Medical Science Cannot Explain What's Happening to Me

Ever since my acoustic trauma 7 weeks ago, I've had tinnitus in my right ear but that's not all.

If I lie on one side, my ear on that side become full and stay full for hours.
I've had orange putrid "liquid" leaking every once in a while from my right ear.
The valsalva maneuver stopped working completely (make my left ear full, does nothing on my right ear).

Over the last month, my case has been slowly upgraded from my GP to an ENT to the general hospital and finally to the huge regional hospital.

Spent half the day there yesterday, basically, they said despite antibiotics I took, my right ear seems to still be infected somehow and they don't have a clue why.
Moreover, they can't seem to find any way the acoustic trauma could have lead to this (and to my eustachian tubes no longer properly working) .

The ENT that took my case eventually told me that it's probably linked, but the truth is that science at this point do not understand the inner ear that well.

In the end, I got more antibiotics, something for allergies (just in case somehow an allergic reaction would be linked to that mess) and an AD because I have become a complete mess over everything that's happening.

It's terrifying when we're to the point of trying stuff blindly and hoping for the best.


(They did a new audiogram up to 16 kHz and I got normal hearing, just a slight -15 dB drop at 8 K and a second -35 dB at 14-16 kHz, which is normal at 29 according to them).

 

They still have progress to do yeah...
Hang in there flobo

 

Have they checked for
Cholesteatoma

If not, ask them to

 

I feel for you, for I am in a similar position: nobody can explain what happened to me, and what is possibly still happening (again, nobody knows how to even tell if something is happening, what treatment to follow, and how to measure any progress).

 

I sympathize with your frustration, but medical science cannot explain many conditions. Or sometimes they tell us what they do understand and we simply do not like the explanation.

And trying things and hoping for the best is essentially what we do with any medicine or medical treatment.

 

As my dad always says, there is a reason it's called medical practice. It's sometimes a case of practice until you get it right.

 

"It's due to stress!"

 

just off the subject of drs. I had spots on my back which is skin cancer when I showed then to my GP he said dont worry they are just old age spots. Told my wife same thing three years later she went in for surgery to have the old age spot removed. My right ear was full and a dull pain when I had it looked at this dr. said dont see no wax looks clean to me two days later had my wax removed practice yep

 

Fake it 'till you make it?

 

The only thing medical science can explain is anything textbook and obvious. Tinnitus is neither.

 

Have your ENTs taken a swab of the fluid? maybe youre not taking the correct antibotic? have you done a tympanogram?

 

My opinion is that your experience at the club correlated but was not necessary the cause of whatever is going on with you. Have any of your doctors checked for a cholesteatoma? It would be behind your eardrum, so to diagnose it they'd probably have to do a cat scan.

 

Thanks for the answers, everyone

Basically, they did an up to 16K audiogram, and they looked into my ear, mouth and nose, talked and theorised.

They didn't do anything else since they did not dare make too much noise with my easily triggered reactive T.

 

Hi @flobo,

How have you been? Have the drs given you any answers? Like you I had an acoustic trauma and have had similar symptoms to you ever since (19 months for me), except my ears just feel full all the time with nothing drain from them. I feel my eustachian tubes are not working correctly too, but again no scientific evidence linking this with the AT?! I dont suffer from allergies etc. Im at a loss, my tinnitus is very reactive and I have hyperacusis too...its a nightmare. Drs I have seen dont seem to have a clue

 

Well, it's more of less the same.
T is crazy reactive but at least it doesn't get worse permanently so i try to start to live again with it.

The last doctor i saw told me he couldn't see anything wrong physically.