Hi, everyone,
I have been quietly browsing this forum for a few days and finally decided to share my story.
A little about me: I have had chronic hearing issues my entire life and have undergone several procedures to address them. As a child, I had tubes inserted three times, followed by a tympanomastoidectomy with another tube placement in my right ear at age 15. I had the same procedure on my left ear at 19. I am 23 now and, until recently, had relatively good results from the surgeries.
In October, I went to a walk-in clinic because I was feeling terrible over the weekend with what I thought was strep throat. Since it was a weekend, the clinic was my only option, and I wanted to start antibiotics as soon as possible. While I was there, they syringed wax from my ears, which left my right ear in significant pain and feeling muffled—still no tinnitus at this point. I made an appointment with my ENT, who could not see me for two weeks but prescribed Ciprofloxacin-Dexamethasone ear drops twice a day to prevent infection in the meantime.
When I finally saw my ENT at the end of November, I had an audiogram that showed mild to moderate hearing loss in my right ear. He also confirmed that the previously placed tube was no longer in place (it was stuck in earwax, which he manually removed). Around this time, I developed mild tinnitus. It was so mild that I only noticed it in very quiet rooms and often forgot about it unless I focused on it.
As my ENT has always said, I am someone who will likely need tubes for the rest of my life. So, on December 5th, I underwent another tube placement procedure. Due to my surgical history, I had to be put under general anesthesia, as doing it while awake would have been painful. The procedure itself only took about six minutes.
When I woke up, however, I noticed much louder tinnitus in my right ear, which has been quite distressing. I wonder if having the procedure was a mistake. My ear still feels full, occasionally has dull aches, and the worst part is the persistent buzzing and high-pitched hissing tinnitus. I am now afraid of making it worse and have become very cautious about exposure to loud noises.
I am scheduled to see my ENT again on January 6th for another hearing test and to discuss these issues. A CT scan of my ossicular chain came back perfectly normal, which rules out structural problems. I saw one of his fellows about four days after the surgery, but they completely brushed me off, leaving me in tears in the parking lot. Thankfully, my regular ENT is much better—he has researched tinnitus and is well-respected in his field. Still, I am nervous he may not have any solutions either.
I am sharing my experience here for comfort and to see if anyone has had similar issues.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know it is a bit rambly, but I wanted to provide as much detail as possible!
I have been quietly browsing this forum for a few days and finally decided to share my story.
A little about me: I have had chronic hearing issues my entire life and have undergone several procedures to address them. As a child, I had tubes inserted three times, followed by a tympanomastoidectomy with another tube placement in my right ear at age 15. I had the same procedure on my left ear at 19. I am 23 now and, until recently, had relatively good results from the surgeries.
In October, I went to a walk-in clinic because I was feeling terrible over the weekend with what I thought was strep throat. Since it was a weekend, the clinic was my only option, and I wanted to start antibiotics as soon as possible. While I was there, they syringed wax from my ears, which left my right ear in significant pain and feeling muffled—still no tinnitus at this point. I made an appointment with my ENT, who could not see me for two weeks but prescribed Ciprofloxacin-Dexamethasone ear drops twice a day to prevent infection in the meantime.
When I finally saw my ENT at the end of November, I had an audiogram that showed mild to moderate hearing loss in my right ear. He also confirmed that the previously placed tube was no longer in place (it was stuck in earwax, which he manually removed). Around this time, I developed mild tinnitus. It was so mild that I only noticed it in very quiet rooms and often forgot about it unless I focused on it.
As my ENT has always said, I am someone who will likely need tubes for the rest of my life. So, on December 5th, I underwent another tube placement procedure. Due to my surgical history, I had to be put under general anesthesia, as doing it while awake would have been painful. The procedure itself only took about six minutes.
When I woke up, however, I noticed much louder tinnitus in my right ear, which has been quite distressing. I wonder if having the procedure was a mistake. My ear still feels full, occasionally has dull aches, and the worst part is the persistent buzzing and high-pitched hissing tinnitus. I am now afraid of making it worse and have become very cautious about exposure to loud noises.
I am scheduled to see my ENT again on January 6th for another hearing test and to discuss these issues. A CT scan of my ossicular chain came back perfectly normal, which rules out structural problems. I saw one of his fellows about four days after the surgery, but they completely brushed me off, leaving me in tears in the parking lot. Thankfully, my regular ENT is much better—he has researched tinnitus and is well-respected in his field. Still, I am nervous he may not have any solutions either.
I am sharing my experience here for comfort and to see if anyone has had similar issues.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know it is a bit rambly, but I wanted to provide as much detail as possible!
