the last year or so.

I have a strong suspicion that various illnesses and infections can deplete / wipe out the body’s stores of B12..

The thing is, in the ear that is more blocked, I can't even feel the olive oil going in. I'm guessing the plug is huge and covering the ear completely. When I tried with bicarb it made a nice fizz but my ear immediately became quite painful and I had pulsatile tinnitus in it on top of it for a couple of days. So I'm not necessarily keen to try bicarb again...

Yes, symptoms all dramatically improved over the two-week loading doses stage of treatment. I can tell when I am running low (and in need of the next B12 injection) as the symptoms start to gradually return.

It’s not uncommon to be perimenopausal around 38-39 (I was!). I had dc in my 30s as well, and I think that depleted my B12 significantly (I had deficiencies in my late 30s).

The olive oil soaks into the wax and softens it so it is easier to remove. So you might not feel it. And if used regularly when ears are clear will hopefully stop it building up as it keeps it soft and moving out with talking and eating/jaw movements. But some people are unlucky and just make a lot.

Yes pretty much., the pulsating and whooshing always got worse when I was lying down so I'm certain it was pressure which was relieved by the syringing

That sounds encouraging!

Mine at the moment is: loud ringing in both ears (different tones), and in the more blocked ear a low droning/hum/engine warbling irregularly, sometimes almost like a theremin, which I find very disturbing. I am losing hope that wax can cause such varied, weird sounds :(

The noises can be varied, one time it sounded like I had a bee in my ear! It didn't last long thank goodness otherwise it would have driven me round the bend although 5 minutes of that was enough!

Poster,it was a couple of days in from contracting COVID. For future reference for everyone,if you get sudden hearing loss and tinnitus, sometimes you can be given a steroid nasal spray which will prevent any permanent damage.. my DS had this with good effects. It has to start very quickly after symptoms. Sometimes mine really gets to me, but I try and concentrate on other sounds, externally. I have a tinnitus masker on my phone, but it's just external noises,rain, Ooh, how I miss that, and the birds waking me up at 4.

That's very good to know! Especially since it's such a short window for treatment. I don't think I have hearing loss, that I can notice anyway? I should probably ask for a hearing test as well.

Did you get it as a result from having COVID? I think that's what happened to me last June. Never had tinnitus before. It did go though after about a month. Dr thinks it stemmed from a virus. After the tinnitus I suffered with post nasal drip (thick mucous at the back of the throat). I was put on antibiotics for a while. Has helped.
So, I think mine was caused by a malfunction of the eustachian tube (links your ears to the back of your throat). It was blocked by thick mucous basically. I tried lots of things to help alleviate mine. Steam baths and that balloon thing you blow up through your nostrils helped I think.
I really empathise. It's bloody awful.

I have tinnitus for 16 years now and it’s because I have a goitre and thyroid autoimmune disease which I am in remission from at the moment. I have made myself ignore it and I only really hear it before I go to sleep. I have tried everything to get rid of it but I haven’t found a cure. What does help is a background noise to distract me from listening to it. If I am stressed it gets louder. I don’t think it will ever go away so I have learnt to live with it.

The timing made it very very likely to be down to having confirmed Covid.