ENT Appointment — What to Expect and Ask?

I have my first ENT appointment on Friday. Can anyone please tell me what to expect. Also what questions should I be asking?

 

Hi Susan, I say get your audiogram done also tympanometric (sp) to make sure your equalizing pressure right (eardrums-tubes.)
When did your T start exactly? Both ears? maybe he will opt you out for steroids or maybe some meds to clear up any infection since I read ear infection on your dp.

 

Hi Fiore. Got it 2 and 1/2 weeks ago yes in both ears, although it feels like more in my head ! It was from a very bad ear infection.
I've never been to an ENT before and I'm a little scared to be honest. I don't know what they will do and I don't want to leave with unanswered questions but then again I'm not sure what to ask exactly (sorry if that doesn't make sense ). It's just all so new and confusing and scary I guess

 

Hi Susan,

Just don't have high hopes when you go there.

 

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is there somewhere else I should be going instead do you think? I thought an ENT was the first step?

 

Yes ent is the first step

 

a friend of mine had T for 2 months and it was gone

 

what did he get his T with? Was it both ears? And how bad was it?

 

stress I think .. It was very low though ... and both ears .. mine is complicated .. very complicated

 

but I wake up every day feeling positive .. and I'm sure mine will go away too

 

It's possible that it's your head rather than both ears, mine and some other members have that as well.

If it's on the NHS, an audiologist will give you a hearing test, then you will go in to see an ENT. He/She will ask you about its origin and do some tests to see if your cochlea (inner ear) and other ear structures are not damaged.

You will then be offered therapy (most likely) and/or given a prescription to see if it helps (unlikely).

 

How do you mean complicated ? Do you mean the cause of it or the sounds you hear (sorry for all the questions)

 

the sounds I hear . god so bad I swear, I'm from Dubai but I flew to the UK last Feb and saw 2 ENTs in london and Sussex (brighton) non were able to help. If you can manage with your T with small background noise then you should be glad ... mine is severe

 

As mentioned in the above posts,don't expect anything from the ENT. They are as useless and helpless as anybody else when it comes to ear problems. In fact they should be named as NT docs and not ENTs. ENTs and Neuros are probably the worst doctors ever I have had tons of experience in and out my country with them. Get the hearing test done first of all. If your T is new probably oral steroids would help ask your doc about them

 

Just stay positive Susan, the worst you can do is panic and or elevate your anxiety. All will be well just protect your ears from loud noises (plugs). If theres ringing then there still might be some infection left which the ENT may prescribe you some antibiotics to clear up what's left if any. If not then I agree opt for the steroids as you may have some inflammation going on because of the infection. All the best, Fiore.

 

My experience with my second ENT appointment wasn't great and I wouldn't expect too much from your ENT doctor appointment (sorry to put a downer on things). They will have a look in your ears and get your hearing tested. The most likely outcome will be a referral for TRT or CBT or them telling you to live with T.

I know you've probably read this before many times already but try not to worry too much and try to keep dependency on medication to a minimum. When my T started, I couldn't get to sleep properly for 3 days. Zopiclone helped the first night, the second night it didn't do anything. The third night I tried 2 tablets and again it didn't help and it only messed my sleeping routine. The less I thought & worried about T, the more easy it became for me to get to sleep. Your T onset doesn't seem to be that long ago and it's quite possible that your T will go away on its own so hang in there

 

Hey @SusanGee how did your appointment go and how are you getting on?

 

Hopefully the OP woke up with zero sounds in her head and forgot about us. If not she most likely was told she could have a tumor and is freaking out.

f*{%ing ENTs and their tumor line.
It's not a you have a very slim chance of having a tumor and 10% of the people in this world have T caused not by a tumor but we like to test for it to rule it out just to be safe. But odds are you don't have one.

It's. Welp you need an MRI to test for a tumor.

 

Hi @Twitch it was ok actually. He was really nice. I had my hearing tested and it's perfect so I was happy that I don't have any hearing loss. He's referred me for CBT and they've just called today to arrange an initial assessment tmrw. He told me what I already knew to be fair; that there is no cure but he was empathetic and quite positive. I wasn't disappointed by the experience like I thought I would be.
I'm having better , quieter days now which obviously makes things easier to deal with. Hopefully they will continue so I can get back to being me !
Thank you for asking

 

Hi @jeffie7 the ENT never mentioned anything like that or even offered and MRI actually. He mustn't have been concerned that that could be the cause or I'm sure he would have said something. However I can understand why sometimes they do want to check for tumors. My best friends brother had sudden hearing loss and tinnitus last year and sure enough they found two very aggressive tumors ! He's had the operations and is on the mend but thank god they did check.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I've had several docs tell me that they felt an MRI was unnecessary unless my tinnitus was accompanied by things like catastrophic hearing loss or dizziness or something like that.

I have a friend who had tinnitus and they found catastrophic hearing loss in him which prompted the MRI and found he had a brain tumor.

So the fact that you had a test in the normal range is a good thing.

 

No doubt there's good reasons to check for it when there's signs that point to it like hearing loss out of no where. Many people have been to ENTs for ringing from sound exposure and normally they get the tumor talk. Ask around here, it's not uncommon. Best part is the stress from that talk causes the T to spike. yay!

Do keep in mind if someone has sudden hearing loss, it's a sign more stuff could be going on. That I fully agree with looking deeper into but for a lot of people, ringing is caused from exposure to sounds.

OP glad its getting better for you! It normally starts out loud and slowly fades off, hopefully back to nothing!
I wish you the best with it. T sucks.

 

I've been to several docs and ENTs and none made me feel like I had a tumor.

 

I actually went to an ent yesterday for a second opinion and he was very kind and he did recommend an MRI and wants to see afrer to discuss results. He did say T might be permanent but he said there are different things we can try to bring T volume. I was pleased. He put me on steroids and my T seems to have come down a little... We will see!!!!