Just a Concern and Worry in My Heart that Needs an Answer

Today i went to see ent specialist for the 3rd time after i have been had T for almost 5 years. Because recently my T just get worse and noticeable.

This time i asked the doctor about Acoustic Neuroma that causes tinnitus.
He asked me whether do i have hearing loss, dizziness and imbalance? My answers are no. I only have T.
And he did the hearing test for me again that prove that my hearing is okay.

In conclusion, as i am requesting if i should do a MRI test for my head, the doctor said 99% i dont have acoustic neuroma, he said it is caused by degenerative inner ear nerves due to loud noise exposure. I told him i listen music thru phone and listens phonecalls at the affected ear. Then he said those might be the causes. An MRI test would prove that nothing is wrong.

So my question is,
Is it true that my T is 99% not cause my this scary condition(acoustic neuroma)?
Just a confirmation so that i don't really need to do a mri scan. Because im in asia.. i have little faith with ENTs here that previously doesnt explain anything to me, only asked me to live with it.

 

Yes, most likely (~99%+) your T is NOT caused by acoustic neuroma and the MRI is useless.

 

I had MRI done I'm in UK ,but don't know how your health system set up is,if your concerned as you are then keep at it,if mine had not been requested by a consultant at E NT I would have paid for a private MRI,Most show up zero,that I do know,but you do what's considered best way for you,if it's just reassurance you want.
A hearing test usually show if need to do an MRI,as mine did.
Hope all goes well ,I'm sure it will, let's know what if anything gets done.

 

@Sound Wave that will be a relief for me. If my ringing T isnt cause by this problem. Yes i'm ready to live with it for the rest of my life.

@Marlene yes! Its reassurance. And i did my hearing test hours ago. And the result is normal. No need mri test as the doctor said.

 

There you've got your answer,a consultant will always go by hearing test results and if you have other health issues ,that would set him looking further Spoon,let it be for now,I don't think personally you've anything un towards going on,really don't,your brains running on ahead of you,lots do it Spoon your not the first by a long shot.
All normal to the worrying T brings forth,no matter how short or long you've had it.X

 

@Marlene we all have T worrying sometimes in our T journey. I was concern about certain conditions that cause my T such as head or neck problems. Now that i have seen a better ENT doctor and he has explained to me in a better way as you guys told me.
no hearing loss, no dizziness, no unsteadiness means nothing wrong with the head. Purely T only.
I know T is hard to cure, but this clarification and englightment at least put me at rest.
Because when T attacks me when i am stressed, i wont be confused and weary again about what really happens with my body again. I also made a full body check up in the hospital. And the results are okay.
I am ready to fight T now. Habituate maybe?. Dont let it ruin my confidence, myday and my hope again.

 

Spoon
I had an MRI after about 3-4 months of T (I had the same concerns as you); like most it came back negative. Nonetheless, I would try to have an MRI done anyways (as I did) for the odd chance there is something going on.

Mark

 

@Spoon 'Habituate maybe?' Habituate YES! Remember reduce your stress levels. I've had my spikes and depressed times but with time I always habituate. I have this noise in my head and when it comes to making a decision it is included. It reminds me is it worth it or what the heck. T since 2010 how are you dealing?

 

I am from Canada, and most of the ENT her is the same! all the best < Take care , STAY STRONG

 

@Mark McDill i have T for 5years already. Someone here told me if something inside my head i would have starting to lose my hearing and have vertigo already which i dont have. Maybe i am just scaring myself sometimes.

@Ken219 yes habituate! Ken, my journey of T has its up and down. When come to decision making, yes its included sometimes. There was time i live life without thinking about my T. Also there was time i worried too much about my T. Such as last couple months, did research about causes of T and began to have negative thinkings that maybe i have problem with my head that causes T. But after everything that has been explained to me. I begin to realise that the fact is i think too much, because i dont really have bad symptoms to have a sign of acoustic neuroma besides high pitched ringing ear only.
In the future, i will stop making assumptions to my body again, i will stay strong and live for a better life from now on.
@alifalijohn you too sir canadian! Take care.. thankyou..

I just want to put an end with T.
Although T is annoying and distressing.
I found out many people have it. 1 of 6 americans has it and 1 of 10 people in uk has it. I am not alone today.
Ready to live with it and be better from it.
And stop worry too much again, and say good bye to catastrophic thoughts. Stay positive is what i want to say to myself.

 

I would trust your doctor at this point. If the MRI isn't expensive then it's worth the peace of mind but you don't seem to have any of the symptoms of AN other than one-sided tinnitus.

The first ENT I saw locally wanted me to have an MRI because my tinnitus is predominately one sided but it's been that way for over a decade. The second one I saw, much more of a tinnitus specialist, performed a test during the audiological exam that I guess gives them a pretty strong indication if there is a problem with an Acoustic Neuroma. She mentioned something about certain sound waves vibrating the certain receptors by the 8th nerve which is where the tumor would sit... I think...

Anyway, perhaps your ENT could do this test for you? I know it's not part of the standard hearing work up that only goes from 2-8khz. Maybe they even did it already?

I'm a pretty big hypochondriac when it comes to health stuff and even I'm not worried about a tumor in my head because as I understand it there would be hearing loss or balance issues. You and I have had neither so I suppose we are fine for now. Never hurts to keep monitoring it going forward though.

 

@russiancarl yes. One sided ringing ear only.

I dont really know. I only know he use 2 devices. One is headphone and the other one is like a metal headset.. that put behind your ear twice for each ear.

It is my first time to hear hypochondriac and i think maybe im just same as you.
Yes, neither do we have that kind of symptoms. Its good to hear that we are both fine.

 

Yeah I definitely have health related anxiety and for me not to worry about an AN at all is kind of a big step.

I'm not too much of an expert of what tool it is that the doctor used doing the audiogram that can help detect ANs but maybe somebody else can chime in. She basically said to me... while the tinnitus is one sided it's been like that for a long time, you have no other hearing or balance issues, and this test came back okay so I think an MRI wouldn't tell us anything we don't know.

You are probably in the same boat as me But hey next time you see the ENT bring up the test and see what they say!

 

Yes, now i dont think about AN again. Thats a huge step for me to overcome my worry abt health issues.
I am begin to see through it as you did it.

Your doctor was just same as mine for what they have said. So mri will come back for nothing for my hearing system he said.

It is a good talk with you @russiancarl .
I hope we will have great and amazing days ahead even with T around or it might just gone in one day!

 

ENTs, overall, and I mean the majority of them, are useless. In all the time I've been dealing with T, since '72, only one was any good. In fact, he truly saved by life by doing surgery in my inner ear. Dr. James Atkins of Celebration, FL sewed a tiny tear I had in my left inner ear that caused me vertigo for three years. He was a godsend and gave my life back to me, which, as I was thinking was not due to last much longer if I had to continue living as I was, not being able to recall the last block I drove past or the last face I saw in the hallway as I continued to work.

Yes, I would say that MOST ENTs know very little about the condition we all suffer with called tinnitus. Their help has never led to anything more than tests and more tests, with simple explanations regarding what one eats and how one spends his time. It is a profession totally lost when it comes to bringing aid to the tinnitus sufferer, except for those needles in a haystack you may occasionally come upon.

 

I agree with some parts of it but definitely all. ENTs can provide help but it is important for you to be your own advocate and find a doctor who knows how to treat this. Things have changed a lot in recent years too.

My tinnitus first started very low pitched when I was in high school 15 years ago. The local ENT did a test, said it looks fine and that well... sorry you're stuck with it... no idea what caused it but nothing I can do.

Flash forward to now, I went to the other local ENT in the area and she was also fairly useless when it came to tinnitus. Wanted me to get an MRI and offered no help at all during the initial consultation.

Since then I did my research and I found a special tinnitus clinic in the major city closest to me. Pretty much any major city will have a hearing center in one of their hospitals. This is where you need to go. You need to find someone that regularly deals with tinnitus patients and can actually help you manage it if they can't cure it.

It's just like any other specialty... for some reason it's hard to find care in local cities (even though mine is 100k-200k in size) and you have to sometimes travel to find the right level of care and expertise.