Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

[Valentin]

the key to avoid barotrauma while doing HBOT is to always equalize while the chamber is put under pressure, Valsalva maneuver and moving my jaw from left to right makes it very easy.

under 45ft you'll notice your hearing is diminished because of the pressure but this is normal.

 

[Dhaval]

Hi

I have done 22 sessions so far. As far as improvement goes well I can say that my hearing has stabilized and the intensity has decreased a bit although not quite to my liking . I guess u had too much hope with HBOT. I still hav 2 sessions to go and immediately the next day I travel about 11 hrs In flight with a transit so thts can count as a pseudo jump.

But yes I too got a bit of pain but I kept doing the valsava and I ws fine. After the jump you kinda feel tired but Thts normal. In my case until the 8th jump my hearing diminished so did tinnitus and then suddenly it all came back. Its been decreasing or may bey perception is but else it's been beneficial that much I'll have to say.

Go for it. But do take precautions.

 

[Marton]

Yes I have done 14... and going to do 20 at least. There shouldn't be any problem. Just out of curiosity do you feel like your hearing has dulled too?

hello!
I carried on till 19 occasions...No significant improvement though..yes I felt like that in the beginning but that feeling dissapeared..

 

[LadyDi]

Thanks for the input, @daman558. I have to make a decision soon, as I just am a little over three months of onset.

@jazz, are you reconsidering? I noticed you posted this after Mike Ryan wrote in:

I also note you write about the risks of HBOT, namely barotrauma. Are some people more susceptible to this than others? Is there a screening test to insure your ears will equalize correctly? I'm interested because my tinnitus came from a barotrauma, and I've been diagnosed with ETD. These facts, I assume, would render me high risk for HBOT.

I have the same questions. I am seeing the barotrauma ENT specialist this week and intend to ask his opinion. I'm still not even sure I could afford it anyway,

 

[jazz]

@LadyDi You're seeing a barotrauma specialist. That's wonderful! I wish I could see one, but the two neurotologists I saw acted like barotrauma's were "no big deal." (Of course, tinnitus is also "no big deal," if you ask most ENTs. Would they be so apathetic if they had a tea kettle in their own heads!)

Let me know what your physician says about barotrauma susceptibility and HBOT. I am still interested, though at a year it's probably too late. Still, I would consider it and would price it out. I'm already considering trading my Starkey hearing aids in for Widex's Zen. It's not that I don't like my white noise--which Starkey's provide--but I feel like my progress has plateaued. And so I'm ready for something new. I'm even considering neurofeedback, which has a limited--though good--record with chronic tinnitus.

Good luck with your meeting! Please post here or PM me with your decision.

jazz

 

[jazz]

Hi lady di,just wanted to mention that the information i read online states that you will only be diving 30ft. in terms of pressure which equals ascending 10000 ft in an airplane. which is not that high. i have had bad etd. fluid in the ears for 2 months, and recently climbed a 3000 ft mountain no problem. it might be worth asking if you can bring an earpopper device into the chamber to help prevent barotrauma and help pop your ears. i know i will be taking mine if i can. i only bring this up because if you are still under 6 months of t there seems to be enough of a chance of improvement for one to try. you could always tell them to let you out if you feel pain as well.

Please keep us posted on your progress, and let us know if they let you bring your ear popper!

 

[daman558]

Couldnt bring in an ear popper, however the first session is a trial session at half the pressure and half the time to see how you react to the chamber. it went just fine, so did my first full session. i just kept streching my jaw and doing the valsalva with no problems. the tech who performed it almost didnt want to put me in cuz he said he saw swelling in my ear drum. Which alarmed me cuz my ent AND audiologist said my ear drums wer fine. I told the tech to fill the chamber slower and decompress me slower. so basically that turned the hour session into 15 minutes longer, but ehh thats fine as i would like to continue treatment.

 

[Goofy]

Couldnt bring in an ear popper.

Daman, When I did my treatments they would supply a plastic water bottle everyday so you could take drinks as they compressed and decompressed the chamber. This helped with with popping ears. Good luck on your treatments.

 

[Marton]

I did 19 sessions of this after 5 months of the onset of my tinnitus...maybe it was already too late, but it didnt do anything unfortunately..For some of us its just a waste of money unfortunately...

 

[LadyDi]

@LadyDi You're seeing a barotrauma specialist. That's wonderful! I wish I could see one, but the two neurotologists I saw acted like barotrauma's were "no big deal." (Of course, tinnitus is also "no big deal," if you ask most ENTs. Would they be so apathetic if they had a tea kettle in their own heads!)

Let me know what your physician says about barotrauma susceptibility and HBOT. I am still interested, though at a year it's probably too late. Still, I would consider it and would price it out. I'm already considering trading my Starkey hearing aids in for Widex's Zen. It's not that I don't like my white noise--which Starkey's provide--but I feel like my progress has plateaued. And so I'm ready for something new. I'm even considering neurofeedback, which has a limited--though good--record with chronic tinnitus.

Good luck with your meeting! Please post here or PM me with your decision.

jazz

Hello Jazz and all...
Yes, we do have an ENT at Cleveland Clinic Florida (Dr. V, I'll call him) in our area that does specialize in barotrauma (given we are on the ocean, a lot of patients have ear trauma due to diving). I unfortunately saw him almost two months after my plane flight; he said for baraotrauma cases, its important to see the ENT as soon as possible after the incident occurs, both in terms of diagnosis and treatment. (Unfortunately, I went to my primary ENT the day after the flight, and we know how much good that did me). Dr. V wasn't able to "definitively" diagnosis me with barotrauma-induced tinnitus but agrees it is "possibly" the way I got my T.

Anyway, now for my follow up a couple days ago...
Dr. V was somewhat evasive on HBOT, as he can be when he doesn't directly want to say something is bullsh*t (the one thing that can be a little frustrating when communicating with him). But basically, he said there is very little proof at this point that it works and he didn't think it was worth it. He also reminded me that Dr. T, the head of University of Miami's otolaryngology research center, had told me the same thing when I had my appointment with him two weeks ago. Dr. V said the treatments could spark ETD and harm me, but that this was not a definite. The HBOT facility I was looking at requires a doctor's prescription and I don't think Dr. V. would agree to write it, although I probably could find someone who would.

And then there was Daman's comments above on his tech seeing swelling in his eardrums...

So, while I still may change my mind: I think I have decided to sit this one out. I don't think the reliable success data is worth the risk, given my barotrauma history. I am outside, although not by much, the three-month window from onset for optimal success. HBOT also would cost me about $4,000-$5,000. I am saving that money for when the next off-label but promising treatment comes along (am watching the progress in Texas with electrical stimulation).

 

[jazz]

@LadyDi Thanks so much for the report! From what you've discovered, the treatment definitely poses a risk for people with ETD. Since my tubes still click when I swallow (though not all the time), I still have ETD and will not risk further injury.

Still, I think HBOT is efficacious if done early. You might need a stricter protocol for its usage, but the treatment does help. In Germany, for example, HBOT is a first-line treatment. And German medicine is top rate.

Of course, larger clinical trials are needed in the US to establish the treatment's efficacy and refine its protocols. But this won't happen. Big pharma has no interest in HBOT, and insurance companies have no interest in anything that increases costs--unless the evidence for efficacy is irrefutable. That's why no tinnitus therapies are covered by insurance. Look at your policy. It will cite numerous therapies as unproven. But how can any therapy be proven when no one is willing to conduct large clinical trials? Testing a therapy on 30 or 40 people may result in FDA approval, but will not affect your insurance coverage. The only exception is for veterans. The VA has approved several tinnitus treatments.

We have great medicine in the US, no doubt, but it is insurance driven and that does affect quality. And it also influences physician treatment choices. In my experience, physicians rarely recommend anything that's not covered by insurance.

I hope you've started therapy with your Widex!

 

[Ralf]

Finished 21 sessions of HBOT at a cost of around $5000. T started 2 months ago. I don't think I had any improvement but don't regret at least trying. I am not sure if it is quieter but I am at least habituating to it as I find it bothers me way less then before. I have moderate high frequency hearing loss that was gradual over lifetime. Perhaps if my hearing loss was sudden it would be more effective. I think people should know if T is because of sudden hearing loss or just an exposure to loud sounds. If your hearing was damaged like mine over a period of time but had not previously had T, it might not work for you.

 

[jazz]

Finished 21 sessions of HBOT at a cost of around $5000. T started 2 months ago. I don't think I had any improvement but don't regret at least trying. I am not sure if it is quieter but I am at least habituating to it as I find it bothers me way less then before. I have moderate high frequency hearing loss that was gradual over lifetime. Perhaps if my hearing loss was sudden it would be more effective. I think people should know if T is because of sudden hearing loss or just an exposure to loud sounds. If your hearing was damaged like mine over a period of time but had not previously had T, it might not work for you.

Thanks Ralf! I believe you're accurate. HBOT works best for sudden hearing loss or trauma. I am glad you're habituating! It's sometimes a slow process, but you will continue to get better over the next several months.

 

[Balthazar]

Hi all,

I've just had my 8th hbot session and am unsure how much difference it is making. I have noise induced tinnitus after 3 days of clubbing and started the treatment 2 weeks after. Initially I had a mid pitched ringing in my right ear which went up in pitch in the first few treatments, also now when I lie down I can reduce it to just a high pitched whooshing sound. I've noticed though in the last couple of days a high pitched quiet sound in my left ear which may have been there all along and now the soreness which I had at first seems to have returned.

I'm therefore starting to question the wisdom of continuing. I've been recommended to do between 10 and 15 sessions. I'd be grateful if anyone has some advice or ideas.

Thanks,
B

 

[daman558]

Hi all,

I've just had my 8th hbot session and am unsure how much difference it is making. I have noise induced tinnitus after 3 days of clubbing and started the treatment 2 weeks after. Initially I had a mid pitched ringing in my right ear which went up in pitch in the first few treatments, also now when I lie down I can reduce it to just a high pitched whooshing sound. I've noticed though in the last couple of days a high pitched quiet sound in my left ear which may have been there all along and now the soreness which I had at first seems to have returned.

I'm therefore starting to question the wisdom of continuing. I've been recommended to do between 10 and 15 sessions. I'd be grateful if anyone has some advice or ideas.

Thanks,
B

I'm with you Balthazar, just finished my 7th treatment and i notice no improvement, also in the last 2 sessions my ears have turned from the dull ache that was there before to something a little more acute. Plus i also notice some fullness/tightness, which might just be normal. I canceled my appointment for tom. and gona wait it out a day. besides, if wev already had 7 or 8 treatments and nothing.. i doubt what magic can happen in a few more. I will say that the sound of my T has changed a bit as well, to more of a hiss sound. I think its just time for me to realize im stuck with this for life :-(

 

[Balthazar]

Well I decided to carry on a bit further and have just had my 13th. The soreness comes back from time to time, a sensation a bit like being pricked with several pins. The doctor seemed to take this as positive that it may be doing something and drew the parallel with people who have injuries reporting more pain at the start of hbot before the healing begins properly. Still no change in sound!

Not optimistic, but I think I'll do two more and then call it a day.

 

[RAY]

Hi Balthazer may I ask how much did your hbot treatment cost

Ray

 

[Balthazar]

Around £1500... Even though it doesn't appear to have made a great improvement for me, I don't regret it in the slightest. The doctor I spoke to had found it worked to varying extents on 50% of patients. So given the v. likely possibility that this is for life, I think it's a risk worth taking.

 

[RAY]

Absolutely. With this you don't know if its temporary or not, so as you say its got to be worth the risk, anything to ease the noise. Thanks for that.

Ray.

 

[Balthazar]

Just by way of an update, I ended up having 17 treatments and definitely noticed an overall reduction in volume. It's still there, but it fluctuates far more than before. Now onto acupuncture...

 

[Nina83]

Just wanted to let you all know that I've decided to give Oxygen Therapy a go and that I've had my first session today. It all went well, equalising was easier than I thought. The only thing I found is that the chamber was quite noisy while 'diving' and going back up. My T spiked straight after the session and stayed that way for about 30 minutes. Now it is calming down again, thankfully!
As I'm not 100% sure about the source of my T (could be a delayed onset of noise trauma or an mild untreated ear infection after swimming), my GP has put me on a course of Amoxlline and Prednisolon.
The specialist at the Oxygen Therapy centre said taking the antibiotics during the treatment shouldn't be a problem, I hope so!
I will post updates on the progress! Fingers crossed!
Take care everyone!!

 

[LadyDi]

Good luck, Nina. As you know, HBOT isn't for everyone and the track record of success is very mixed. But you are getting started shortly after onset, which is very much in your favor. Hope this works for you.

 

[Nina83]

You were right LadyDi... it's not for everyone and I'm afraid it's not for me.

I found the chamber quite noisy and wanted to keep my ear plugs in, but of course I kept being told I had to take them out while 'diving' and coming back up to make equalising possible.

So... my T spiked quite a bit after the session, for it to calm down after about 30 mins and last night it was very, very loud. This morning, it remains loud. In other words, it's all over the place and I probably shouldn't attribute this to the treatment at this stage, BUT I am very scared it is linked so I decided to skip today's session.

I also have pin prick like pains, probably because of the pressure. On top of that my ear drums have been retracted these past few weeks/months(??) and I'm pretty sure it all linked. It probably wasn't a great idea to go 'diving' with retracted ear drums + antibiotics in my body. I just don't know. My ears keep popping too and the sounds keep changing. I can only hope that I haven't caused any further damage.

Anyway, I'm trying to stay positive and hope that this increase is temporary! The spike could also be due to the fact that I got very little sleep last night, although the loud ringing literally kept waking me up every hour.

It's now been three months since this all started and it's been incredibly, incredibly hard. Talking about a life changing event, pfff. It's terrible. But of course most of you know what it's like.

Let's see what happens, only time will tell.

 

[AdamSb]

Hi guys,

I have recently gotten some sudden deafness 2.5 weeks ago and resulting tinnitus in 1 ear out of the blue. I did have a bubble that wouldn't pop inside my ear that I subsequently popped shortly after. Would hyperbaric oxygen therapy help?

I see a place offering at 50 a session but discounted slightly over more days. They last 1 hour. Is it worth it? My tinnitus hasn't gotten any better and my hearing hasn't improved much from prednisone. Would the hearing restore from the oxygen?

 

[Balthazar]

Yes I think it could help. There was a guy when I went who woke up one morning deaf in one ear and managed to recover some hearing in twenty sessions I think. He was also on prednisone.

 

[Owch]

I tried 11 sessions of HBOT at a major university hospital here exactly 3 weeks into my tinnitus. The doctors there warned me that it might not help my condition but I decided to try it anyway.

It cost me a lot of money and I'm afraid my own experience with the treatment was not good:
- my audiogram was marginally worse after the treatment (though it seems to have improved again slightly since LLLT).
- I think I might have suffered a minor barotrauma as I have had pressure problems and been very sensitive to altitude changes ever since (though they seem to be getting slowly better). It seems that this is quite a common side-effect of the treatment.

The treatment is indeed very noisy and they do not let you wear hearing protection during pressurisation and depressurisation. If I had known about them at the time I would have taken musician's earplugs with me for the treatment as these have a small hole in them which ought to prevent the equalisation problems which prevent you wearing normal earplugs.

HBOT does seem to be very good for serious bacterial skin and internal organ infections as several of the other patients there were suffering from such complaints and told me that they had seen a lot of positive progress in their conditions since starting HBOT.

 

[JTP]

The treatment is indeed very noisy and they do not let you wear hearing protection during pressurisation and depressurisation. If I had known about them at the time I would have taken musician's earplugs with me for the treatment as these have a small hole in them which ought to prevent the equalisation problems which prevent you wearing normal earplugs.

Noisy? Where did the noise come from, was there a noisy pressure pump behind the wall? All I heard was a moderate sound of oxygen flowing in tubes, just masked my T.

 

[LadyDi]

I tried 11 sessions of HBOT at a major university hospital here exactly 3 weeks into my tinnitus. The doctors there warned me that it might not help my condition but I decided to try it anyway.

It cost me a lot of money and I'm afraid my own experience with the treatment was not good:
- my audiogram was marginally worse after the treatment (though it seems to have improved again slightly since LLLT).
- I think I might have suffered a minor barotrauma as I have had pressure problems and been very sensitive to altitude changes ever since (though they seem to be getting slowly better). It seems that this is quite a common side-effect of the treatment.

The treatment is indeed very noisy and they do not let you wear hearing protection during pressurisation and depressurisation. If I had known about them at the time I would have taken musician's earplugs with me for the treatment as these have a small hole in them which ought to prevent the equalisation problems which prevent you wearing normal earplugs.

HBOT does seem to be very good for serious bacterial skin and internal organ infections as several of the other patients there were suffering from such complaints and told me that they had seen a lot of positive progress in their conditions since starting HBOT.

I very seriously considered HBOT a couple months ago. Ultimately, fears of barotrauma problems (barotrauma is what caused my T) plus the lack of solid evidence that it works made me say no -- not to mention the expense. Every doctor I spoke to advised against it.

Don't get me wrong, HBOT works great for wound healing and many other things. We even have an hyperbaric oxygen clinic here for animals now. But it's still considered an "off-label" treatment for tinnitus, which is why in part no insurance will cover it. Hope your pressure issues resolve, Owch, which they probably will.

 

[Owch]

Noisy? Where did the noise come from, was there a noisy pressure pump behind the wall? All I heard was a moderate sound of oxygen flowing in tubes, just masked my T.

You must have been treated in very different equipment to me. I've seen photos of pressurisation chambers for individual people - were you in such a chamber? I was in one intended for groups.

I was in a large metal cylindrical pressure chamber which resembled the interior of an aircraft and had I guess around 20 seats in it, set facing each other, against each of the longest sides of the 'cylinder'. Some of the pressurisation equipment seemed to be inside the chamber and some was outside but I think attached to the chamber so the sound resonated in the chamber itself. The noise during pressurisation and depressurisation was very strong as there was a rush of air into and out of the chamber. After the pressurisation the noise became a lower intensity rumble, but it was still quite strong. I did managed to persuade the doctors to switch off the horrible (and loud) music that they played in the chamber during the treatment, however

Maybe people looking at taking this treatment should investigate the type of equipment being used and establish whether it is of the 'noisy' or 'non-noisy' type before starting?

I'm glad I took the treatment as otherwise it would be one of the things I would probably have 'wondered about' for the rest of my life, just a bit sad at the results I had

@LadyDi : Thanks so much for your concern. Yes, I also hope the pressure issues will get better

 

[JTP]

OK, I was in a smaller chamber that was for six people. The setup must have been different since I cannot remember it being noisy at all.

I also am glad I went there - even if it did not help - for the very same reasons as you.

Take care.