This is my first post, so please bear with me. It's a bit lengthy.
(And, first, a thank you to all of you who have posted about your experience with HBOT. It's been a help to me in choosing a course of action.)
In summary, I suffered T on 10/30/2014, after an acute acoustic trauma and began HBOT three days ago. I just completed my third session.
Backing up...
I have always had exceptional hearing. While I occasionally attended loud concerts in my youth, it was rather rare and the loud club scene was never my thing. As an adult, I always took great pains to protect my hearing. I'm one of those oddballs that has always worn hearing protection when operating power tools, kitchen appliances like blenders and mixers, and even the vacuum cleaner. We have always kept a set of noise suppression headphones hanging on the handle of our vacuum cleaner at home and anyone who vacuums (and those nearby, also) wear them. I've seen an ENT in the past for unrelated (sinus) issues and the routine audiology tests he performs always leave him shaking his head and remarking at how superbly acute my hearing is.
Well, not "is." "Was."
I guess everyone here can relate to that change in verb tense, though. Huh?
As devastated as I am at the hearing loss, I'm sure it comes as no surprise to most of you that the tinnitus is far more difficult to endure. Unlike a subtle loss of something once had, the sudden, painful onslaught of tinnitus is quite literally life shattering. I know that tinnitus can take many forms and intensities, and indeed can change at the individual level, too, but the thought that I'll be hearing this until the day I die is crushing. Only someone with tinnitus can truly understand how life changing this is.
My tinnitus was caused, I'm sure, on the evening of 10/30 (just two weeks ago today), by an inadvertent exposure to extremely loud event. When the event was over, my ears were ringing (rather unsurprisingly). I fully expected that they would be fine by the following morning. They weren't. The ringing was just as strong the next morning. And the next afternoon. By the time 24 hours had passed, I was convinced that damage had occurred. I scheduled an appointment with my ENT. Unfortunately I didn't get in to see the ENT until 11 days had elapsed. While I was waiting to see the ENT, I researched every possible treatment for tinnitus and had begun acupuncture (low chance of success, I know), supplements (benfontiamine, omega-3, CoQ10, green tea extract, NAC, sulforaphane, etc.), and had even seen my chiropractor twice (to ensure that stress in the neck and shoulders wasn't impinging in such a way to worsen the tinnitus).
When I saw the ENT at 11 days post trauma, he tested my hearing, confirmed hearing loss, and prescribed prednisone, which I began taking immediately. At this point, I discussed HBOT with him and he said he didn't think it would help for "my type of tinnitus." He said that, in his opinion, HBOT would only help for tinnitus caused by occlusions of arterial blood flow to the structures of the ear. Absent that, he said that the ear was sufficiently oxygenated.
After returning home, I continued my research into HBOT and decided that I disagreed with my ENT's opinion. I felt that there was sufficient research to show that HBOT could potentially help, and do so at an acceptably low risk. There's research out there, but not a ton of it. (One of the better meta analyses I've found is "Tinnitus, a Military Epidemic: Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy the Answer?" by Thomas M. Baldwin. Baldwin has researched all of the tinnitus/HBOT studies he can find to determine what the landscape of research is showing.)
Based upon my belief that HBOT is worth trying, the next day I found a physician who operates a hyperbaric facility, was examined by him, and had my first treatment immediately after. The physician said if improvement were to occur, it may take five to 10 treatments. He prescribed 2 atmospheres for 90 minutes, once per day. (The facility is open 6 days per week; closed Sundays.)
(Note: Because of the differences in healthcare and insurance around the world, the following couple of paragraphs on cost may not be very relevant to those of you outside of the U.S.)
While it's possible that my insurance company would cover the cost of the treatment, I would have had to find a physician in their network of providers who would refer me to a hyperbaric facility that was also in their network, and also obtain prior approval for such a specialized treatment. Because 12 days had elapsed by this time, I elected not to delay any further and am instead paying for this as an "out of network" treatment. What this means is that I can file for reimbursement as an out of network cost, but my deductible for treatment out of network is so high (and it's based upon calendar year, which is almost over) that I will end up bearing 100% of this cost.
Physician examination to get the referral/prescription for the HBOT: $195
Each 90-minute session in the HBOT chamber: $260
(For geographical reference: I'm in north Texas.)
This treatment occurs in a "monoplace" hyperbaric chamber, which looks much like a tanning bed, though obviously fully enclosed and slightly larger. The facility has five of them. Because the entire chamber is flooded with oxygen, there's no mask involved. (If anyone saw the movie Fifth Element, I'm reminded of the reconstruction chamber they used.) This facility requires that all patients wear scrubs and remove any jewelery. Nothing is allowed in the chamber except the blanket and pillow that the facility provides. The patient is grounded via a wrist strap to the body of the chamber to prevent any static discharge.
I've been a SCUBA diver most of my life, though I don't dive often because I sometimes find it difficult clearing my ears as I descend. That is the only annoyance I've found during the three sessions I've had thus far, but it's been only a trivial annoyance, as descending in the chamber is far more controlled and precise than trying to descend carefully while in the ocean. As a result, clearing my ears has been much easier. Undoubtedly, the absence of salt water helps.
As for the tinnitus' response to the HBOT, I'm not sure. Part of me wants to say that after three treatments I'm experiencing a very slight reduction in the volume of my tinnitus, but I want to be very careful before I make such a statement. I know from 14 days with this condition that the volume of my tinnitus can change from moment to moment, depending upon ambient conditions and, I'm sure, my mood and stress. What I may be tempted to call a reduction in symptoms may just be a momentary drop in volume. Or it may be me becoming more accustomed to it such that occasionally find myself noticing it less for moments at a time.
And I readily admit that I'm introducing a bunch of confounding variables into this picture too:
-time is passing, which may itself result in healing
-I'm still on prednisone
-I'm still taking supplements
-I'm having another acupuncture treatment on Saturday
At this point, I wish I had started the prednisone sooner than 11 days after the trauma. I wish I had started the HBOT, sooner, too. Of all these treatments, I'm the least inclined to think that the acupuncture will help, but it's relatively inexpensive, so I'm inclined to continue it for a few more treatments.
If I emerge from this with less pronounced symptoms (or by a miracle, a complete reversal) it will impossible to know for sure which of these treatments contributed, if any.
I think we humans tend to seek the "one cause" or the "one cure" when trying to understand why things happen or how things can be fixed when, many times, multiple factors are playing a role. While I'm certain that my traumatic acoustic event was the primary cause, it may be that improvement in my case requires all of these treatments. I don't know. But I'm willing to try it all. And do so quickly to increase my chance of reversing this.
And, if improvement or reversal occurs, I can live with the mystery as to how much of a role each treatment played.
I'll be back with updates.
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