Looking for the Smoking Gun

[Hawsie]

I am a machine. I am quite far from being a hypochondriac. Working in heavy construction has taught me to ignore numerous mild discomforts and physical injuries that would bench professional athletes..........Then in May, my goddamn head started ringing.
The only thing that out of the usual was having extensive shoulder surgery 3 weeks earlier. As an adjunct to the anesthesia, they did a nerve tap in my neck, which I was told was a good idea for post surgery pain in the first 24 hrs. Having a disdain for opiates, I thought this was a sound suggestion.
I have since had a complete physical, and an exam by an ENT. Everything is normal......

The ringing is constant, and is equal in both ears. Some days it seems louder, but it is with me 24/7 and slowly driving me insane. The ENT was an arrogant prick who suggested that all I need is a good psychiatrist. When I asked if the nerve tap in my neck or post-surg inflammation could be factors involved, he told me to stop looking for scapegoats.

Any insights or sharing a similar experience would be appreciated. I am not looking to blame or sue anyone. I just want this to stop before I lose my friendly and patient disposition.

Thanks!

 

[Hawsie]

I appreciate your reply. However, my hearing tests were normal for my age (54) I have worn hearing protection at work, (when appropriate) for 30+ years.

 

[GregCA]

Hearing protection does not work because the high frequencies are very penetrating and pass through the protection.

Where did you get that idea from?

 

[Alue]

Simple physical of the high school: the higher the frequency, the more penetrating it is.

I believe you have your physics backwards. Here is the attenuation data for various hearing protectors:
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1087607O/attenuation-data-for-3m-hearing-protection.pdf

Mind you, they only evaluate up to 8kHz which is true for just about all hearing protection and noise studies which I find unfortunate.

 

[GregCA]

Simple physical of the high school: the higher the frequency, the more penetrating it is.

We must have gone to different high schools.
Here is a page that explains it specifically for sound waves (it's actually not that different for electro magnetic waves - which is why your WiFi reaches further on the 2.4 Ghz band than 5 GHz).

To quote that page:

As sound waves travel through a medium, they lose energy to the medium and are damped. The molecules in the medium, as they are forced to vibrate back and forth, generate heat. Consequently, a sound wave can only propagate through a limited distance. In general, low frequency waves travel further than high frequency waves because there is less energy transferred to the medium. Hence the use of low frequencies for fog horns. Although damped waves have decreasing amplitudes, their wavelength and period are unaffected.​

If you still wonder whether it's true, consider what you hear from your neighbor's loud music: the bass. That's the bam bam you hear when you can't even determine which song is playing.

 

[GregCA]

Yes, the low frequency travels longer space, but we are talking about PENETRATION, the ability to cross something, and not to travel around that.

Penetration is simply travel through another medium.
Sorry, but I think you've got your physics a bit mixed up here.

 

[Amber]

I think you went to school to be seen by others nothing more, because you do not know the elemental, the high frequency crosses more easily than the low, and the low frequency travels farther than the high because it is creeping.

You are wrong, lower frequencies cross obstacles more easily than higher frequencies. Get your facts straight buddy

 

[Bill Bauer]

Hearing protection does not work because the high frequencies are very penetrating and pass through the protection.

I am not sure whether this is true.

Here are attenuation values for some random ear muffs:

Note that attenuation does not drop at higher frequencies.

 

[GregCA]

Well, I propose to you this challenge, search well in Google or ask a physicist, what frequency penetrates more, and if you are in error, equal you will be in all yours lies, such as: tinnitus is habituate and more bearable than cancer.

I have Googled actually: that's how I found the link that explains wave propagation for you. If you come across another piece of info that supports your explanation, feel free to post it.

I'm not sure why you are so defensive about this.

 

[Tinker Bell]

tinnitus is habituate and more bearable than cancer.

Which types of cancer? There are more than 100 different types. How severe of tinnitus? I certainly do not think mild tinnitus is worse than pancreatic cancer. Have you had a loved one die from pancreatic cancer? It's not a bearable disease. In fact, it's not bearable because it's terminal. Very difficult to bear something that destroys your internal organs and kills you.

The reality is that tinnitus is the worst of diseases

Well that is a matter of opinion. I can think of disorders that I would prefer over tinnitus. But on the flip side I can also think of disorders that I would not prefer to tinnitus.

I consider that just like chronic pain

Now this I do agree with, but just like tinnitus -- there are different types of chronic pain.

 

[GregCA]

The reality is that tinnitus is the worst of diseases, I consider that just like chronic pain

I do consider it a bit like chronic pain myself too, but you don't need to twist physics to make that point.

 

[GregCA]

I'm not twisting physics, simple logic, just ask yourself if a pneumatic hammer drills faster at low or high revolutions.

The answer is obvious, but is also unrelated to sound wave propagation.

 

[.bill]

What happened to the lady who had the problem now its a physics battle

 

[Steve]

Hopefully the administrators of this forum and the participants someday understand that just as there are people who do not have tinnitus and others who have it, there are also those who are positive and negative. And the most obvious is that these two extremes will always be in conflict as the eternal struggle between good and evil.

Just as this is a support forum, as opposed to being a discouragement forum.

What happened to the lady who had the problem now its a physics battle

Good point

When I asked if the nerve tap in my neck or post-surg inflammation could be factors involved, he told me to stop looking for scapegoats.

Have you had any stiffness or pain around the neck, jaw or face since?

Not that it's a diagnosis but is there a chance that there is associated swelling or injury that could be compressing the auditory nerve? This could cause tinnitus. I'm not familiar with the nerve tap procedure so I'm not sure how it could affect the area.

 

[Lorac]

What happened to the lady who had the problem now its a physics battle

I think the lady who had the problem is actually a man.

@Hawsie, welcome to the forum! I have no familiarity with nerve taps but I can understand why you think that may have contributed to your tinnitus. I hear a ratchet sound in my deaf ear whenever I touch the back of my neck. I've been dealing with hearing loss and tinnitus for four years but the neck touching ratchet sounds did not start happening until I was about 18 months in. Weird stuff.
Your ENT does sound like an arrogant prick. I visited three different ENT doctors and none of them recommended psychiatric help but I view their failure to do that as neglectful. In the end, a psychologist was the only doctor who helped me. Maybe your ENT had good intentions but his "bedside manner" is lacking.
You have not had tinnitus for too long, so there is some chance that it may yet fade away. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[.bill]

Man or woman it still went off the mark

 

[Hawsie]

@Lorac,
Thank you for your optimistic and encouraging response. As far as my new malady goes, I'm thinking of direct cause/effect with the needle stuck in my neck, because that seems to be the only unusual thing done to me recently. There is one other weird symptom accompanying the tinnitus, (I swear I'm not imagining it!), is a diminished sense of smell. I'm serious. No sense of smell and ringing ears. Add a painful post-surgery left arm and I feel like I'm falling apart.
There is only spotty clinical info on nerve damage during a plexus block. It does statistically happen in 1-2% of cases, but there are few details on which nerves are actually affected.
My regular Doc (a great internist) doesn't doubt this is happening, as he knows me to be a man who doesn't often complain about anything. He thinks that the two symptoms occurring simultaneously makes coincidence highly unlikely, but out of his range for determining a cause.
I hope it goes away. I miss the aroma of flatulence and the peace of a quiet room!
Thanks!

 

[Lorac]

@Hawsie,
I'm glad that tinnitus has not robbed you of your sense of humor. I sunk into a deep depression at the beginning of my journey with hearing loss and tinnitus/hyperacusis. I have since found that laughing and any (not too loud) activity that increases endorphins in my brain helps me tremendously with my situation.
Your loss of smell is an odd twist. Hopefully, both the diminished sense of smell and the tinnitus will prove to be temporary for you. I would hate for you to lose your friendly and patient disposition.