Tinnitus and Septoplasty

[Snake]

Hi Tinnitus Talk,

I have a planned septoplasty for April 2018 due to nasal septum deviation and constant clicking in my ears when I swallow or yawn, but I'm really worried about the noise during that surgery. Our nose is very close to the inner ear so every noise made during septoplasty is gonna be really loud...

I've read about someone here that have tinnitus caused by septoplasty, and this worries me the most.

Maybe I should save some money and try to do it with laser? It should be much quieter than typical surgery.

But, it's gonna be really expensive...

I can't wait more because constant clicking in my ears and runny nose does not help my tinnitus :<

 

[Asia88]

What noise do you thing a classic surgery performed on septum can produce? I've done mine and actually even if you opt for a laser, surgeon still will make couple of hits and only then they clean the rest with laser. So it will be noisy anyway.. if that's the sound you're scared of.

 

[Samir]

Does your surgeon know you have tinnitus? Do you have hearing loss as well? I think you should talk to your surgeon about your concern. He may be able to use different tools or use a different technique. Any surgery has risks associated with it. Just because someone else had a worsening of their tinnitus due to surgery doesn't mean you will have the same outcome.

 

[Snake]

Does your surgeon know you have tinnitus? Do you have hearing loss as well? I think you should talk to your surgeon about your concern. He may be able to use different tools or use a different technique. Any surgery has risks associated with it. Just because someone else had a worsening of their tinnitus due to surgery doesn't mean you will have the same outcome.

@Samir I don't know who will be my surgeon but medical director / head of the clinic at the hospital which planned it knows about it, surgery is planned for April so i still have a time to decide. Maybe should i just call to the hospital to have a chat with him near the surgery date and also tell surgeon about my T just before we start?

I just still think about that laser method, i forgot to talk about it at the last visit...

Doctors really want to do septoplasty in my case because they think it should help me.

 

[Samir]

@Snake If you can arrange a phone call with the surgeon, or an appointment for a consultation at the clinic would be the best. Try to get an appointment at least a week before your planned surgery so you have enough time to think this through. But you should definitely talk to someone at the clinic about your concern, preferably the surgeon.

You say you have constant clicking in your ears. Both ears? You mean they are constantly clicking, non-stop? Have you seen an ENT doctor about this? What you describe could be middle ear muscle myoclonus. This appears to be fairly common in people with noise induced tinnitus, myself included. But mine is only intermittent, and it does tend to be triggered by swallowing. But this is not something I would expect to see go away after septoplasty. I don't have septum deviation but I still have this clicking noise, mostly in my left ear (the more damaged ear), but also in the right ear sometimes.

 

[Snake]

@Snake If you can arrange a phone call with the surgeon, or an appointment for a consultation at the clinic would be the best. Try to get an appointment at least a week before your planned surgery so you have enough time to think this through. But you should definitely talk to someone at the clinic about your concern, preferably the surgeon.

You say you have constant clicking in your ears. Both ears? You mean they are constantly clicking, non-stop? Have you seen an ENT doctor about this? What you describe could be middle ear muscle myoclonus. This appears to be fairly common in people with noise induced tinnitus, myself included. But mine is only intermittent, and it does tend to be triggered by swallowing. But this is not something I would expect to see go away after septoplasty. I don't have septum deviation but I still have this clicking noise, mostly in my left ear (the more damaged ear), but also in the right ear sometimes.

@Samir I have clicking in both ears when i swallow or yawn hard which opens my eustachian tubes. Loudness of it depends on pressure in my head and "how" i swallow (fast, hard, slow, gently).

It can be very loud so i have a fear about worsening my T by this clicking. Especially when i'm in ear plugs and occlusion effect appears.

Doctors said that they will investigate it further only after septoplasty because i have a serious curve on the right side and for them it's the possible cause.

It disappeares however during the cold when i have full, runny nose.

EDIT: I would add that my let ear is "blocking" for some time now and i have to manually unlock it via yawn.

 

[Samir]

@Snake The doctor you saw told you that this is because of Eustachian tube dysfunction? It is common to have popping sounds from Eustachian tube dysfunction. I wouldn't describe it as clicks though. It's more of a popping sound, like when you remove the cork on a bottle or something similar to that. If it's caused by the little bones and muscles in the middle ear the sound is usually a sharp click.

That does sound like you have a serious nasal congestion and respiratory problem. Do you plan on doing sinus surgery as well?

 

[Snake]

@Snake The doctor you saw told you that this is because of Eustachian tube dysfunction? It is common to have popping sounds from Eustachian tube dysfunction. I wouldn't describe it as clicks though. It's more of a popping sound, like when you remove the cork on a bottle or something similar to that. If it's caused by the little bones and muscles in the middle ear the sound is usually a sharp click.

That does sound like you have a serious nasal congestion and respiratory problem. Do you plan on doing sinus surgery as well?

@Samir They told me that they don't know why is this happening to me and that my nasal septum deviation is our only lead now.

It's a sharp click :<

They tried to give me Tolperisone for muscles in the ear and i can't remember now if it helped because i've only took 2 pills in total, but after 30 minutes from taking the pill T on my right ear started to do random high pitched sounds and i've had strange pressure feeling in my head. I even had to breath on the fresh air.

This was after the second pill, the first was ok. Maybe it was coincidence?

We still don't know WHY it became worse after gasp with fluorine which get through my nose, for now doctors see this as coincidence or that it only triggered something that would come anyway.

 

[Samir]

@Snake What you are describing might still be caused by the middle ear muscles. Mine is sometimes loud enough to be picked up by a microphone. You can find a recording of it here: Delayed Click After Swallowing

 

[Dilshaad]

Hello everyone


I have had tinnitus for 2 years after getting otitis media. My right nostril is frequently blocked. I have been advised to do a septoplasty by ENT here in Delhi. I have also TMJ and eye floaters as well neck pain. All one right side.

Have anyone had septoplasty done, has it been successful, what are the complications?

Grateful if you could answer me please.


Kind regards
Dilshaad

 

[dingaling]

Do you have a deviated septum or enlarged turbinates? Have you had a nose injury in the past?

Apart from the small risk of bleeding, you need to speak to your ENT doctor who can advise you on any complications

 

[Suaimhneach]

Hi TT

I have a planned septoplasty for April 2018 due to nasal septum deviation and constant clicking in my ears when I swallow or yawn, but I'm really worried about the noise during that surgery. Our nose is very close to the inner ear so every noise made during septoplasty is gonna be really loud...

I've read about someone here that have tinnitus caused by septoplasty, and this worries me the most.

Maybe I should save some money and try to do it with laser? It should be much quieter than typical surgery.

But, it's gonna be really expensive...

I can't wait more because constant clicking in my ears and runny nose does not help my tinnitus :<

Hi @Snake, just wanted to check in and see if you got this and how it went?

My ENT wants to perform a septoplasty and turbinate reduction. My only worry is that it will increase my tinnitus or whatever.

I'd like to know how you got on and what the recovery was like?

 

[Snake]

Hi @Snake, just wanted to check in and see if you got this and how it went?

My ENT wants to perform a septoplasty and turbinate reduction. My only worry is that it will increase my tinnitus or whatever.

I'd like to know how you got on and what the recovery was like?

Hi, I cancelled the septoplasty. It wasn't worth it.

 

[Suaimhneach]

Hi, I cancelled the septoplasty. It wasn't worth it.

Thanks for the reply!