Hearing Test Results Asymmetric?

Hi - I went to 1st ENT appt. today and hearing result was excellent in right ear, left ear less good but still in normal range but lower.

My tinnitus is usually on right or both. Audiogram looked like parallel lines with the left about 2/3 of an inch lower on the paper. I cannot detect any reduced hearing or difference between my sides at all.

BUT the doctor scared the crap out of me saying that is "unusual" to have differences and he wants to test my hearing in 3 months to make sure I don't have an acoustic neuroma (if the difference becomes larger).

Everything else was fine and he was useless with regard to tinnitus. My ears pop and feel full mostly on the right not the left (the slightly less hearing side) and he told me to take lipoflavonoids and "relax" .

So all I hear is "acoustic neuroma" He did not recommend an MRI "unless I'm too anxious to wait to see if the next hearing test has changes". He did say that an AN is unlikely but he scared me. I don't want to have an MRI now because of the tinnitus.

Don't most people have differences in sides of hearing? I'm 50 and female. Thoughts?

 

My hearing is different in both.
He should not have mentioned AN .
So don't worry.
love glynis x

 

@Julryan

Note that checking for acoustic neuroma is one of the few things that ENTs can do for people with asymmetrical sensorineural hearing loss. My T is just in the left ear, and I have asymmetrical hearing loss above 8KHz. The ENT indeed ordered an MRI that came back unremarkable. The hit rate for acoustic neuroma is very low (<0.5%), and the doctors can choose just to monitor it, or try gamma knife/surgery. There is nothing that they can do for hearing loss beyond a hearing aid.

 

@glynis and @InfiniteLoop thank you very much. The weird thing is he did not equate my T with any hearing loss just "stress" and "anxiety". He also disregarded the popping and clicking in my rt ear because the tympanogram "looked fine" then said "you can use some flonase and advil if you want but you're going to say no to advil " then he walked away to the next exam room. The advil comment was because i asked if it could have caused the T. I also have a ton of sinus pressure on rt side but he said he sees no evidence of sinus infection so i feel a little lost. Like many of us after a visit to an ent. I love how they just lay everything off on anxiety.

 

ENTs and neurologist do not like to jump into MRIs. The audiology tests themselves can be good indicators of any tumor like growths in the ear with high confidence.

 

Depends where you go. Here in the UK, the cost of MRI has come down considerably so that anyone with an assymetric loss can get scanned.

If your audiogram is still the same in 3 months time, then an MRI might be indicated for the purpose of eliminating an AN.

Can you post your audiogram? (edit all personal details first)

 

@dingaling Its being mailed to me because i forgot it at the drs office. Ill post it when it arrives. Thank you!

 

Your ENT is pretty smart. My ENT told me I might have acoustic neuroma, meniere, cochlear hydrops, etc. She refused to believe I had an acoustic trauma.

 

By the descripton of Julryan symptoms and age it appears this may be hormonal related. ENTs should be asking patients to describe all their symptoms and SOUND of Tinnitus to help narrow down to a possible underlying cause, but most don't! (Can't make money if healthy right?)

Description of the Tinnitus was important, which Julryan tried to do. NSAIDs are known to be ototoxic if you take too much daily, which I used to for sinus headaches, pain, menstrual issues etc. The Gastro. Specialist said - STOP all NSAIDs!! They are so bad for your throat and digestive tract. You need a healthy gut to help the rest of your body. A dysfunctional gut can affect your E.N.T! The nerves are also aligned. Well... not one Neurotologist, Otologist or ENT Dr. mentioned it. Specialists are not thinking (or want to discuss) outside the ear-box to evaluate patients as a "whole".
Too much work?

Julryan points out her bothersome right sinus pressure and the clicks, pops on that side. This sounds to be an obvious eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD), hopefully at the mild stage. The question is why? When did this start? At her age, the symptoms may signify changes of over-mucous production or swelling inflammation. Strange hormonal changes happen during pregnancy, perimenopause... Did the ENT evaluate or mention this? The mucous/plugging can cause hearing fluctuation, as well as that type of tinnitus she described. Sometimes there's a cross-over phenomenon to create slight changes in opposite ear. As nothing was advised, I would at least take the mild approach to healing...use a humidifier, saline rinses to -patiently- cleanse the sinuses over time to heal back your natural bio-film which runs from the nose to eustachian tubes to ears. It may take a month or so to notice a difference if you stick with it. People want a quick resolution, taking temporary drugs (e.g Afrin spray) that's known to make issues progressively worse. Flonase is ok on occasion. Does this make any sense? (My bio-film is dysfunctional if not, destructed by over-zealous surgeries. Same with ears.)

Curious - if Julryan takes any type of hormones? Birth control? Smoke? They do change mucous production which I learned of, too late. I would also suggest Julryan to get her hormone levels checked, as they may require balancing. Surprisingly, many gynecologists are not familiar with this either, as it's an ENT issue. Sufferers get redirected S. W. E. then N: Neuro., to be diagnosed with some form of possible brain disorder: ANXIETY! Who wouldn't be? (which again does not treat the underlying cause).

I am not a Dr. but familiar with some topics, which hopefully may be of some help. If the hearing drastically drops w/ other alarming symptoms within 3 mos... Yes, of course go for the MRI or CT!

 

@sakrt I agree with you 100%. Its all very difficult and each speciality doc only focuses on their box as you say. And if it doesnt fit, they decide its anxiety. One time my son had a terrible sinus infection and the ENT didnt see it with his scope so he decided my son was "faking" to get out of school despite the fact that he loved school. I finally got another dr to prescribe antibiotics and he felt better within a week. Its ridiculous.

 

@dingaling @glynis @GregCA @sakrt Hi all - ok I got a copy of my hearing test. My questions are:
1. Since im new to T and it was really loud on that day, can that effect the results? I was also very very anxious.
2. Is this asymmetrical result really so unusual?
3. Would i benefit from a hearing aid? I do not notice any hearing loss at all. None.
Background: Im 51, female and my T came on suddenly as I was in bed watching tv and got up to find the noise only to realize it was in my head, both sides. I was taking tobramycin eye drops and advil. I also have lots of popping in my ears when i swallow and sinus pressure. But tympanogram normal. He didnt see any fluid, said its all probably "anxiety" and to "relax" but then dropped the acoustic neuroma bomb as a possibility due to "asymmetry" Thoughts about test?

 

@Julryan not at home but I will send u a pm later