Tinnitus from Microsuction / Syringing

Hi All, 28M. Wish I was glad to be posting here.

I had syringing followed by microsuction 15 days ago after my left ear was severely impacted by wax. My right ear also was waxy (but not as bad as my left) and was cleaned too. This was done at a reputable ear cleaning clinic and performed by a Registered Nurse.

Now my right ear is ringing non-stop and the left seems to be ringing on and off intermittently.

I went to an ENT (5 days after the event) who prescribed prednisone which I’m still taking until later this week. My audiogram is completely normal (0-10 dB across all tested frequencies). I suspect it was the loud noise of the microsuction device that triggered my right ear.

Timeline:

• 18 October - syringing and microsuction.
• 23 October - ENT visit and Prednisone prescribed.
• 24 October - Audiogram and started Prednisone (50 mg x 6, 25 mg x 6, 12.5 mg taper).
• 1 November - no noticeable change in loudness / tone.

Hopeful things will start to calm down a bit in the coming weeks based on other stories, but equally there’s a lot of horror stories - noting people are more likely to post about negative outcomes than positive.

Fingers crossed.

 

Hang in there. There's a chance it could completely go away. You need to download the Calm app to help you at night when you go to bed, until you get adjusted and figure out what's going on. You will be fine. Back off the salt.

 

Syringing AND microsuction?

 

Give it time @Ant315 and hopefully the tinnitus will calm down and eventually go away. It is important that impacted ear wax is removed, as it can cause a lot of problems which is the reason you were referred for microsuction. This procedure is relatively safe providing it is done correctly and with care. I have had ear irrigation three times and microsuction the same without any problems.

Before having ear irrigation or microsuction, you should have been advised by your health professional, to apply olive oil/ear drops, 3 times a day to each ear for 10 days to thoroughly soften the earwax to enable easy removal. Failure to do this can cause tinnitus in some people.

Please go to my started threads and read my post: Microsuction and Irrigation.

Hope you start to feel better soon.

All the best,
Michael

 

What about just applying the olive oil drops?

Would that not soften the earwax enough for it to exit the canal naturally?

 

Olive oil is fine to use @Jupiterman. One must apply olive oil or eardrops 3 times a day to each ear for 10 days to soften the wax, prior to having ear irrigation or microsuction. Failure to do this, there is a risk of developing tinnitus.

 

What I was asking was, can olive oil be used to clear earwax WITHOUT requirement of microsuction or syringing?

Would the olive oil soften the wax enough to flow naturally out the ear canal of its own accord, albeit obviously taking MUCH longer than microsuction or syringing?

 

It depends on the situation. If you have earwax impaction, it might not come out of your ear with just olive oil, but might require syringing, microsuction or using the curette. In that case it's best to use olive oil or Debrox before the procedure.

But after your ears are clean, olive oil is excellent for maintenance... put that stuff in your ears once every week and you will never have earwax issues again.

 

Olive oil can be used weekly as @2noist says for maintenance, then the earwax should exit the ear by itself. However, syringing or microsuction will be required for the removal of impacted wax.

Michael

 

Thanks all, I appreciate your replies. I have since spoken to a few people in person / through family members who had tinnitus following syringing / microsuction. Consensus is it can take quite a few months to calm down.

 

I know how concerned you are @Ant315 but try not to worry too much about the tinnitus. Click on the link below and read my post: New to Tinnitus, What to Do? Try to avoid quiet rooms and surroundings, especially at night by using low-level sound enrichment. More about this is covered in my post. I advise you not to listen to audio through any type of headphones, even at low volume.

All the best,
Michael

New to Tinnitus, What to Do? | Tinnitus Talk Support Forum

 

4 week update - no noticeable change but remaining hopeful.

 

It is still very early days @Ant315, so give it more time. Continue with low-level sound enrichment during the day and especially at night using a sound machine by the bedside. You may have to gradually introduce yourself to using sound enrichment at night, as it can take some time to get used to it.

If you are feeling stressed, talk to your GP/PCP.

All the best,
Michael

 

Thank you for your kind words Michael. I have been using some low level external sound enrichment for sleeping thus far which seems to be helping - getting 6+ hours a night. I am also in discussions with my ENT, audiologist and psychologist regarding stress / anxiety management.

For those following, I have a 4 kHz tone in my right ear, and what seems to be a 14-15 kHz tone in both ears (think old television being turned on). The 14-15 kHz tone was a bit lower and more of a hiss, but appears to have gone up in pitch.

 

Hi all,

As an update - left ear is on and off - lying in bed last night it definitely 'switched off' for a period of 10 or so minutes.

Right ear is still pretty constant with the 4 kHz tone, however I woke up a couple of nights ago and it was 'switched off' for a few minutes too. So overall quite promising even though it's still early days - touch wood.

I'm going to not look at Tinnitus Talk for the next while as I think it isn't helping my recovery.

I've been through all the success stories and read all the advice, So bye for now.

 

Microsuction ruined my life.

 

Sounds good. Live long and prosper.

 

Just checking back in - at the 3 month mark not much has changed. Tinnitus pitch may have gone up slightly but the hearing distortions and tinny hearing are still a thing in my right ear.

I think my volume perception is improving in my right ear too - there was previously a large discrepancy left to right.

Tinnitus is still essentially the same in both ears.

My audiograms look great which is positive. 2 normal and 1 high frequency tests can be seen here.

I'll check in again at the 6 month mark. Here's hoping for some change soon.

 

Six months in, and not much has changed.

I am holding out for long-term recovery - 6/12/18/24 months. We know ears are slow to recover, many take 1-2 years to see improvement.

I have been protecting in loud environments and will continue to do so.

 

Hi there,

I suffered acoustic trauma from a microsuction procedure about a month ago—on the 18th of July, to be exact. Since then, I've experienced tinnitus, hyperacusis, ear fullness (which I absolutely hate), and a dampened sense of hearing in the affected ear. All of this happened at the end of a noisy and painful one-minute microsuction procedure, where saline was used to loosen a piece of hardened wax deep in my ear canal. I felt a sudden cold sensation inside my ear, and I haven’t been able to hear properly from it since.

It currently feels like this experience has ruined my life. I’ve been reading all the posts on here about microsuction, trying to make sense of what happened.

I had OAE (Otoacoustic Emission) tests done, and they showed that the outer hair cells in my inner ear are either absent or very low in the damaged left ear, while they are fully present and functioning well in my right (undamaged) ear. Despite this, my pure-tone audiogram came back "normal," even though my auditory experience in the left ear feels anything but normal. The ENT specialists keep telling me I should be glad I have "functional hearing."

Has anyone else felt gaslighted by ENT specialists in this way?