Need Advice for ENT

[S.withnell]

I'm seeing ENT on Thursday and I want to make sure I write everything down I want to ask them about my tinnitus, what should I include? What did you ask for when you went to ENT?

Besides the general questions such as is this permanent? But I mean are there other things I can ask for like tests?

This list is in no order at the moment. Please let me know if there is anything else I should ask about. I want to get as much info as possible to know what is wrong with me and why I have tinnitus.


This is what I've got down so far:-

Want a hearing test.

Want to know what level my tinnitus is at, as I see people know exactly what level their tinnitus plays at in sound level, dB, kHz.

Also can I have a distortion product otoacoustic test to find out where my tinnitus is coming from.

Is there an inner ear infection?
Would steroids help this?

I suffer from labyrinthitis, is this related?

Also suffer from visual snow and halos and blurred vision that glasses can't fix and migraines, are these all related?

Can I have an MRI scan?

Also suffer from silent headaches when my tinnitus is considerably louder.

My ears feel full all the time and click and pop.

Also I get whooshing noise when I move my head.

My tinnitus sounds like it's in three layers, two in my ears and one in my head.

Is this Ménière's disease? If so what can be done to help me?

Are my eustachian tubes blocked or not working?


Thank you

 

[Gabrielle]

I wish you a good visit with your ENT, and one tip I can give you, if you ask him "is this permanent?", just try to realise that your ENT (not any ENT) can't answer that question, because he simply don't know.

At least you can ask him to be honest, and not giving you false hope, like mine ENT did.
He said "your tinnitus has no concrete cause, and therefore is the change it might go away 30-40%".

And so,... I went home, and for month's and month's I had that hope.... specially when I had a quiet day or lower days in a row... I thought every time "Yes.... now it will be go away, I am healing... my tinnitus will dissapear.... ".....

Now I am 8 month's since the onset, and I wish my ENT has spoken honestly by saying: "You better realise that your tinnitus is for the rest of your life".

If he just had said that, then I would have start earlier by 'accepting' and go on for habituation....
But he left me with hope, and that hope has killed me almost....

Since I gave up hope, I am doing much better, because then there was calmness. Also sadness and crying, but at least I started to realise T is for life and so I must go on with my life as good as I can.

So whatever you'll gonna ask your ENT, ask for him to be honest and open with you, eventhough the answers may be not nice to hear.

Good luck, and sorry for my bad English.

Gabriëlle

P.S. My ENT was honest by saying that a MRI-scan will not be a solution. He said a MRI-scan will only show the aerea of the tinnitus in the brain, we can see where it is, but nothing more. And a MRI-scan is a lot noisy, eventhough you can get headphones. So I deciced not to do a MRI. It has no use.

 

[S.withnell]

Hi Gabrielle thank you for your advice.

I've already accepted this is for life and isn't gunna go away.
And told from the start that tinnitus can't be cured.
But Chances it can go away is slim but it might.

Also I would be interested to know where my t is coming from also I'd like an all clear to show I haven't got any thing else like a brain tumor or something ? For it being loud isn't a issue as I've pretty much must have damaged my ears from gigs and concerts over the years. So I know I have myself to blame for part of my t.

I think I just want knowledge about my t so I can undertsand it more.
I'm already habituated to my t even though I've not had it long.
I've learnt to accept it and not be scared of it.

Just want to make sure I get the right info I want now and make sure everything is checked correctly.

Thank you