First Visit to the ENT/Audiologist, Interesting Temporary Relief

[Lee Davis]

I went to see a doc that engineerLA recommended a couple of weeks ago. He removed some wax out of my ears and I got a hearing test done. To my surprise, I had "perfect" hearing, at least up to the 8khz they test for. I don't know if just having a Beverly Hills doctor telling me I had perfect hearing and/or the wax removal, but for a solid 24 hours I had the most relief I have ever had from tinnitus. I felt like I could hear so much clearer. Even if I tried to focus on the tinnitus, I could barely hear it, and most things seemed to mask it very well that didn't before.

A couple of days later, it was back to full volume and I was right where I started. Not sure what to make of it. Is tinnitus truly mostly psychological? How is it that this visit would much of an effect at all, very much the most relief I have ever had from tinnitus I can remember?

 

[LibertyToad]

In my case ear wax build-up makes my T "louder". I see my ENT every 6-9 months to have the ear wax removed. The trick is learning to ignore it which can take many months. I've found that if I don't get plenty of sleep I perceive it as being worse (in reality it's probably the same level). On some days, it seems to be much worse, but I'm fairly certain that I'm just more annoyed by it and so it seems worse when it really isn't. I think a lot of it is a psychological mind game. Acceptance seems to make it "better".