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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Tinnitus / January 2004Where do I start?
I have had tinnitus for a few weeks now. I went to the ear, nose & throat doc and he says my ears are perfect, he pretty much just walked out of the room with no desire to help me further... or it was just something that he couldn't help with so he conceded, albeit rather rudely. Anyhow, how can I begin or where should I go to diagnose what causes my tinnitus? My first assumption would be stress. I am in my final semester of grad school and this past year has been unbelievably stressful on me, ulcer-like symptoms for 2 months last semester (another problem a doc couldn't diagnose), headaches that lasted for weeks, and now I have constant ringing in my ears. My right ear got REALLY bad one night, I thought I was going crazy, I had a sharp pain, any high pitched sound, e.g. my own whistle, sounded like metal scraping metal and the ringing was so loud I wanted to rip my brain out through my ear. I wanted to go to the emergency room but I waited, I turned my fan on high and managed to sleep through the night. The next day I went to the ear, nose & throat doctor who was very rude and told me that my ears are perfect and I couldn't have scored any higher on my hearing tests. So where do I go from here? Ginko Biloba? Exercise? Working primarily on my stress levels? High blood pressure (I am only 29)? Anyhow, I suppose I'll make it, but any help from the experts here would be much obliged. -Pork Roll > I have had tinnitus for a few weeks now. I went to the ear, nose & throat > doc and he says my ears are perfect, he pretty much just walked out of the [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > -Pork Roll You will learn a lot about tinnitus here. Two of your comments made me wonder if you take lots of aspirin. Heavy doses of aspirin can simultaneously cause tinnitus and stomach ulcers. Do you? > > I have had tinnitus for a few weeks now. I went to the ear, nose & throat > > doc and he says my ears are perfect, he pretty much just walked out of the [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > wonder if you take lots of aspirin. Heavy doses of aspirin can > simultaneously cause tinnitus and stomach ulcers. Do you? I don't take any aspirin. -Pork Roll <snip> > I don't take any aspirin. > > -Pork Roll Great, then you can rule that out as a cause. There are other pain killers that irritate my stomach but I don't know if any of them are also ototoxic. Others here will know. Another cause of tinnitus that your ENT/audiologist combination can rule out, usually without the expense of an MRI, is the acoustic neuroma. I'll presume they discussed that with you. Did they characterize your tinnitus as objective or subjective? Bill > <snip> > > I don't take any aspirin. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > out, usually without the expense of an MRI, is the acoustic neuroma. I'll > presume they discussed that with you. Nope. > Did they characterize your tinnitus as objective or subjective? Neither. I don't feel that my doctor gave me the time of day. Is there something I can do to get my $ back? What sort of doctor should I visit next? -Muuurgh AKA Pork Roll > Bill <snip> > > Another cause of tinnitus that your ENT/audiologist combination can rule > > out, usually without the expense of an MRI, is the acoustic neuroma. I'll [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > something I can do to get my $ back? > What sort of doctor should I visit next? You went to an ENT and this is the right sort of doctor. My ENT/audiologist pair was helpful, especially the audiologist. Still, once they had ruled out the known causes and characterized mine it was pretty much "learn to live with it" which is why I came to this Usenet group. I did learn to live with it (habituation) with the help I got here but first you need to rule-out known causes. For example, if you have "pulsitile" tinnitus it might be treatable. That's why I asked you if the doc had characterized it. I'd go to the yellow pages and start calling ENTs looking for someone who promises to do these things. If and when they ultimately tell you to learn to live with it, come back here and ask us to help you habituate it. Good luck getting your money back. Bill >Anyhow, how can I begin or where should I go to diagnose what causes my >tinnitus? My first assumption would be stress. .............. Hi PR, Your probably right on with the assumption that stress caused your tinnitus. I believe stress is a "big' precurssor to tinnitus and a symptom of a serious mental/emotional overload in some people. You should go for a complete medical exam though, bloodwork, mri, etc, just to rule out any physical possibiliby like high blood pressure, tumors or thyroid condition. Until every physical cause of tinnitus has been exhausted we do not accept it. - jean > >Anyhow, how can I begin or where should I go to diagnose what causes my > >tinnitus? My first assumption would be stress. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I believe stress is a "big' precurssor to tinnitus and a symptom of a serious > mental/emotional overload in some people. I still have all of my hair. <honestmode>okaysomyhairlinereceedethbutthatstartedlongbeforethiscurrentstre ssfactor</honestmode> > You should go for a complete medical exam though, bloodwork, mri, etc, just to > rule out any physical possibiliby like high blood pressure, tumors or thyroid > condition. Yikes! That's getting a little bit scary. My family is infamous for high blood pressure, I didn't think that I should worry about it now, perhaps a good look might do me well. > Until every physical cause of tinnitus has been exhausted we do not accept it. -Muuurgh > - jean "Pork Roll" <meatbag@porkfat.com> wrote in part: >I have had tinnitus for a few weeks now. I went to the ear, nose & throat >doc and he says my ears are perfect, he pretty much just walked out of the >room with no desire to help me further... or it was just something that he >couldn't help with so he conceded, albeit rather rudely. An ENT is a surgeon. Most surgeons work on anaesthetized patients: no bedside manner in their training. >Anyhow, how can I begin or where should I go to diagnose what causes my >tinnitus? My first assumption would be stress. I am in my final semester >of grad school and this past year has been unbelievably stressful on me, >ulcer-like symptoms for 2 months last semester (another problem a doc >couldn't diagnose), headaches that lasted for weeks, and now I have constant >ringing in my ears. I think that stress can lead to your noticing tinnitus and can make your response worse. It can also weaken your immune system, aggravate or induce all sorts of aches and pains, some of which may even relate to tinnitus. No one knows the definitive answer yet. >My right ear got REALLY bad one night, I thought I was going crazy, I had a >sharp pain, any high pitched sound, e.g. my own whistle, sounded like metal [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >to the ear, nose & throat doctor who was very rude and told me that my ears >are perfect and I couldn't have scored any higher on my hearing tests. That's good. Your ENT just isn't focussing on your problems because you don't fit what he works on. >So where do I go from here? Ginko Biloba? No. >Exercise? Yes. >Working primarily on >my stress levels? Yes. >High blood pressure (I am only 29)? Definitely. >Anyhow, I suppose >I'll make it, but any help from the experts here would be much obliged. As Bill said. if you are taking NSAIDs (not just aspirin), that can induce tinnitus. As jean said, get a full medical workup to see what is going on--at least to get your health back on track if anything is wrong. The tinnitus may just go away as you reduce the stress, address health issues, exercise, and get on with life. If not, most tinnitus folks come not to hear it (notice it) most of the time, and it ceases to have much power over them. And if you need help, there are tinnitus specialists who can probably help you.  SignatureJim Chinnis / Warrenton, Virginia, USA Want to discuss Meniere's? See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MenieresDG > "Pork Roll" <meatbag@porkfat.com> wrote in part: > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > An ENT is a surgeon. Most surgeons work on anaesthetized patients: no bedside > manner in their training. Ahhh... that's why he acted like a tree. Seems to me that he should have learned something in his 7 years of med school that could at least begin to help point me in the right direction. > >Anyhow, how can I begin or where should I go to diagnose what causes my > >tinnitus? My first assumption would be stress. I am in my final semester [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > No. Why not? > >Exercise? > > Yes. *sigh* > >Working primarily on > >my stress levels? > > Yes. How? > >High blood pressure (I am only 29)? > > Definitely. Again? My Family doc never made any comment on my blood pressure, even though my nurse was worried about it last semester, he seemed to just blow it off. Honestly I don't have much faith in him either. > >Anyhow, I suppose > >I'll make it, but any help from the experts here would be much obliged. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > And if you need help, there are tinnitus specialists who can probably help > you. Thanks, Muuurgh "Pork Roll" <meatbag@porkfat.com> wrote in part: >> >So where do I go from here? Ginko Biloba? >> >> No. > >Why not? A large controlled study showed that it doesn't work. >> >Exercise? >> >> Yes. > >*sigh* Well, it reduces stress, fights depression, and lowers blood pressure, among other things. >> >Working primarily on >> >my stress levels? >> >> Yes. > >How? Well, there are all the usual adjuncts: exercise (again, haha), stretching, yoga, massage, sex... But you also have to be on the lookout for what drives your stress up and do what you can about it. Easier said than done, but stress can be reduced. >> >High blood pressure (I am only 29)? >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >though my nurse was worried about it last semester, he seemed to just blow >it off. Honestly I don't have much faith in him either. It's a killer. Many docs aren't up on the latest guidelines or don't want to treat a younger patient with lifelong drugs. Is your weight correct? You should be at the low end for your height and build, given the high blood pressure. SignatureJim Chinnis / Warrenton, Virginia, USA Want to discuss Meniere's? See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MenieresDG > "Pork Roll" <meatbag@porkfat.com> wrote in part: > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > A large controlled study showed that it doesn't work. Stink. > >> >Exercise? > >> [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Well, it reduces stress, fights depression, and lowers blood pressure, among > other things. Yeah, that's the one thing I've been lacking is the discipline to exercize. > >> >Working primarily on > >> >my stress levels? [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > your stress up and do what you can about it. Easier said than done, but stress > can be reduced. Okay. > >> >High blood pressure (I am only 29)? > >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > should be at the low end for your height and build, given the high blood > pressure. Regardless of my usenet name, I am 5' 8 12" and weigh in at about 138 lbs. I'm definately on the lower end of the scale. Thanks, Muuurgh Most doctors don;t have the experience of treating T patients, and that has been *my* experience. What you do is keep moving to the one with experience, preferrably one who has suffered T himself. Since your T is quite new, I would, if i were you, go to another ENT and get it fixed. The longer you postpone this, the worse it gets. You could come back here from time to time and bring the issues we discuss to talk to your doctor. But time is precious for you. Use up your savings if you have to. Go now to another ENT who has had experience in treating T patients. You could visit a T centre in the US. They should be all over the place. I was fortunate to run into a GP who has had T herself. She was 'cured'. She encouraged me to go to the same doctor that treated her. Do it NOW! FP ============================================ > I have had tinnitus for a few weeks now. I went to the ear, nose & throat > doc and he says my ears are perfect, he pretty much just walked out of the [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > -Pork Roll > I have had tinnitus for a few weeks now. I went to the ear, nose & throat > doc and he says my ears are perfect, he pretty much just walked out of the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > couldn't diagnose), headaches that lasted for weeks, and now I have constant > ringing in my ears. Your headache might have led to your ringing but bring this to the attention of the doctor. Go to one that listens. You pay him. Remember that. FP =============================================== > My right ear got REALLY bad one night, I thought I was going crazy, I had a > sharp pain, any high pitched sound, e.g. my own whistle, sounded like metal [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > -Pork Roll >... any help from the experts here would be much obliged. > >-Pork Roll .............. PR - You've received some great advice in this thread so far. I don't know how much of an "expert" I am, but I did put together a few general guidelines that might be of help to you as a "tinnitus newbie." Most important thing to remember, of course, is that most tinnitus resolves on its own given a bit of time. With that in mind ... www.tinn.com/guidelines.htm Hope it helps. smn s nagler writes: >I don't know how much of an "expert" I am, but I did put together a >few general guidelines that might be of help to you as a "tinnitus >newbie." ........................... Here goes that humility thing again:) - jean > s nagler writes: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > - jean ............... <no response> smn |
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