Tinnitus Forum - Mytinnitus

I came down with influenza in early December 2014.  I had not had the flu in over 15 years.  It was terrible.  I was in bed for a week.  I had no appetite.  I went through boxes of tissue. I got an eye infection. I coughed like crazy. The pressure in my head was intense.  My ears were congested and about three days into the flu my left ear started ringing (high pitched squeal as if I'd just left a concert).

I called the nurse line.  They suggested I come in to make sure there was no infection.  I've never had an ear infection in my life.  There was no ear pain, just pressure.  I don't have a great deal of faith in general practitioners.  I figured they wouldn't know how to help or just say to come back in two weeks if it wasn't better.  I tried to get into an ENT but it was right before Christmas and they were booked two weeks out.  January started a new year and the reset on a $5,000 deductible.  Blah.  Unfortunately, we had so many issues last year that we met the deductible.  I don't want to spend the money on a doc visit if they most likely can't help me anyway.  The stuff I've been seeing online is discouraging.

It's now Feb 2 and almost two months since the tinnitus started.  No improvement.  This is a major issue for me because I HATE noise.  I thrive on silence.  I NEED silence.  I'd go out on a limb and even say I have misophonia.  I have a 2 and 6 year old so the house is usually noisy until they go to bed.  Although the tinnitus is always there, I don't notice it as much with the kids around.  But when I go to bed...ugh.  I struggle.  I tried having a fan on and also tried a white noise app.  They only helped a little and I didn't like not being to hear the kids if they got up and needed me.  I took up knitting and just knit to the point of exhaustion then go to sleep.  I had always enjoyed relaxing when I went to bed and thinking through things at that time.  I can't do that anymore.  The noise distracts me and makes me anxious. 

I had an appt with my endocrinologist for a check up on my thyroid.  I mentioned my ear to her.  She took a look at it and said there was no infection.  She said it usually takes about 6 weeks after a cold/flu for tinnitus to go away.  I'm past that time frame.

I need to read some more of the threads on here as I just found this site.    I'm usually pretty good at researching things and finding answers.  Researching tinnitus is like opening a can of worms. 

I'd love to hear from others that their tinnitus went away after a severe cold or flu.  Did it go away completely and how long did it take?  I need some hope here.