An ENT Doctor with Tinnitus

[Kendall]

I hope he comes back to the forum, there needs to be more ent's on this site.

 

[brownbear]

Coming up on 10 months now.
Not much further improvement but doing reasonably well
I can go a few minutes without noticing it when I am busy. Very little anxiety. Lots of happy times mixed in with the bad bits. Got a feeling it will be a long time until I am not aware of it.
Haven't used any masking for about 3 months (partly because it doesn't help and partly because I am not sufficiently bothered to try, which is good).
Haven't considered looking for a cure for a long time which I am finding a relief.

 

[Dominic1955]

Hi @brownbear , glad you are doing well!
About 2 weeks after my drop attack my hearing improved and my T was very soft it felt like heaven.
Then after 3 days I woke and immediately noted that my hearing was down again and tinnitus volume up. I hoping that it will not develop into a full drop attack again.
Is your hearing normal ?
Dom

 

[brownbear]

Hi Dom. I'm not sure how well I am doing but things are improving! When I first had the sudden loss my hearing was 40db in the low freqs sloping to 70db in the highs. After all my treatment it improved and I was just left with a 40 do loss in the high frequencies on the left. Strangely I had the opposite problem to you early on where when my hearing dropped I could hardly hear my T! I have a theory about that but it's probably wrong!

 

[Ecip]

Hi Dom. I'm not sure how well I am doing but things are improving! When I first had the sudden loss my hearing was 40db in the low freqs sloping to 70db in the highs. After all my treatment it improved and I was just left with a 40 do loss in the high frequencies on the left. Strangely I had the opposite problem to you early on where when my hearing dropped I could hardly hear my T! I have a theory about that but it's probably wrong!

Have you read this yet? It's quite an interesting summary of T.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2686891/

 

[glynis]

@brownbear ,
Nice to hear your doing a little better and you sound much better also.
Love glynis

 

[brownbear]

11 months in. Tinnitus the same and still ridiculous! Still doing quite well most of the time. I even went about 45 minutes without noticing it the other day which I was amazed by. Generally though I am still constantly bugged by it, but only occasionally does it make me feel low. I'm really just posting so that others with horrible tinnitus know that there is some hope, but the progress is painfully slow and of course different for everyone.

 

[brownbear]

18 month update.
I continue to improve slowly. My T is still horrendous 24/7 (still audible in shower)but on good days I can go several hours without noticing it. On average days I am aware of it every few minutes and it causes me irritation. I am not having bad days touch wood. I don't notice it much at work.
Best of luck to everyone

 

[Reinier]

I continue to improve slowly.

I am curious. I sometimes have good parts of a day where I am pretty sure my tinnitus level is lower. So not habituation, but really a lower level of noise.
If you try to be objective do you think your tinnitus level actually is lower?
Or do you think it is habituation?

But always good news that there are times where you can "charge up".
That is how I see it anyway. These good times allow me to re-energise.

 

[monkey legs]

I developed a sudden hearing loss in my left ear 9 weeks ago. The working diagnosis is cochlear hydrops. I had oral and intratympanic steroids early and tried HBOT but it seemed to make things worse. The steroids definitely seemed to help my hearing which has thankfully improved. However the severe accompanying tinnitus has hit me like a freight train and is little better. I have had a great deal of support from my colleagues and family which has been great. I would be very happy to share my experiences. I am an ENT surgeon, in fact my area of expertise is Otology, so this is all a bit too close to home!

Hello and welcome. Having previosuly had low Tinnitus since 1991 over Christmas some kind of Sinus infection (as far as I know), has left me with much louder and annoying Tinnitus. I have to say it has wiped me out for a while. But I take some comfort in knowing this forum exists.

You are a good person to come here and talk about your experience.

Kind regards.

Chimp.

 

[brownbear]

Hi @Reinier . I don't think there is much variation in my T level anymore. There used to be. So I think now it just has to do with how much I focus on it. A year ago my good and bad days depended on the level of my T but I think these days good and bad depends on other life factors

 

[JaimeNZ]

Hi Brown Bear, I've been reading your thread with interest. I developed T in 2003, probably from going to clubs and gigs, although no hearing test has ever shown any hearing loss greater than that expected with age. I muddled through good and bad times in the beginning and then got to a point where, unless I had a cold, my T was not audible. It felt like a real success and although there were occasional worrying moments, in general for about four or five years it just didn't seem to be there. Then ten or so days ago I went to a gig without earplugs, stood too close to the speaker and woke up the next day feeling like I was back at square one. I'm 39, run my own business and have two kids, so I felt like a massive idiot to be in this position because of a basic mistake. I am after all always badgering younger friends to wear ear plugs. Nearly two weeks on things are much better and I feel confident I can beat this in the same way as I did before, but it's exhausting and I'm anxious. I know if I could shake the anxiety and relax I'd get back to a point where it didn't register - I know because I've been there before. But it's tricky and I expect because of your job you feel constantly reminded of your own T. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[brownbear]

Hi @JaimeNZ. It's early days for you, I think you are right that if you managed before you will again. Good luck.

The main problem I still have is that if I am exposed to persistent sound that competes with my T (for example a long drive or long operations where I am drilling for many hours) I get a huge increase in my T for about 2 hours. The same thing used to happen when I tried masking. At least now I know the pattern of it so it doesn't panic me, but I wish it didn't happen. Not sure how to improve this "kindling effect" as it is known. In general though my T is now very stable which I think has made it easier to habituate to even though it is loud.

 

[Reinier]

Thanks @brownbear
I was asking you because with all your knowledge about our hearing system you could perhaps be more objective.
I am slowly accepting that my distortion (and tinnitus) will not improve any more. Although why there are people that can improve a lot after many years I will not understand. Probably very, very rare.

 

[Dominic1955]

@brownbear did you notice any difference with diet?
with my menieres disease I tried low sodium for a year and really did not help, also diuretics
now I eat what I want and I feel the same
dom

 

[brownbear]

Hi @Dominic1955 . No Dom I gave up on all the dietary stuff and just eat and drink what I want. No difference at all for me! Hope the Meniere's is stable at present?

 

[Dominic1955]

@brownbear , hi ! I also gave up on diet and diuretics.... I still struggle with tinnitus and hearing loss, I had a bad drop attack in December and its seem to occur every 5 to 6 months and I have no idea why?
today I fell ok
I was offered gentamicin injections, I am thinking if vertigo continues I probably will do it!
did you have any vertigo?
Dom

 

[brownbear]

Hi @Dominic1955. No I never had vertigo, just the one episode of SSNHL. Gentamicin can be a great treatment but we are shifting more towards intratympanic steroids for Meniere's because of the risk of total hearing loss with the gentamicin injection.
How you managing the T? I'm fine at work but it irritates me when I am not very occupied.
Good luck Dom

 

[Luman]

I had an appointment, a few months ago, with an ENT who revealed to me that he has tinnitus. It apparently hasn't held him back, as he performs surgery at major hospitals in NYC and elsewhere.

 

[attheedgeofscience]

I was offered gentamicin injections, I am thinking if vertigo continues I probably will do it!
did you have any vertigo?

It seems to me that Gentamicin injections are sort of a one-way street (with a bolder at the end). Who's to say that your tinnitus won't get worse, even if it improves vertigo? And you will be deaf in the one ear, no doubt...

I honestly think you should consider all other options before moving ahead with stuff that comes with no chance of going back again... Why not look into a bit of research on betahistine? The reason it doesn't seem to do much for inner ear disorders (vertigo, specifically) is because of the low bioavailability when taken orally. AM-125 aims to bypass that via the intranasal route. Maybe look into this to see if couldn't be of help...

What about cold laser therapy? Stem cell therapy? The field continues to see new developments all the time - here is an example...

I hope you find a way...

 

[brownbear]

Big news, I have been doing a diet designed to be as high in GABA as possible, and it's doing............nothing!

 

[AZmom]

It took me several months to bring myself to read a book, but if you can, "When breath becomes air" helped me a lot. The author was a surgeon, about my age, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Made me realize that if other people can face much more aggressive conditions, I could live with T. Here's a link to a short article he wrote before the book:

http://stanmed.stanford.edu/2015spring/before-i-go.html

What a great link, thank you!

 

[glynis]

@Dominic1955 ,
The Gent injections will destroy any ear function you have left and hearing also and you could still try other options first.
You can talke Betahistine along with Proclorperazine and that should help a lot.
Have a chat with your doctor .
Love glynis x

 

[brownbear]

@glynis. it's not inevitable to lose your hearing with the gentamicin, as it is more highly vestibulotoxic than ototoxic. The risk is up to about 20%. As I said earlier though we do tend to use steroid injections more these days to control symptoms. This is all for vertigo control not T, I should say.

 

[brownbear]

Also there is a lot of recent evidence coming out that betahistine is not effective (no better than placebo) so we may well see its use in Meniere's drop dramatically.

 

[glynis]

@brownbear ,
Thank you for the information Brown bear which I value as a ENT doctor.
I only know by the information I was given a long time ago when My menieres and Vertigo got hard to handle.
Lovely have you on here.
Love glynis

 

[Apolonia]

It seems to me that Gentamicin injections are sort of a one-way street (with a bolder at the end). Who's to say that your tinnitus won't get worse, even if it improves vertigo? And you will be deaf in the one ear, no doubt...

I honestly think you should consider all other options before moving ahead with stuff that comes with no chance of going back again... Why not look into a bit of research on betahistine? The reason it doesn't seem to do much for inner ear disorders (vertigo, specifically) is because of the low bioavailability when taken orally. AM-125 aims to bypass that via the intranasal route. Maybe look into this to see if couldn't be of help...

What about cold laser therapy? Stem cell therapy? The field continues to see new developments all the time - here is an example...

I hope you find a way...

An interesting research but what is the difference between this articleamd what the Frequency Therapeutics are doing?

 

[Apolonia]

Hi @Dominic1955. No I never had vertigo, just the one episode of SSNHL. Gentamicin can be a great treatment but we are shifting more towards intratympanic steroids for Meniere's because of the risk of total hearing loss with the gentamicin injection.
How you managing the T? I'm fine at work but it irritates me when I am not very occupied.
Good luck Dom

I visited three ENTs in my country and no one gave me steroids. That was not even a suggestion.... I visited my first ENT Just a day after my trauma and she sent me home and told me to see an audiologist.. I had to wait a month to see him... Anyways, even though I am young IT does not mean I don't have hearing issues( even though they are not obvious for now).... I was completely misdiagnosed by my doctors and no one told me my situation or even suggested any kind of treatment... And then I go online and see that People receive steroids injenctions for this.... And now I am with this forever...

 

[Apolonia]

Also there is a lot of recent evidence coming out that betahistine is not effective (no better than placebo) so we may well see its use in Meniere's drop dramatically.

The only thing the third ENT gave me was betahistine... I was taking it for Two and a half months and I though IT did not help but when I quit I started noticing constant ear fullness which I did not have while taking Betahistine... My conclusion is that IT helps me with ear fullness...

 

[Danny Boy]

I visited three ENTs in my country and no one gave me steroids. That was not even a suggestion.... I visited my first ENT Just a day after my trauma and she sent me home and told me to see an audiologist.. I had to wait a month to see him... Anyways, even though I am young IT does not mean I don't have hearing issues( even though they are not obvious for now).... I was completely misdiagnosed by my doctors and no one told me my situation or even suggested any kind of treatment... And then I go online and see that People receive steroids injenctions for this.... And now I am with this forever...

My Doctor told me to wait 3 months to get a referral to an ENT and all they did was give me an hearing test. Wish I got treatment like steroids or carotenoids. Apparently, the audiologist I seen said they'd make no difference. None of them are trained to deal with tinnitus I swear.