Why are my ears still ringing?

If I were you, I would go to an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) specialist. Your hearing nothing to fool with.

I wonder how much that would cost? I don’t have health ins at the moment. :0(
I will at the end if the year after I get married, but that’s a couple of months away!

It sounds like you have an ear infection, but normally it’s accompanied with pain.

Here’s how it works. We have a lymph node located just behind the earlobe, and very close to the estuation tube. When that lymph node swells up, it blocks off that tube, preventing it from draining. That can cause the tinnitus you hear now. When I last had an ear infection 20 years ago the ringing was so loud I couldn’t sleep. If the pressure gets bad enough, your ear drum can burst.

Go to a doctor.

Sounds like an antihistimine might help. Maybe it has something to do with inflammation from the illness. If it were me (I’m not a doctor) I would wait a few weeks and see if they calm down again before going to the doctor. I doubt a doctor can do anything. Definitely buy some ear protection. I have ear plugs in my purse all the time. I use them at movies, zumba class, etc.

There are a couple factors here… you had tinnitus to begin with, and that was made worse when you had an upper respiratory infection. When there is inflammation in the upper respiratory system, the Eustachian tubes can become blocked which prevents the ears from equalizing pressure properly. That usually results in slightly muffled hearing and a feeling as if you’ve changed altitudes and want to pop your ears. If bacteria or fluids get into the middle ear space behind the ear drum, there is typically more discomfort in the ear and the hearing is noticeably poorer. There may also be other signs of infection like fever, acute pain or dizziness, but note that it is possible to have fluid behind the eardrum without an active infection.

Anytime there is a reduction in outside noise – whether from going into a very quiet place or having a blockage of sound in the outer or middle ear – we will hear the noises in our head even louder. So if you also notice that the sound of your own voice and when you chew also seem louder than normal, it is likely that there is some degree of congestion in the ear.

The noise from concerts and hockey games is very loud and can do permanent, cumulative damage to the inner ear. When the inner ear is damaged, there is less information being sent to the auditory nervous system, and so those nerves that used to be handling sound stimuli are now without something to respond to… it is like the ‘phantom limb’ sensation when someone loses their arm, they will still ‘feel’ their fingers because the nerves further up are still expecting them to be there.

If your ears were full of fluid, you’d probably be complaining of more discomfort and hearing loss. In addition, the fluid would have muffled the noise at the hockey game and the tinnitus wouldn’t have gotten worse. Based on this, I suspect that you have some pressure in your ears still, which should resolve over the next week or two. You can help by using steam from the shower or consuming soups and teas, and by taking decongestants (unless otherwise contraindicated based on your medical history). Antihistamines are for allergic reactions, and would only help if you have an allergy component to your symptoms (my sinuses have been pretty bad for the past couple weeks, so it is possible). The Val Salva maneuver may also help: close off your mouth and nose and blow gently to force air pressure through the Eustachian tube. If that seems to make it worse, you may be blowing too hard or may have blown your nose too hard while you were sick and forced too much pressure in the ears, in which case swallowing might help more.

If it gets any worse or is not improving in a weeks’ time, then go to a doctor. Most have reduced fees for people without insurance, but require payment up-front. Ask when you call for the appointment.

Awesome answers! Thank you!
I think I’ll give it a bit longer. I’m really hoping it just goes away on its own.