alt Hacker NewsSorry to hear this. I similarly woke up one day with bi-lateral tinnitus at about an 8/10 in loudness. Thought I was going to lose my mind.
After about 9 days one morning the right ear completely resolved and the left ear was at about a 5/10.
Very, very, very long story short, I did a ton of digging and experimenting and realized it was related to a neck injury (a lot of people with whiplash have short-long term tinnitus). Over a year of physical therapy later, the tinnitus in the left ear is usually gone and only flares up if I lift weights with poor form.
If you've had a neck/shoulder injury in the past 1-2 years, it's something I'd look into.
Replies
Now that is interesting, thank you for giving me a new angle to look into. Never thought that there might be a relationship with other things other than just my ears.
I know I can make it instantly worse by clenching my jaw, so that should have been a hint already.
Can confirm.
I've had like 2/10 tinnitus for all my life, can't remember the last time I heard "silence".
Got a C5/C6 hernia a year ago, about 6 months after that MASSIVE tinnitus in my right ear and clear increase in the left. Like "can't hear shit" levels of noise.
Eventually I figured out that doing a basic shoulder workout + going on a walk eased it off in a few hours. A month ago, due to a doctor's suggestion, I discovered that taking muscle relaxants just before going to sleep a bit, I've woken up with maybe 3-4/10 tinnitus a few times.
Definitely a neck thing.