LPG5271

hey everyone
thank you for reading this and contributing any input that you can to this story/problem.

im 34 years old.
in the winter of 04 i had an ear infection in my right ear.
i didnt know i had an ear infection because believe it or not my ear wasnt painful.
the ending to this ear infection was my right ear drum bursting and then after that puss exiting out of the ear.
i was given an antibiotic and all was well.
Until labor day 04 September
when my head began ringing. It was ringing to the point where i could not sleep at night. and eventually i went to an e.n.t. for assistance.
he gave me something to help me sleep and told me that if in a few months i was not better to get an m.r.i.
well needless to say in a few months i got an m.r.i. done of the brain with contrast. no tumors or masses were present or anything odd.
However i went to another doctor for a second opinion and he saw "something" on one of the m.r.i. slides in the ear where the ear drum had burst. He called it a "neuralgia" He prescribed 25mg a day of elavil (amitryptiline). However i had to discontinue it because it was too strong of a dose (since im only 5 feet 1) and it made me dizzy, off balance, disorientented and just simply "ga-ga"
Needless to say as of today ive been to many doctors and no one can seem to diagnose this sudden onset of tinnitus. Now the reason why i pursue this with such passion is because i believe the ringing in my head to be a neuropathic result of the ear drum bursting. In another words the ear drum burst, and the nerves in my ear are not working properly over the channels as they normally should. which in simple terms is what a neuropathy is. so i basically have been suffering with this since september 04. I used to be a person that could sleep half the day if i wanted to. Now i need ambien in order to just go to sleep. Im guessing that since a neuropathy affects the nervous system, that it would be true that the nervous system is screwed up which in turn screws up your ability to get to sleep? Its quite annoying and disturbing. When i went to the neurologist im currently seeing he gave me a B.A.E.R. test which still to this day i dont know what thats supposed to show but he said it was normal. He also put me back on the elavil (amitryptiline) but starting at a low dose working my way up from 6.25mg up to the 25mg a day dose that i tried to take last year. However when i hit 12.5mg i started experiencing cold hands and feet to the point where it became intolerable. Has anyone had this experience with elavil? Im comtemplating going on gabapentin. Because in my heart of hearts i am just so sure that this tinnitus is as a result of the ear drum bursting and that i have been left with a neuropathy. And luckily neuropathies can be treated and reversed im praying and praying. I also tried an otic solution of lidocaine in my ear. But this didnt work because number one i dont think the concentration of 1% was strong enough and number 2 i dont think it got down deep inside the ear enough to hit the spot that it needed to hit to do some good. Perhaps that spot is behind the ear drum. Anyone who can offer some advice or has experienced something similar with regard to this would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you to anyone who has taken the time and kindness to read this thread

Louis
New York