In 2016, I was in 6th form at the time. I was stood near the college bell and when it rang, I guess my ear was never the same after that. At the time, I had vertigo for a couple of days and when that recovered permanent high pitch hearing loss on my right ear and 24/7 tinnitus. I got used to it and it never really bothered me until the last of of months.
The damage in 2016 may or may not be related to what I have now. In June of this year, I was at the gym and was lifting heavy and pulled a muscle. During that week, I did notice my tinnitus to be slightly louder than usual but didn’t think much of it. A week later from injuring myself at the gym, I went to the beach and naturally on the motorway I guess everyone’s ears pop especially at high altitudes. Anyways the next day I noticed that any pressure applied to my ear would cause everything in my vision to shift back and forth. I wouldn’t say its true vertigo but everything would move as pressure is applied and then back to normal once the pressure is removed. Over the coming days, my hearing got worse and I had trouble speaking because the sound of my own voice would irritate my ear and amplify the tinnitus. When I swallow anything, my ear would make a noise also. Initially I didn’t understand the problem and carried on as usual. I avoided motorway driving but continued going to the gym lifting light weights and going for walks. The symptoms persisted and I started to get worried. I went to my ENT doctor and he said he suspects a leak in the inner ear (PLF). I was positive on fistula test and had a CT scan also which didn’t show anything but he said that it doesn’t have to show on the CT scan for their to be a leak.
After my appointment. I was strict with my rest and my hearing came back. When this came back, all my other symptoms seemed to disappear and I felt amazing. Unfortunately it all returned within a few days…I was annoyed and just frustrated. I went through a few weeks off of this where my hearing would fluctuate and with that the dizziness. I noticed that whenever my tinnitus got loud, my hearing would return within a day. Almost like my body is trying to heal itself. I also noticed my symptoms would return if I was driving downhill or I’m going for a walk and the wind was strong.
After speaking to my doctor, he suggested I have grommets inserted into the ear to protect the inner ear from external pressure. I agreed and had those put in a few days ago. So far my hearing is back to where it was before this problem. The only issue I have is that when I speak loud, my ear rings louder as I speak and or when any external noise is applied to my ear. I do feel much better but I guess not being comfortable speaking because of my ear is causing me to worry.
@turnitaround James I have read many of your posts and honestly it was because of your posts, that I decided to be strict my rest and then saw improvement so thank you for being incredibly active and informative on this website. I would like to ask you about what you think about my symptom’s and if you have any advice please.
