Hello, I'm a Newbie with Tinnitus and the Situation Is Making Me Nervous

[Kritish Gooriah]

Hello, I'm french and sorry for my English. I'm 28 years old. When, I was a child, i had many ear infections. In 2015, my ENT found a eardrum perforation, with a otoscope. He told me about a healing after a few months, but if after a few months, i still had a eardrum perforation, he should be a surgery. I saw this ENT and his colleague, 3 times, in 2016. These ENT consultations were for ear infections and clogged ear wax. In February 2017, his colleague told me about a surgery. In March, my surgeon use a camera and he find out a tympanic retractation. In April, the diagnostic was confirmed with damage on one of my ossicle, without a cholesteatoma. In May, I had a ear infection. The surgery wasn't necessary, but the ENT don't told me this fact and all the risk. He gave me a standard information form. He doesn't tell me, the difficulties to support a tinnitus. He didn't make sure that i understand the risk of this surgery. We don't talk about the surgery, the other treatments. He don't verify my medical history and state. If he did this, that would reduce the appareance risk of tinnitus. I had a ear surgery (ossiculoplasty and tympanoplasty) on 2 june. My first period of tinnitus was of june at the beginning of july. My first tinnitus has decreased, when i found my hearing. He wasn't continuous. The post operative instructions weren't bright. I called and i asked my ENT surgeon for information (noise protection...). After the operation, i had , difficulties to eat, 2 allergic rhinitis or sinusitis and coughing up blood, my jaw is clicking. On 13 July, my ENT allow me to go on Holiday, but in my operated ear, i had a ear inflammation. I had a acoustic trauma, on 23 july (motocross competition with music for 3 hours, the theorical noise maximum level of motocross was 112 dB in 114 dB in the competition at most and just 78 dB from 100 meters of the competition), with tinnitus, hearing loss, eardrum perforation. I saw differently ENT. I called my family doctor, i tell him, i have tinnitus and i was in a motocross competition, he tell me call my ENT surgeon. I called his cabinet, i tell him, i have a ear surgery of my ENT, she tell me my ENT wasn't here. She ask to another ENT instructions. He tell him, there is nothing to make and he give me an appointment for a examination and a audiogram. I was prescribed piracetam for 4 months (3 800 mg tablets per day), cortisone (5 20 mg tablets per day) for 8 days, gingko biloba for 3 months (6 40 mg tablets per day), antibiotic ear drops (2 pod per day), for 8 days. I have a little hearing loss in bone conduction and above all, a hearing loss in air conduction. The differently ENT tell me, that there were chances of disapperance or reduction of my tinnitus. The new ENT propose me a new ear surgery to close the eardrum and verify the ossicles and he recommand me a sophrology consultation for limit the effect of my tinnitus. My tinnitus increased.

My ENT surgeon don't think to verify the pressure before my surgery and other things.

He told in a letter to my primary doctor, as he informed me of the risk of the surgery but he didn't telle that the condition of my eardrum and the pressure behind my eardrum could be the reasons of the failure of my surgery he told me this risk after the operation and the acoustic trauma.

I have never received a medical letter after an appointment in the office, he send the letters to my primary doctor, i didn't really know the state of my ear, he allowed me to go in holidays without recommendations, but my eardrum had a inflammation and i had my acoustic trauma after a motocross festival, the noise protection requirements had not been clear (he told me: just avoid excessive and traumatic noise without details) , i have asked him a few times informations.

10 october 2017: i see the ENT surgeon for ask my medical record, audiograms and a exam of my ear, i make a audiogram and he told me, my hearing is better after my audiogram. He gave me Piracetam and Xanax. He gave me a few audiograms.

I saw my ENT wednesday, 8 november 2017, he asked me: how is my embarrassment with my tinnitus? i told him: i had 2 episodes with no tinnitus and the embarrassment is lower, but i may be underestimated my embarrassment. He told me, my hearing is better after my audiogram, because my inflammatory injury would have been a little cured, he think tinnitus can disappear, he recommand me a ear surgery, for my perforated eardrum, but he told me, i don't have to do this surgery immediately, he gave me an appointment in 6 months for review my situation, except i change my mind. He didn't change my treatment of my ENT surgeon (piracetam) and he recommand me a sophrology consultation. During the previous appointment, they found a little sensineural hearing loss and above a conductive hearing loss. He told me as i have a conductive hearing loss as problems of hearing, when i asked him if my sensineural hearing loss could disappear. In the letter, he spoke of a essentially conductive hearing loss and for him, my tinnitus situation is better. What do you think: this diagnosis is realistic?

16 november 2017: i see the ENT surgeon for exam of my ear and , i make a audiogram in air conduction, he told me: my hearing is stabilized, i gave him the results of the audiogram of the new ENT, he make a new audiogramm in bone conduction, he confirmed the results of the new ENT, he gave Piracetam, Xanax and he recommand me a sophrology consultation. He's a little more optimistic for my tinnitus; he told me, it's a good sign, if i can't hear my tinnitus for a few moments. He told me, that there is a possible problem with one of my auditory ossicles: he can be blocked and with the tympanoplasty: i can't win on my hearing. I should make exams (scanner...). But on the first, he didn't see a auditory ossicle blocked. I asked him for HBO, he didn't want to prescribe it to me, because HBO can cause damage to my valid ear.

24 november- 3rd december 2017: my father is dead, police call my mom, i go with my mom for note the death, i was expose to traffic noise. The last few days were a emotional bomb (anxiety, stress...), between the funeral and the ceremony religious (i was expose to noise (route by cars, conversations, funeral oration+ music and prayer by the top-speakers, music, traffic noise)), friends invited me for change me my ideas in restaurants and bowling (1st december and 2nd december: i don't wear earplug in streets, restaurants and in a car but in bowling, i wear earplug after a few minutes and i hear a noise "plop" in my ear, i feel a glue ear at times), i'm afraid to have aggravated my situation, with a new acoustic trauma, an increase of my tinnitus. But my tinnitus isn't stable: i could sense very low or very high. I saw my doctor (30th november), for him, i haven't a new acoustic trauma, it's my anxiety. I'm going to call my new ENT.

I try actually with piracetam, a ginkgo parent dye, Xanax, AD (Amitriptyline), and i take 356,25 mg of magnesium and vitamin, minerals complex (vitamin B complex, E, C)including anti-oxydants.

I'm stressed and i have dark thoughts (death, suicide with my father death...).

I don't think, i have hyperacusis, but sometimes, i have earache.

What do you think of my situation? My tinnitus can disappear or be decreased? Have you advice for support the tinnitus?

 

[ajith]

I will sure pray for you. Don't be disheartened. Be strong.

 

[GregCA]

If your T is variable (sometimes high, sometimes low), I take it as a positive sign. It means that there are certain conditions in your body that allow it to subside. The trick is to figure out what those are, so you can see if you can somehow maintain them (naturally or artificially).

Good luck!

 

[Bill Bauer]

I saw my ENT wednesday, 8 november 2017, he asked me: how is my embarrassment with my tinnitus? i told him: i had 2 episodes with no tinnitus and the embarrassment is lower, but i may be underestimated my embarrassment.

Sorry, what did you mean by the word "embarrassment"?

I'm stressed and i have dark thoughts

T tends to change - the volume gets quieter and it can change to a hiss that is easier to ignore than a high pitch tone. There is also a good chance that eventually it can go away. See the studies listed on
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/spontaneous-recovery-stats-over-70-recover-3-studies.21441/

Right now, there is still a chance that you will get better. Only after you have T for a year or two, is there a high probability that it is permanent:

Back when I spent a lot of time learning about T, I saw multiple sources mentioning that "2 years" rule of thumb. I am having trouble finding those sources, but a quick search resulted in
https://www.ncrar.research.va.gov/Education/Documents/TinnitusDocuments/01_HenryPTM-HB_1-10.pdf
"A general guideline is that tinnitus of at least 12 months duration has a high likelihood of being a permanent condition (Dobie, 2004b). However, it also has been suggested that a person must have experienced tinnitus for at least two years before it should be considered permanent (Vernon, 1996)."
Link to Dobie 2004: https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en...AfBTNxz1AY#v=onepage&q=dobie tinnitus&f=false

So I hope you wait for at least a year before contemplating suicide.

 

[Kritish Gooriah]

Thank you for you messages ^^, i did mean with the word "embarrassment", my trouble/discomfort/inconvienence/encumbrance. Sorry for my English

I hope, my T go away. My primary doctor think, i can recover with no tinnitus but with a hearing loss.

My dark thoughts are caused by the context in my life (my T, my father death in the same year), i'm trying not to think about it, most of the time.

I note, when i take antibiotic ear drops, my hearing is better and my T is lower, for my doctor, this drug was blocking my perforated eardrum. Since my acoustic trauma, i have the feeling of a glue ear.

If your T is variable (sometimes high, sometimes low), I take it as a positive sign

It's encouraging. I'll try to find this conditions for maintain them.

 

[GregCA]

I note, when i take antibiotic ear drops, my hearing is better and my T is lower, for my doctor, this drug was blocking my perforated eardrum. Since my acoustic trauma, i have the feeling of a glue ear.

If you still have a perforated ear drum, make sure the drops you put in your ear aren't ototoxic, as they are likely to reach the middle ear, and possibly the base of the cochlea. Talk to your doc about it.

 

[Bill Bauer]

i did mean with the word "embarrassment", my trouble/discomfort/inconvienence/encumbrance.

Sounds like you were talking about whether or not tinnutus had been bothering you.

i have the feeling of a glue ear.

Is this how your ear sometimes feels on an airplane? If so, the term for this is "full ear."

make sure the drops you put in your ear aren't ototoxic

See whether you can find the name of your antibiotic on
http://hlaa-sbc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Ototoxic_Brochure.pdf

Make sure to try the Latin name of that antibiotic, or the brand name under which it might be sold in the United States.

 

[Kritish Gooriah]

Hello, sorry for my late response, thank you for the informations, ofloxacin isn't in the list but my surgeon gave me aminoglycosides (polydexa) and ciprofloxacin (cyloxadex) after my surgery because my ear presented a inflammation, but this antibiotics are potentially ototoxic. He didn't see a perforation in my eardrum. I hope these antibiotics don't touch my cochlea and the package "sensorineural hearing loss+tinnitus" are just a consequence of my surgery and/or my "acoustic trauma" and not a consequence of the drops. I hope that i can recover completely my hearing in bone conduction.

4 december 2017-07 january 2018: i saw Star Wars, with hearing protections- i took a coffee with friends in a mall, i was shopping, but i didn't wear constantly hearing protections in the Streets, the transports and in the mall- i eat with friends in my house and in their houses (i found the noise were loud noises (TV, music), i wear ear plugs one time and i went away from the loud noises an another time) for Christmas, the new year...- i took the time to attend a ceremony for my father without hearing protections, but i closed my ear with my finger because i had ear pain and i found that the noise was a loud noise-every time, i saw my doctor, because i'm scared of an increase of my situation, i see my doctor tomorrow.

I get cold, and i had a spike of my T, i feel my crazy, my doctor told me ear pain, the spike of my T are a consequence of my infection and my anxiety.

8 january 2018: i start the sophrology consultation.

10 january 2018: i see once more a osteopath.

17 january 2018: i see my new ENT for program a new surgery.

23 january 2018/15 februar 2018: i see a different ENT with good reputations to get my old audiogram and a different meaning- for my doctor, it isn't good of multiply the meanings, my new ENT is a good reference and this substitute during the holidays didn't want to prescribe me another treatment because for him, my new ENT want to see my situation, with a minimum of treatments.

 

[Kritish Gooriah]

I try different assays of piracetam, my T was reduced, i don't know, if it was a placebo effect or not, my doctor told me that the classic assay is good for me (2,4 g), my assay (4-5 g) of piracetam has no more effect that the classic assay. I kept the classic assay of piracetam.