Question:

I have had mild tinnitus since my teens due to either genetics, ear infections as a child, noise exposure or a combination of the three. It was only noticeable at night, when completely quiet and easily masked by a small fan.

Recently, I was injured in the hospital when a nurse jammed an in-ear thermometer into my ear. At the time, I heard a loud cracking noise and felt a very sharp pain. The pain subsided relatively quickly, most likely due to the morphine I was on at the time.

After leaving the hospital, I noticed my ear was still ringing very loudly. I went to an ENT and he noticed my ear drum was bruised. The drum had not been punctured and there was no hearing loss. He hoped the ringing would go away as the bruising did.

The worst part is that my ENT said he can't medically link the trauma I suffered with my now-bad tinnitus. He said that ear trauma is not connected to tinnitus to his knowledge. My questions is - Does anyone know of any information linking ear trauma to tinnitus? Should I seek a second opinion? Any ideas on possible treatments?

Answer:

It's not quite the same thing, but I am pretty sure my tinnitus was caused by a blow to the head when I was 13 years old. I distinctly remember a very loud ringing in my left ear (I was hit on the left side of my head) which subsided over the next few days but didn't go away. I was diagnosed as having tinnitus two years later.

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