Is There Any Hope?

[Jkph75]

I am deaf in my left ear and have been since birth. It has never caused me any distress. After I gave birth to my son 2 1/2 years ago, I had some tinnitus in my hearing ear on and off. It started out as a pulsating sound that came and went, sometimes a swooshing sound.

Gradually, it got to be more frequent but was not too bad. I eventually went to my PC a year later. She told me that there was some fluid in my ears, to take pseudoephedrine, and to see an ENT. She was mainly concerned that might be losing my hearing.

The tinnitus wasn't bothering me that much and I got pregnant again, so I never went to the ENT. I still noticed the tinnitus on and off withy pregnancy but I had many other pregnancy related symptoms which were much more prominent.

At the end of January, I gave birth to my baby girl. The tinnitus got louder afterwards which was annoying but not life altering and was not all the time, at least that I was aware of. I had a C-section, so I only left the house a few times since I had her.

There was this low humming that I kept hearing. It was getting louder and louder. I heard it mainly when I was in certain areas of my house. It wasn't until I left my house last Friday that I noticed that I could still hear the sound.

I also was having pain and pressure in my ear. The next day I went to the Dr who told me I had a very mild ear infection and proscribed me antibiotics. The antibiotics didn't help the sound and it was getting louder.

On Tuesday, I went back again and they gave me Flonase which is not helping either. Every day the noises get louder and louder. I have a high pitched sound and the low pitched sound is growing increasingly louder. It literally sounds like a steam boat is in the room with me. I would think I was going deaf from the sound except it's not there. Last night, the sounds woke me up from my sleep they were so loud.

Now I am hearing what sounds faintly like music in the background of all of these noises. No one seems to care. I have an appointment with an ENT but that isn't until the 30th. I can't sleep. I am having panic attacks.

I'm only 40 and have 2 small children. I don't know how I can live my life like this. I stopped taking Loratadine after my daughter was born. I am wondering if I took that and some pseudoephedrine if that would help but I know if I take them that my milk production will go way down.

I can't take not being able to feed my daughter on top of still having to hear these sounds.

Plus, it is my only hope. If I try that and it doesn't work, I will fall into a giant pit of despair.

Why doesn't anyone understand how terrifying and debilitating this is? I called my drs office a couple times with concerns that it is getting louder. They just blew me off and told me to keep taking the medicine. I am so scared that it will never get better and no one will know or care why.

Thanks for listening

 

[billie48]

welcome to the forum @Jkph75 . Yes, there is hope. In fact many people do get better over time, after getting support, learning more about tinnitus and how to cope with it with different strategies.

Don't panic and don't despair. We understand what you are going through. We have been there where you are now. So members here have empathy for your sufferings. As far as the suffering, the endless ringing, the fear, anxiety, depression and sleeplessness etc., they are all very normal when T is new or when it kicks into another level. We all had experienced the T trauma to varying degree.

I went through hell with my ultra high pitch dog whistle T and severe hyperacusis a few years back. I was in a mess for a while. But now I am living a normal life, enjoying and living it abundantly despite the T still being there. I wrote my success story like many other members. Do read up as many success stories as you can to learn how to get better. If you have time, here is my story as well as the most read success story of I Who Love Music.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...w-i-recovered-from-tinnitus-hyperacusis.3148/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/back-to-silence.7172/


Give it time. It is the common element of success for most people. Time will heal and your perception of T can change. Trying to be positive can definitely help. The first step towards positivity is to read up on the success stories and the Positivity Thread. They give you hope and you can learn some insights how to get better. Being positive will help reduce stress which is bad for T. So keep being positive, seek some helpful strategies such as CBT, TRT, mindfulness meditation, exercise, hobby, etc. etc.

Try take supplements such as NAC, Magnesium, B12, D3 etc. You may want to consider masking if T bothers you. Here is a TT thread with some nice tips and some masking sounds, and it has link to a sleep thread too. I also include more masking suggestions. Take good care and God bless.

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/panic/

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/audioplayer/

If you need more masking sounds, here is free 'aire freshener':
http://www.peterhirschberg.com/mysoftware.html

You can mix your own rain sounds with this rain generator:
http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/rainNoiseGenerator.php

 

[attheedgeofscience]

I had a C-section, so I only left the house a few times since I had her.

I have only skimmed your (many) posts; you mention many things, and I am not sure there is a timeline to everything, so difficult to pinpoint something exact. In addition, most of us are not doctors, and even if we were, diagnosis at a distance is difficult.

Having said all that, here are some possibilities as to your tinnitus:

• C-section at birth may come with epidural/spinal anesthesia, I believe. There are reported cases of patients developing tinnitus after such a procedure(s). This a real and unfortunate possibility.
• A mild ear infection would probably not be the cause. You can get a more thorough evaluation at specialized clinics if necessary. As a minimum, you also need a tympanometry assessment (normally done as a standard part of the hearing evaluation).
• You need a high frequency hearing test also (normally only < 8kHz are done for standard screening).

You mention loop diuretics in another post. These are ototoxic and probably not the right choice unless there is good reason for taking them and only for a short period of time (my opinion).

What can you do? See a professor of the ENT discipline. See the person via the private sector so as to bypass the waiting list. Explain your symptoms/problems and the timeline.

Lastly, attached is the most thorough information on tinnitus and inner ear diagnosis you can find on the entire Internet. Use it, study it, bring it with you to your next examination.

I don't think there is much point in posting further here on the board: we can't help you with an evaluation. In addition, being a public board, you will get "a thousand opinions" from folks who - with a few exceptions - are simply not knowledgeable enough and probably will do more harm than good by leading you on a wild/false goose-chase. Sorry.

Good luck.

 

[Jkph75]

Thanks I saw an ENT PA who said he thinks I have Cochlear Hydrops but can't officially diagnose me with it b/c my hearing test was normal. I go to see the Dr. In a couple weeks. Right now I need to talk to people who know something about this disease, so any help in that area is appreciated.

 

[attheedgeofscience]

Thanks I saw an ENT PA who said he thinks I have Cochlear Hydrops but can't officially diagnose me with it b/c my hearing test was normal.

Try and read the quoted sentence to yourself - I have highlighted a few words:

• "thinks"
• "officially"
• "normal"

Medicine, and especially tinnitus, is not an exact science. Far from. Probably more than anything, cochlear hydrops are diagnosed by exhaustion i.e. if you don't have condition a, b, or c, then we "assume" that you must have condition x (because what else could it be...). A blind diagnosis.

Suppose your hearing test did come back not-normal, does that mean you then - with certainty - have cochlear hydrops?!? I think not...

In addition, there is no such thing as a normal hearing test. Everyone has some degree of hearing loss. Even slight hearing loss can be a problem.

Right now I need to talk to people who know something about this disease, so any help in that area is appreciated.

I think you might end up speaking with people who think they have "something", when in fact, they do not (have "something").

For disorders of the inner ear, cold laser therapy can sometimes be of help (something 99% of ENTs would not know of). However, as with just about anything related to the inner ear, treatment and outcome is blind.

Only a professor of the ENT discipline would be knowledgeable enough to help you through your ordeal - and even then, there is no guarantee.

There is no vestibular or auditory test that is diagnostic of endolymphatic hydrops. Diagnosis is clinical—based on the physician's observations and on the patient's history, symptoms, and symptom pattern. The clinical diagnosis may be strengthened by the results of certain tests. For example, certain abnormalities in electrocochleography (which tests the response of the eighth cranial nerve to clicks or tones presented to the ear) or audiometry (which tests hearing function) may support a hydrops diagnosis.

Source: http://vestibular.org/secondary-endolymphatic-hydrops-seh

 

[Jkph75]

My drs office is associated with a university and the Dr I will be seeing is also a professor. The PA I saw went to Harvard and reviewed my exam with another Dr who is also a professor, so the treatment I am getting is about as good as it can be. My hearing test was normal in that it was all within normal limits. He didn't have a previous hearing exam to compare it to, so there was no way of knowing if my hearing had decreased. I see a Dr in a couple weeks. I am sure they will give me more tests. I know that I can't say for sure at this point but he seemed pretty certain that what I am experiencing is at least a precursor to Cochlear Hydrops or Meniere's. It would be helpful to talk to people who actually have these diseases so I can know what to expect from a personal stand point.

 

[Jkph75]

My drs office is associated with a university and the Dr I will be seeing is also a professor. The PA I saw went to Harvard and reviewed my exam with another Dr who is also a professor, so the treatment I am getting is about as good as it can be. My hearing test was normal in that it was all within normal limits. He didn't have a previous hearing exam to compare it to, so there was no way of knowing if my hearing had decreased. I see a Dr in a couple weeks. I am sure they will give me more tests. I know that I can't say for sure at this point but he seemed pretty certain that what I am experiencing is at least a precursor to Cochlear Hydrops or Meniere's. Then again, I spoke with a Dr today who said she had no idea and said it could be regular hearing loss. I am hearing distorted sounds today. This is all very scary for me. I'm just looking for some ideas and support.

 

[piki]

I want to share that I have also developed tinnitus after a c-section I recently have found an effective treatment. I hope it helps other women who are passing through the same. After seeing so many specialists (docs and dentists), the only thing that was helping to ease the ringing in my right ear was to give a massage in the c-section scar, but it was a temporary release. I recently found a doc specialized in rehabilitation and women's health who gave me some injections of Ropivacaine (pf) 0.5 % (5 Mg/ml) Epidural Solution in the scar and the tinnitus was gone that day! She said it will take a few more doses as the scar tissue is really tight and these injections help to soften the tissue.
Please, spread the word!