Hello from Sunny SD

Hello all, I have been suffering for a decade with T in my right ear and managing it as best I can. A month ago I underwent emergency appendectomy surgery and 10 days after my T got worse and seemed to now affect both ears. Went to get my hearing checked at my ENT and my right ear had a 10db drop in the higher frequencies. I actually had my routine annual hearing test the day before my surgery so this was an excellent comparison.

Not concerned as to what caused it, no use living in the past as I can't change it. Could have been the antibiotics, pain meds, anethsesia, etc. Doc recommended an ABR test to rule out an acoustic neuroma yesterday and that sent my T off the deep end!

My question is, why would this test be used on someone with a history of T and is this even normal? Seems like 70-90db sounds mimicking a tommy gun would not be a good choice for a test instead of an MRI for a Tinnitus sufferer.

Any and all thoughts or experiences are welcome please. Glad to be here.

GPO

 

ABR is cheaper? MRIs are loud too.

 

I thought of that. At least with an MRI you are wearing earplugs though.

 

Early days of MRI no one knew to wear earplugs. Boom boom boom boom booom

 

Do you know what kind of MRI your local med center uses? Is it the older closed MRI or an newer open MRI. The old ones were like being in a steel drum while your kid sister (or kid brother) beat on it with a hammer. The new ones are quieter. And I've had several over the years and I've never been offered any type of hearing protection.

 

Mine came from Antibiotic Vancomycin after kidney surgery. It was intravenous. Never had tinnitus until that surgery. Anesthesia can cause it as well but through my research I found that only spinal anesthesia seems to have an ototoxic reactions. If you have impaired renal function, you are exponentially more susceptible to ototoxic agents, as I found out too late, unfortunately.