I fell asleep for a couple of hours but now I’m wide awake.
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When I had an ear that wouldn’t clear after an illness + ear infection, my doc told me to use Flonase (or the generic version thereof) and it did seem to help things to un-clog. It’s a different mechanism from Afrin, which is just a vasoconstrictor.
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Oh, I’m using that, too! I forgot to put it on the list. Maybe it will start working.
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I keep falling asleep at 9pm and waking up for good at 1:30am. Ugh.
That’s what I’ve been doing but I made it to 6 am today. I think I was so tired after nights of not sleeping well.
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Since I’ve been a lady of leisure, I feel free to take a nap when I need it. For a while I tried to avoid naps for fear that it would interfere with nighttime sleep, but then I figured, why not! Hope this helps for your consideration.
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@oldmom4896 thanks, I have thought of that…but waking at 2 or 3 makes for a long day!
I tend to fall asleep when reading or watching anything so most of my naps are kind of involuntary and I do think the naps are shortening my nighttime sleep. I try not to stress about it and think of that 2am- 5am time as useful.
I laid down on the couch and fell asleep. Just woke up, at 11 am! The doctor said I need to rest a lot to help my ears heal, so I’m going to do nothing today.
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Can’t sleep again. The sound of my heartbeat is so loud since my head is stuffed up. On top of the tinnitus, it’s just horrible. I guess I’ll fall asleep at some point and sleep in. There’s no point in going to church since I can’t hear the sermon.
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I’ve been up more than an hour and am meeting someone for breakfast in three hours so am lying here knowing I’m not going to get back to sleep.
ETA: I did get about 45 minutes more sleep! YEA!
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I’ve been up several times I. The last few nights. Only gotten 4-6 hrs of sleep. Want to get some rest 
Usual sleep 9:30pm due to watching something, woke at 12:45. Awake two hours. The slept till 6! That’s a good night!
@MaineLonghorn do you always have tinnitus? I have had it since 2015 but it got much worse in Jan. 2023 when I stupidly went to a loud musical event. It can make getting to sleep a lot harder.
Oops- it is loud whenever I think about it!!!
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I’ve had tinnitus for probably 8 years now. I think it was a side effect from taking Lexapro, which I used for awhile after the death of my nephew. The tinnitus didn’t go away when I stopped taking the med.
When my ears are healthy, I don’t notice it as much. But now that I can barely hear anything externally, everything internally is greatly magnified. It’s funny even water hitting my head in the shower sounds like a torrential flood!
Yes congestion makes it worse! I could barely do the hearing test in the little booth, because the tinnitus was too loud! We do adapt but a cold can really make it hard. Hope you feel better soon.
ps sounds like you also have hyperacusis, another issue we might share
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I don’t usually have it. This is due to both my ears being almost totally clogged temporarily (4-6 weeks they say). I can hear the TV when the volume is set on 100 but I can’t make out individual words. It is a miserable experience.
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We like watching programs with closed caption, especially the British shows.
Yes, we’ve been doing that for awhile. It works well for movies and TV shows, but there’s a lag when you’re watching live, like CCN or local news. It’s kind of annoying. But better than nothing!
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A close friend had a LONG time with clogged ears, and her advice would be to go to an ENT - their meds were different Than her trips to urgent care. Eventually, both ears opened up,
A friend of hers had the same issues, but ENT, DRAINED her ear, Neither had perforations as I recall, certainly my friend did not have perforation,
She regretted not going to ENT sooner,
My husband also deals with tinnitus, and he goes to ent first sign of viral respiratory because he needs to prevent what you are living with.
Doesn’t it help to have sound on when you sleep at night to distract brain from tinnitus ?
Don’t suffer,
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Thank you! I was just coming here to post that one of my ears cleared this morning, quicker than predicted. Such a relief. Seriously, one of the best days of my life.
If the right ear doesn’t open on schedule, I’ll see an ENT.
Sound can help with the tinnitus when I have hearing, but that was the problem the last 10 days. There was no escaping it when my ears were clogged because I couldn’t hear the sound playing!
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Just back from Europe and here I am wide awake.
Potty, drink of water - in the dark - laid back down but, alas, the brain turned on.
I tried to stay up last night - sorted through the mail, laundry done, photos shared with my co-travelers.