Don't no if I should b worried?

Hi, I’m undiagnosed transverse myelitis 18months ago. Since may last year I’ve had tinitus, never had it before but when I told the neuro about it he just ignored it said so what that can happen to anyone. Over the last 24hrs the tinnitus has stepped up a level & got louder. I’m also finding that when I move my head or stand up and move the tinnitus sort of tunes into my body doing those movements and it makes me feel a bit weird, very hard to describe but a bit dizzy/jittery unbalanced. What should I think of this, I’m a bit concerned? Do you think it could be a brain/ms thing? Or am I just blaming it on ms as we can always do? Thanks for any replies Teresa xxx

Hi Teresa. I am dx with MS and I do have MS-related tinnitus… so in fact your neuro is wrong as there are others who use this forum who have MS-related tinnitus… but as you say you are not dx with MS so that’s maybe why the neuro didn’t say anything (although he shouldn’t have been so dismissive).

However, yours does not sound like usual tinnitus. Mine does go up and down a bit. When my symptoms are particularly bad my tinnitus goes up in volume… but it might just be because I’m lying in bed and not well so I notice the tinnitus more.

When I’m feeling better and doing more things I don’t notice it so much. Also I’ve had it a good few years and believe it or not you do get used to it.

But what you describe sounds far more like some other problem with your ears… esp if it is affecting your balance and making you feel dizzy.

It can be a simple as a build-up of wax in your ears which your GP or practice nurse can easily remove. That can make you very dizzy and affects balance.

Suggest you call your GP tomorrow and make an appointment. He/she will be able to see the wax if there is a build-up. If not I would think you need to be referred to ENT and have it investigated further.

Let’s hope it’s a temporary thing eh?

Do go and see the GP asap. Not urgent but you do need to get it seen to and the sooner the better.

Hope this helps,

Pat x

Hi pat, Thank you for your reply. I did initially go to my doctor when it first started. I had originally gone about something else but I dropped the tinnitus into the chat. He looked in both my ears and said they were both blocked with wax and that dropping olive oil in them would soften it. But I’m thinking maybe having them syringed would be a better idea but for some reason he didn’t suggest that to me.