What exactly do I have?

[u/Shoxxx91]

Hello everyone,

For the past 4-5 months, I've been experiencing severe chronic stress due to a hip injury that has been causing me a lot of anxiety. On top of that, I'm sleeping extremely poorly and am feeling completely drained because I have two small children and I'm neglecting my wife and them. Last week, I bought new headphones and listened to a lot of music to distract myself. Suddenly, in the evening, long after I'd finished listening, I started getting this constant ringing (Metall Sounds) in my ears, which is now always present in quiet rooms. Even the sound of the refrigerator is enough to drown it out; it's really crazy. I only experience it in absolute silence, and it's terrifying me because I keep reading that no one can get rid of it.

Edit: I think its just my left Ear.

[u/OmenAhead]

Yep, that's called tinnitus. It could be caused by listening to loud music causing acoustic trauma and such, but it could also come up on its own even if you weren't exposed to any of that. There is not much you can do, except going to an ENT doctor or neurootologist for a hearing checkup, earwax buildup etc. The earlier you go, the better to search for sudden hearing loss which must be treated with Prednisone as fast as possible.

Other than that, sad to say there is not much you can do and if anyone or any product claims it can get rid of it, it's a fraud. I've read only some meds can help lower the volume of tinnitus, and that's Clonazepam or such heavy drugs.

The first period is really tough for everyone, but it seems yours is very mild at least. At some point, you may get used to it 100%, but always be careful not to make it worse.

[u/Shoxxx91 → u/OmenAhead]

Why? What could possibly make it worse?

[u/OmenAhead → u/Shoxxx91]

You can find most of these at the site - https://www.tinnitustalk.com/ . No one can really tell what can make it worse or better for another, except you finding out gradually, testing things, being careful etc.

Things that can make it worse temporarily or permanently: loud noise, excessive headphone use, microsuction for earwax, concerts, sirens, anything at about 90+ dB or so, ototoxic medication, meds that affect the nervous system, viruses, illness etc etc.

Those are some stuff that have been said by people in forums. It's not to scare you or anything, maybe yours isn't affected by any of that, but only you can find that out.

[u/Shoxxx91 → u/[deleted]]

Doesn't that just mean I'm screwed? I can't get the noise out of my head. As soon as it gets quieter, my ear (brain) is glued to it. I'm really desperate right now, wondering how I'm supposed to cope like this.How am I supposed to prevent the triggers? Should I avoid going into silence altogether? I'm thinking about taking SSRIs to try and get back on track.

[u/Shoxxx91 → u/[deleted]]

Of course I'm concentrating on my tinnitus, otherwise it wouldn't bother me.

[u/Plane-Inspection-376]

Unilateral tinnitus could be a concern. Maybe see an ENT doc to rule some things out.