Scary ENT visit, still have some unanswered questions.

[Sherif Said]

So i've had Tinnitus in my left ear for about 2 weeks and i decided to go to the ENT today to see whats going on. The first thing he told me was that he is going to remove the wax out of both my ears and if the ringing doesn't go away, that means its a nerve problem. So, i sat there in my chair praying to god that the noise goes away after he takes the wax out, and so, after he removed a bucketful of wax, the noise was still there. He scheduled me for a hearing test a month from now and he seemed way too busy to stay there and answer my questions so he flew out of the room before I could ask anything.
Do you guys think that what he saying is correct that it must be nerve damage for sure? can it be a mild case or is it always serious? how do i know if it is? can it ever go away? what are the side effects of removing this huge amount of wax from my ear? is there something i should do after the wax cleaning to prevent my "good ear" from getting problems too?
Please reply as soon as you can. I am SO scared and i could use the help here. Thank you so much.

 

[nogood]

Find another ent.. do audiometry test as soon as possible. . If possible ask for high frequency test. . (upto 16khz if possible)..
If u have hearing loss ask for steroidal treatment. . Dont waste time..

 

[awbw8]

Hey there @Sherif Said, I am not a doctor, but from what I understand steroids are most effective within a few days of tinnitus caused by a loud-noise incident. If that is the case, then it's either kind of late or not applicable to your case, as your doctor.

Regardless of all of that - what you should do is go back to the ENT (or another if you prefer) and do not leave the office until you get you questions answered. You are paying for their time. If they leave, get a nurse to have them come back and say you were not finished. If your T came from nowhere (i.e. no noise induced incident) have the ENT do tests to make sure it's not caused by something more serious. It is difficult, but you have to stand up for yourself and ask for what you need.

As for the rest, your doctor is going to know what is best for you to do based on your medical history, cause of tinnitus etc. But the basic list of what to do (at least for me) is:

1. Remain calm, get lots of sleep! You are still very, very early on. The tinnitus could go away. If you're having trouble sleeping or being calm, go talk to a psychiatrist and see if they think you would benefit from some medical help on that front.
2. Protect your ears! You do not have to, and should not, wear ear plugs everywhere, but stay away from very loud noise and let your ears heal. Masking can help calm you a little, so soft sounds that blend with your T are good in the early days. Completely silence will probably make you nutty, so avoid that.
3. Try not to focus on the T! This one is the hardest, but focusing on it is telling your brain to panic every time it hears it and putting you in a viscous cycle of panic and fear. It is phyically and mentally solidifying that signal, so the more you can tear your focus away, the better. Try video games - something that you need to focus on in order to do it.
4. Know that whether you T goes away or not, you will be okay. It will go away or your will habituate, but either way you can be okay.

To answer your other questions:

Do you guys think that what he saying is correct that it must be nerve damage for sure?

We can't know that for sure, no one here can answer that, and really, your doctor can't either. T is a bit of a mystery to most people and is a symptom caused by many, many things. If you got your T from a specific loud noise incident like I did, then it's likely it's caused by nerve damage, but make sure your doctor checks out all avenues if there is no obvious cause!

can it be a mild case or is it always serious? how do i know if it is? can it ever go away?

I don't know that there's ever anything mild about hearing loss/tinnitus in my opinion as unless it's truly fleeting (a few seconds). Tinnitus is usually a sign of damage. However, if by serious you mean it will last forever, only time will tell - there is no way to know. You have had T such a very, very short amount of time, it is impossible to tell, it could still easily go away. You should do your best to rule out a serious cause with your doctor and from there, just live one day at a time. I've heard of T going away after years, so you never know.

what are the side effects of removing this huge amount of wax from my ear?

I don't know that there are any side effects to removing a lot of wax when it is done properly by a doctor. The build up can cause T if there is really a ton, so I think your doc did the right thing in taking out a big chunk. That said, never try to do what your doctor did by yourself. That can be very dangerous.

is there something i should do after the wax cleaning to prevent my "good ear" from getting problems too?

Just protect your ears from loud noise, take care of your body and get sleep.


Last tip, keep talking to all of us! We're here for you and hope you feel better soon - we've all been scared and where you are, but so many of us are so much better now. You will be okay

 

[Sherif Said]

awbw8 Thank you so very much for helping. I more than appreciate the help and I will do my very best to follow all your suggestions. Just incase it strikes you guys curious, my T did not start after a loud noise incident. 2 weeks ago I was trying to repair my computer because it was making a weird clicking noise and i didn't know where it was coming from, so i decided to open up the side panel and get as close as i could to the computer while the computer is on to locate the source of the noise. I eventually found out what was causing the noise and replaced the noisy part, but after a few hours, my left ear started to make a ringing noise and up until now (2 weeks later) the ringing is still going on in my left ear. I thought that electromagnetic radiation from the computer was the most likely cause of my T and since my computer is very "high end" it might have made the damage worse, but I could be wrong. It really feels terrible already having T at 23 years of age, but hopefully things get better. Thanks again guys for your suggestions, I really really appreciate it.

 

[nogood]

I doubt radiation from a computer causes t
I often visit data centers and work with servers in closed spaces..
And usually every month or so assemble high end servers...
They are noisy but oddly enough to cause any sort of damage. .
Better find a good doctor who would work with u and if money is not a problem do complete evaluation like mri of brain and audiometry canals..

 

[awbw8]

Yeah @Sherif Said, I have to agree with @nogood, I don't think, in my non-medical opinion, that anything from computer would cause that kind of immediate damage. Tinnitus can be caused from years of built-up noise exposure. It may have just happened that that moment, but that doesn't make whatever you were doing at the time the cause.

Make sure you get your doctor to look through things thoroughly and make sure you T isn't a symptom of something more serious.

 

[Ken219]

Imagine the country that develops a frequency that destroys the inner ear. Scary

 

[nogood]

@Ken219 I do believe some sort of weapons are out there already. . U can make a wild guess which country is using it .....so far used for stunning and crowd control. .. Google for them it should show up... saw something in discovery Channel long time ago..