ENTs — Useless?

It feels like these ENT's do absolutly nothing unless it's something REALLY obvious like wax in your ears.

They are well paid I'm sure but you never get any answers or help.

OK I know tinnitus is complicated and there is not much to do unless a cause has been found like infection etc.

But I don't know..is it just me or are these specialists really useless unless, like I said, it's something really easy like wax in your ears or something got stuck in ur throat like a bone or something.

I have an appointment 1st of February and I know EXACTLY how the visit will be like and what I will hear.

 

Just say please can you do everything in your power to help me with tinnitus regarding tests and hearing tests,counselling and a audiology refurrel........ see what that gets you...lots of love glynis

 

Because I've visited this ENT doctor before (with other issues) and she just do the basic - look into your ear, nothing there, checks the pressure, it's alright..now go home and rest. I've also had a post nasal drip since 2014 which hasn't been solved, that is why I've visited the ENT before. Can it have anything to do with my tinnitus perhaps? If so, why after almost 3 years? Sometimes I also get pure white mucus form my nose. Something is very fishy with me thats for sure

 

Well they are not really useless, I see your point but say you have a brain tumour causing tinnitus then ent is the first appoint before referral too nurologist and MRI, or if you have osteitis, ETD issues etc or referral for a hearing aid.
Damaged hearing due too noise like I have cannot be repaired and they can't do anything for me but they can help many other cases.

 

Speaking of MRI which I will consider if the visit doesn't go my way - how do you do it with tinnitus? I know u can protect ur ears..but is that really enough? Everyone keeps telling me how damn loud they are.

 

I think a antihistamine and a nose spray for post naisal drip should help your problem and reduce sinus mucous and help calm down tinnitus and a low salt diet.
I think you have a allergy problem could be pets,dust mite,sprays or food or other its like finding a needle in a haystack....lots of love glynis

 

I had one of those mris and it was fine with foam plugs.

 

Same. MRIs are loud as hell but I wore earplugs to mine + I requested a noise cancelling headset (which they provided). I heard barely anything while it was running (except my tinnitus lolol)

 

@Raphael7713

You can try to "manage" the ENT and try to get all the tests that you think can be useful: MRI, CT scan, DPOAS, audiometry (to 16KHz) , etc... If your T has not apparent cause then you can try to get an in-depth health test looking at other potential root causes. Your sinus issue and white mucus maybe indicate a silent chronic infection that perhaps is slowly getting to your ears. My point is that you should go with your own agenda, otherwise is likely that he will not do much to look into root cause, and tell you the usual "it might go away or not","live with it" and the "brain will tune it out".

 

I don't think ENTs are useless when looking at what they do as a whole.

However, as more and more evidence pours in that T is neurological in nature, it should be obvious (and appropriate!) as to why they are useless with T. Neuro is covered in the ENT acronym.

 

To a large extent, the best way to think about ENTs is that they are primarily surgeons. If a problem can be remedied with surgery, an ENT will be your the answer. If a problem cannot be remedied with surgery, there is not a whole lot an ENT can do to help beyond a few things such as prescribing prednisone. Most of the tools in the toolkit of an ENT are surgical procedures.

For tinnitus, really, all they can do is follow the published "Clinical Practice Guideline" for Tinnitus. This document is at the link below, though there is nothing in there that has not been already discussed extensively on TTalk.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0194599814545325

But none of this is the fault of ENTs - the cures that most of need simply do not exist yet. Which is why it is so important for we, the community of tinnitus sufferers, to do what we can to support progress in research for cures.

 

For me they have been useless every time i have been there, they just check my ear nothing then ear presure test nothing, then a hearing test, you hearing is greate. There is nothing we can do. But i guess they are usefull for someone, but not me :/ feelsbadman

 

This is indeed true, but there is also the process of referral to other services, education, ruling out of differential diagnoses, explanations etc. which doesn't seem to happen for many of us. My dealings with ENTs left me feeling that I was being charged to be interviewed to see if they could make more money off me. I left none the wiser every time with a feeling that no-one wanted to "even go there".

 

So what can/will a neurologist do assuming they find the cause? Can they only find the cause if or can they also treat it?

 

ENTs have been worse than useless with me. Their tests and suctioning brought on ear twitching which lasted months. They don't have much of a clue about tinnitus anyway and have never provided any useful info on the condition to me. They may be useful for other conditions but I'll not let them near my ears again unless there's an emergency pucture of the eardrum or something of that nature.

 

the ENT I used to see before I moved was slightly helpful for tinnitus and incredibly helpful for my hyoid syndrome

 

ENT have been amazing in the past for my Menieres and tinnitus.
Before Christmas I had lots of tests when admitted in hospital for a few days.
I'm awaiting see my Menieres consultant and audiology in the next few weeks and I know they will take good care of me like before....lots of love glynis

 

I have had better luck (and rapport) with neurotologists. Unfortunately, there aren't any good ones that live close to me.

 

Yes, they're completely useless. Mine did audio tests and told me "you have tinnitus, there's no cure but we can train you to pretend it's not a problem" (I said no thanks). I specifically asked what things I could try determine the cause and he had no ideas whatsoever. I had to figure it out myself.. took 4 years.

 

ENT doctors know about the anatomy of the ear and are able to treat it medically or surgically. I regard them as specialists in this field. However, the majority of ENT doctors have never experienced loud intrusive tinnitus and therefore, no nothing about it.

If you have no underlying medical problem that is causing your tinnitus and your MRI scan and hearing tests come back showing no abnormalities. The next step is for your ENT Dr to refer you to a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist for tinnitus management. These are the people that specialise in tinnitus. Many Hearing Therapists and Audiologist that treat tinnitus patients, were either born with tinnitus or acquired it as some time in their life.

ENT Drs are not tinnitus specialists.
You might find the information below helpful by clicking on the links.

Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/

 

That's right @Michael Leigh
My ENT was very dismissive of my distress and failed to refer me on to anywhere for further help.
That was the most disappointing and upsetting part for me.
I walked out of his office with no clue what to do next, sobbing hysterically.
I've never been so distressed in my entire life.

 

Sorry to hear of your distress @Samantha R but hope you were referred to Hearing therapist for tinnitus management. I believe most ENT Drs do want to help tinnitus patients but they are not counsellors which calls for a different set of skills. However, I also believe some could with a little effort improve their bedside manner and this would help patients not get into such a distressing state as you were in.
Michael

 

ENTs are in general pretty useless at giving advice about tinnitus - you are are absolutely right Samantha R - don't feel that your experience has been unusual in this regard - you'll note that most other people on this thread (with some notable bossy exceptions) feel the same!

 

When it comes to tinnitus, an ENT is sort of the "monkey in the middle". Once he or she looks into your ears and says "nothing there", that is pretty much all they can do for you. That is what happened to me when I went last March.

Medical school trains ENTs to look for possible issues, such as ear wax, infections, etc. However, tinnitus is an issue that is rooted in the brain and most ENTs are not neurologists as well by training. Therefore, at that point, depending on their bedside manner, they pretty tell you "that's all we have right now". Naturally, if the ENT were the one with tinnitus, I think their tone and nonchalant attitude would change dramatically.

In closing, the moral of the story is not to expect a "miracle" when you go to the ENT, like I foolishly did.

 

Well they are not neuroneurologistbur they are the specialist of the ears, and AFAIK the inner ear is part the ear.

I felt like at least they could catch up with the latest research so they'll be able to give better explanations to the patient about what is going on.

Mine made big eyes when he saw me in distress and didn't understand why, because as he says "people with T and H lives very good lives"...

 

I'm glad you posted that so I didn't have to.

 

Yep, took a few weeks to get in with my ENT, get there, we have less than a 1 minute convo. I luckily have insurance but I'm guessing he got paid around 2000 for a 1 minute convo. The dude looked into my ears and kinda told me there's absolutely nothing he can do, audio gram was fine and said it's probably hearing loss. Oh well

 

Tell you the problem I reckon...............all Drs are in the main ego merchants, ENTs have no idea about T so they get defensive ...defensive begats aggressiveness they are not in control of the situation.You the patient threatens their role in life.They want you out as quick as possible

 

Utterly useless when it comes to Tinnitus. I finally got to see an ENT last week after almost 9 months. First the nurse asked me if I used 'recreational drugs' (which I don't), then said she sometimes has ringing in her ears too. Then the ENT comes in, glances in my ears and tells me my T is from hearing loss based on the hearing test, but it's not enough loss to require hearing aids. He then says he gets some hissing in his ears. I try to explain to him that mine is in my brain, and louder than my vehicle or his voice. He hands me copies on masking which I explain doesn't work and says not to focus on it and if I can't deal with it, go see my GP and gets some meds to help. Totally useless IMO.