Ringing ears after concussion.
 

Hi, i am a 23 male, about 4 weeks ago i hitted my head pretty hard twice, i was also so drunk i couldn`t remember anything. I've been to dr twice now, in both cases they told me everything is fine and that i should be well soon.

I feel completely normal except the stiffness around temples, might be jaw or upper neck aswell, not sure the feeling tends to spread whenever i try to concetrate on it, and the constant ringing in ears(tinnitus). I am most worried about my tinnitus since the high pitch tone has not changed during this 4 week time and my head feels the same everyday.
Also the stifness tends to start after few hours if being awake.
I don't have any problems falling asleep since the the constant ringing usually tires me out completely by evening.
I also started taking vitamins and cod liver oil, also picking up magnesium today.

Is it possible that i've gotten myself permanent tinnitus, or do these symptoms fade with time?

Hi Stilladog,

First of all, welcome to the community. There is lots of good information here which I hope you benefit from.

You are still very early into your recovery so I wouldn't be too worried about the tinnitus. I'm 5 months into my concussion, and my tinnitus disappeared around month 2. Now I get it like once every 3 weeks for 10 seconds or so and then it goes away. Unfortunately, healing process for concussions are not linear, but as someone who has recovered fully from a concussion before (took 7-8 months), I can tell you that full recovery is absolutely possible.

Greetings

Unfortunately no one here or anywhere else on this planet will be able to tell you if your tinnitus will become permanent or not. Every concussion recovery is different and anyone making prognoses is lying or estimating to the best of their knowledge. This is one of the most frustrating things about head injuries.

My advice to you is to eat healthy, cut out any drugs (alcohol, caffeine, nicotine too!), hydrate and try to live as stress free as possible. The anxiety itself can cause tinnitus I'm pretty sure. Try to cut down on cognitive activity for a while.

You may want to consider looking at the vitamin list which is located at the top of the page.

Best wishes

Dan

My tinnitus hasn't gone after 16 months unfortunately. But like concussions, every tinnitus is different and many people have had their tinnitus fade away with time. Join tinnitus talk forum its awesome for tinnitus related problems and to know many ideas and gain knowledge to manage tinnitus. However, dont worry about tinnitus. It might just go away on its own. But if you become stressed about it, you will always notice it. Divert your mind to other activities and take ample rest.

Greetings, thanks for all the feedback, didn't think i would get so many answers!
Realy helps.
Anxious part is just spot on, if i´m anxious it's a complete cricket orchestra in there.

I also have one more question, since i drive a truck,what effect may low frequency sounds have ?

Jaan

Sounds can trigger tinnitus or make it last. There is no reliable treatment for tinnitus. The best experts say the solution is to learn to ignore it. Paying attention to it only makes it worse. My ears are ringing off the hook right now. probably because i just ate something. A glass of water can cause the same effect.

Learn your triggers and avoid them when you can. Learn to ignore your tinnitus and the reduced stress may help it go away. Stay away from alcohol. It is neurotoxic. You may be able to slowly reintroduce alcohol after your other symptoms have resolve.

For me, tinnitus is the least of my problems. My 90 year old mother has had tinnitus since she was 4 and suffered a high fever.

My best to you.

I suspect tinnitus from concussion is caused by brain inflammation, mine didn't occur until a week after the event along with my early PCS symptoms which included head pressure, dizziness, nausea - all inflammation signs.

Well said. Even I believe most of the symptoms are caused by either inflammation of some sort or neck muscles spasms. I recently had XRAY cervical and there was a loss of cervical lordosis because of muscle spasms probably. I don't know what to make out of it. My tinnitus indeed feels like more of muscle related than actual hearing loss or nerve problem. Anybody has any suggestions?

Has anybody seen a chiropractic, is it worth to give it a shot?
Reason why i'm asking is because my head does not feel so stiff at the morning, but after standing up for few hours it starts to get that weird clogged feeling, maybe it is gravity working on my neck discs ?

Upper cervical chiropractic is often suggested. c1 c2 can get misaligned and then throw the body out of balance eventually..

You may have some strained neck muscles and /or trigger points, so some phys therapy might be worth a try, or an assessment.
Some chiros also do soft tissue work , mine did and treated trigger points too.