AND, just diagnosed abt 6 months ago with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. I was just feeling like I was getting that under control with Creon when I started feeling worse again. 

So, you have a couple of strikes against you when it comes to nutrient absorption efficiency.

Yes, through a biopsy of the small intestine. 

@Vozzyv, Certain nutritional deficiencies can cause tinnitus, ringing in the ears.  Vitamins A and D, Thiamine B1, Riboflavin B2,  Pyridoxine B6, Folate B9,  Cobalamine B12, magnesium, zinc and Vitamin C can cause tinnitus individually if deficient.  The malabsorption of Celiac Disease affects all the nutrients our bodies need.  Many of these nutrients work together to keep us healthy.   Talk to your Nutritionist and doctor about supplementing vitamins and minerals while healing.  Eat a nutritionally dense diet.   Tinnitus has been bothersome to me, but supplementing with the B vitamins, especially Thiamine, Vitamin C, and Vitamins A and D has really helped me.  

Welcome to the forum, @green-blossom! You can develop active celiac disease at any stage of life. It involves possessing the genetic potential plus some triggering stress event that turns the relevant genes on. NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) is 10x more common than celiac disease but some experts feel it can be a precursor to the development of celiac disease. There is no test at this point in time available to diagnose NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out to arrive at a diagnosis of NCGS. The difference between the two conditions is that celiac disease damages the lining of the small bowel but NCGS does not. They share many of the same symptoms. Without formal testing, there is no real way to definitively diagnose celiac disease. About 40% of the general population possess the genetic potential to develop celiac disease but only about 1% actually develop active celiac disease. So, DNA testing can only be used as a rule out measure, not as a diagnostic measure. Formal testing for celiac disease is normally a two step process. The first step is serum antibody testing. The inflammation of the small bowel lining caused by gluten ingestion in those with celiac disease produces characteristic antibodies that can be detected in the blood. If one or more celiac antibody tests are positive, there is usually a second step of diagnosis involving and endoscopy with biopsy of the small bowel lining to microscopically check for damage to the mucosal lining. This is done for confirmation of the antibody testing but it sometimes foregone if antibody test scores are extremely high. Please hear this. If you intend to pursue formal testing for celiac disease, you must be consuming generous amounts of gluten leading up to the testing dates. That applies both to the serum antibody testing and to the endoscopy/biopsy. If you eliminate gluten from your diet ahead of testing for even a period of weeks, the inflammation will cease, antibodies will begin to disappear and healing of the small bowel lining will begin. In other words, the things the diagnostic testing is designed to look for will disappear.