Yes, I have tinnitus also, it is constant low rushing and sporadic louder low tone ringing. I use ear plugs liberally but haven't looked into the fitted type, maybe I should. Neurofeedback sounds really interesting. The little bits of improvement I've noted make me so hungry for more, however I can get it. This forum is such a great source of information, so glad I found it.

I actually think the ringing has got worse, there's no way I wouldn't have noticed it before, it's blatantly obvious. That's worrying because perhaps all that being sensitive to sound stuff has caused further damage. If the brain can't tolerate as much sound and I've spent almost 18 months with no ear plugs, I might have been causing damage all that time

I think I am having vestibular issues as well. I spent a couple of months with a physical therapist working on vestibular rehab and balance and didn't see much improvement. She was a regular PT with no special vestibular rehab training. I went there because it was close to my house and it's hard to drive far. Maybe I should have made the 45 minute drive to a specialist. What types of things do they have you do? Do you feel unbalanced all the time or does it come and go?

Hopefully not. Don't beat yourself up about it, it stinks to wear earplugs all the time and you couldn't know/tell what direction this stuff will go. It's pretty tough to try to live in a bubble. I've heard of some homeopathic remedies that are supposed to help with tinnitus (something called Quietus, there's probably others) but don't have any experience with them. The constant rushing I hear is soft enough I only hear it when it's quiet around me, the other tinnitus comes and goes. You said it is constant for you and it's gotten louder? Can you get your hearing checked? I had mine checked a few weeks ago and it was in the normal ranges. If you can get it tested it might set your mind at ease that even if the ringing is driving you nuts, at least your hearing isn't damaged...

I think I have experienced the rushing you mentioned. Is it like a swooshing sound, almost like wind? Things tend to be worse all round for me when I'm tired, and recently when I went to bed I could hear something like that.

My ears feel like they have got a lot worse. There's this permanent droning sound/sensation that I have. Hard to describe. They have also felt blocked lately and sometimes swallowing caused a slight change in pressure in one or both ears. I've had a cold over the past week or so though so the pressure thing might be related to that.

Hi my car accident was in 2008. I suffer from the same things following the accident. It was many months of self rehab before it subsided. I am not saying that you will overcome this right away or it will resolve, only time will tell. I hope that you will be able to get over these things. If you want to talk add me to chat. Kimmy

Have you had your ears/vestibular system checked?

I'm consulting with an neuro-otologist (sub specialty ENT) because they suspected that I have a perilymph fistula (small tear in inner ear causing perilymph fluid to leak). This doc said that my symptoms could also be caused by superior or posterior canal dehiscence (a bone problem). My issues are worse in my right ear. They did the CT scan to check for this and it was positive. Yuck. So the next thing is a test called a vestibular evoked myogenic potential or VEMP test. We'll see how this all turns out. The first ENT I saw was not very interested in my case and said my symptoms were all from the brain injury. My neurologist did not agree and gave me another referral. I think the first ENT didn't know his stuff very well, the second guy pinpointed the problem right away and knew what to test.

Evidently, both of these problems are somewhat rare, but do occur after head trauma in some people. I don't enjoy all the stress of appts and getting the referrals coordinated with insurance, but I am willing to pursue anything that will help things get better. I can't live in a no noise, no talking bubble. I am developing a love/hate relationship with earplugs. They are good because they block out noise coming in, but the sounds coming from inside (my voice) are much worse with them in, so that's not good. Thus I am happiest when I am in a quiet place and don't have to talk to anyone. Certain frequencies of sound are worse, sadly, my husband's voice is among them, bothers my ears making me dizzy and queasy. Not a good thing for communication. Thankfully, he is understanding and not offended when I reach for the earplugs!

BeccaP - It is indeed good news that you've gotten a definitive diagnosis from the right specialist. Good for you for hanging in there and being persistent.

And, hopefully you will at some point no longer require earplugs re: your husband's voice!

Becca,

Good for you for sticking up for your needs. Sounds like you found a good doctor. I was thinking about what specialty to refer you to. I was concerned about a garden variety ENT. Once you get a negative diagnosis, the garden variety ENT can make it difficult to get seen by a better specialist.

Stick with this doctor. He sounds like he has your needs as a priority.

It is interesting how the inner ear can get injured by G forces from an impact.

The microscopic repairs they can do are amazing. hope you ear is repairable.

My best to you.

I've been off the board for a couple of weeks but wanted to give an update. I had the VEMP test done, it was abnormal for my right ear. I went to see the good ENT a neurotologist (in So. Cal at UC Irvine). Great doctor! He went over the CT scan images with me in detail and it turns out I don't have the bone problem (someone else read it wrong). Great news, the surgery fix for that was rather scary.

He thinks some of my symptoms are from a soft tissue tear/leak in the ear, a perilymph fistula. He said that the blurring of my eyes is related to the inner ear problem but that my other eye problems (I don't track or converge properly, especially if things are moving fast) are related to the head injury as are many of my other symptoms. The symptoms related to the ear are: dizziness/unsteadiness from exertion, sound, movement, pressure changes; blurring of eyes (related to dizziness and sound); nausea, sensitivity to my own voice; sensitivity to other sounds.

This doctor developed a procedure to try to stimulate it to heal on its own. He took blood from my arm and injected it in my middle ear (not a comfortable thing!). For the first couple of days while my ear was full, the dizziness and sound sensitivity were almost completely gone. As my ear drained, the symptoms came back at about 50%. He said it would take around 2 weeks until we'd know if it worked and it is more effective when the treatment is sooner after the injury.

Just short of two weeks I tried a very gentle nose blow and it was a bad idea. I heard a big crack in my ear and all the ear related symptoms are back full force. The good thing is that I know that part of my symptoms are from my ear and in time should be repairable. The doctor will try the injection one more time and if it doesn't work there is an outpatient surgery where they graft tissue in where they think the leak is. I'll be more careful next time so I don't undo the healing. :-(

I won't be home this summer because we are traveling with my husband for a work assignment. I'll go back to try the second injection in the fall, unless everything resolves during the summer. Of course, I'm hoping for that, but not holding my breath! ;-)

I've been doing too much without enough rest the past few days and not feeling so well now, super tired and foggy. When will I ever learn? I got so excited to be doing better that I totally jumped the gun and overdid. It is so hard to moderate...