I Told My New Doctor I Have Pulsatile Tinnitus

I asked to see a specialist and she said I have to live like this for the rest of my life. She did offer me Zoloft.

 

yeah know how u feel.

 

The doctors that I talked were also lack of compassion. It's because they have no idea what you are suffering.

 

ENT doctors are important health professionals and I have a lot of respect for their skill and expertise. They know about the anatomy of the ear and are able to treat it medically or surgically. However, in my opinion they are not tinnitus experts, which I believe calls for a set of skills that the majority of them don’t have. This is the ability to know, understand and empathize, with what a tinnitus patient is going through when the condition is loud and intrusive.

My consultant whom I have a lot of respect for, once told me that I know more about tinnitus than her. She explained because never having experienced it. For this reason, when there is no underlying medical condition causing the tinnitus a person is sometimes referred to a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist trained in tinnitus management.

This can involve counselling, wearing devices such as hearing aids or white noise generators. Treatments such as TRT, CBT and Mindfulness and relaxation therapy can also be helpful. These health professionals help their patients by showing them a way forward and demystifying a lot of the negativity that surrounds this condition. Not surprisingly, this level of understanding and empathy doesn’t always come from training alone, for some of these people also have tinnitus. Over the years I have met quite a few Hearing Therapists and Audiologists at tinnitus Internet forums helping people. At some point they have relayed to me that they have tinnitus or were born with it as my hearing therapist was.

Michael

 

Very well said. I wish I knew this when I first got the T. I went to 4 ENT''s . Three basically said "You have Tinnitus; learn to live with it" as they were showing me to the door. One was compassionate and the other 3 were total jerks about it. After seeing one in particular; I went in my car & couldn't drive for 20 minutes; I was crying so hard.

 

It is a very familiar story @Quiet please ENT Doctors are not tinnitus experts and for this reason tinnitus patients are often referred to Hearing Therapists or Audiologists that are trained in tinnitus management. It is a different set of skills that the majority of ENT doctors don't have. They are physicians not counsellors.

 

The issue is that doctors get paid even if they only tell you to get lost, pretty much. They should only be paid if they successfully treat, cure, or help their patients in one way or another.

 

Hi Michael,
yes that was in the beginning when I made the rookie mistake of seeing multiple ENTs. I relayed this in that post because I wanted to share it with newbies. But, I have to say that the one ENT who was actually compassionate towards my plight also saved a some of my hearing due to SSHL. I had the T about 6 years with very mild hearing loss; not enough for aids. One morning I woke up about 95 % deaf in my left ear. Since he was so nice to me in our previous encounter, I called him in a panic to be honest. He cleared his lunch time for me & over a 3 day period, he gave me steroidal injections into my eardrum. Not pleasant at all! The audiologist then measured me the following week & said he had retrieved 60% of my hearing. I was very grateful to him & his quick action. I now wear bi- lateral hearing aids (my right ear has about 30% hearing loss now) with a built in T masker setting which I never used because it make the T unbearable for me.
But After reading your article, I'm going to have the masker lowered to just under the T volume & actually start to use it. I will post my experience. Thank you!!!!

 

Hi @Quiet please

Reading your story it's clear to see that you have been through a lot and thankfully you found a caring and considerate ENT Dr that helped you. It reminded me what I had gone through when I asked my ENT Dr to be candid about my condition as I felt I wasn't making any more progress with the treatment I was on. She looked at me and said: " You are the second worst tinnitus patient that I have met". I wanted the floor to open and swallow me whole as I felt quite down at that moment. I asked for the truth and I got it with both barrels. My Doctor then said: " I will never give up on treating you". She kept to her word and gradually I improved. I have immense respect for her as a human being and as a physician.

I am pleased to hear your hearing improved and wish you every success with your dual purpose hearing aid and masker. If you have the time please keep me updated on your progress.

Take care and wishing you all the best
Michael

 

Thank you Michael Leigh.
You are most kind. Keep up the great work!
All the best.. Anne