Anyone's Tinnitus Caused by a Medical Error?

Was anyone else’s tinnitus caused by a medical error, or even a drug?

Mine was caused by some pretty impressive misdiagnosing... and I have to say on days when it’s quieter I am like meh, everyone makes mistakes… But on days when it’s louder, it can be tough to sit there and think, the people who gave me this for life would never give what they did a second thought.

Much of the time, anger is a pretty pointless emotion, and human error is almost always forgiveable. But I don’t think it makes it easier to come to terms with this thing if it happened as a result of someone else as even @Jazzer would know.

 

I just recently suffered hearing damage as the result of a having a tooth worked on by a dentist. I had very mild, "ignorable" tinnitus prior to that, but now it's crazy loud and I've had real hearing loss. I'm more angry at myself than at the dentist but I am filing an official complaint with the state's board of dental examiners. It won't bring back my hearing or make the tinnitus go away, but maybe that dentist will stop next time a patient tells him they're getting painfully loud noise in their ears while the dentist is working. But, yeah, I'm angry too. Don't blame you. When you go see a health professional you don't expect to be damaged.

 

Yes a root canal from hell by a specialist having a bad day. Damaged my jaw bone and inner ear. Ugg. Hard to write about.

I did not take action because I was housebound for a year. Had to drop out of law school. Had to find my path to healing.

 

Starthrower, mind if I ask what part of the procedure damaged your inner ear, if you happen to know that detail?

 

What was the misdiagnosis, if you don't mind me asking, and how did that lead to tinnitus?

 

Really quick @CMIH she drilled into my jaw bone. The very back molar which has several nerves connected to the inner ear.

I didn't know any thing. I had never had a cavity or anything.

Such a long story. But, I don't want to scare people. What happened was because of a bad specialist. Always investigate each one before going in. Check Yelp or references.

 

SMH

 

So sorry to hear that Starthrower.

I know someone who had something similar happen. He had a wisdom tooth removed and they hit a nerve so he has chronic pain in his mouth, as well astTinnitus. The pain is so bad that morphine doesn't touch it.

However, he's recently had an operation where they drilled into the back of his head (!!), saw that the nerve was pressed up against something, and pulled the nerve away. He's only just had the operation so we're waiting to see if it's successful, but so far it seems to have gone well. Thought I'd mention it in case it's similar to your situation.

 

Sorry I cannot figure out what SMH means...

Thanks @Tanni. It has been since 2002 since this happened. Over the years some nerves have healed. It was at that time so weird to have spastic pain that would knock me on the floor. And then the severe metal tinnitus. Hope it brings some hope because I was housebound for one year...


I would be interested in how your friend does after that operation.

 

SMH = shaking my head (in disapproval at the appalling treatment you received from the Dentist)

I'm sorry to hear about your pain - glad there has been some improvement for you.

It sounds similar to my friend's situation. His trauma occured about ten years ago and he's been shunted from specialist to specialist for years, with nobody knowing how to stop the pain. He says it's catastrophic, hence why he has just had such a scary operation.

I will keep you updated - fingers crossed for you both.

So many people on this forum as a result of going to the dentists!