My Tinnitus Started a Week Ago — ENT Suspects Otosclerosis

My tinnitus started a week ago today and I started to get some serious anxiety over it but have managed to calm myself for now.

I am totally new to this but have read up a lot in the past week and am trying to be positive.

I am 43 and have a 2 year old boy and a 4 month old girl and it’s for them that I am trying to keep calm.

Saw an ENT on Friday and he suspected Otosclerosis but sent me for a scan which I will have next Monday.

I don’t know what’s going to happen but I am clinging on to the possibility that it will go away and the wait for the scan is terrible.

I feel for all of you for whom, like me, this is new, scary and unknown territory.

 

For now, make sure that you manage to get rid of the "flight-or-flee" response that is normally triggered by the sounds.

Once the fear is gone, the sounds remain annoying, but at least you will be able to function. Make sure to distract yourself enough, to get a bit of positive energy from the day. If possible, it is good to not skip work: the routine of normal daily activities helps a lot.

Trust that things will get better in time. Your tinnitus is new, so it might still fade if you don't give it unnecessary attention (though it is good to get the cause examined). And even if it won't go... life does get much better again than what it feels like now. Humans are capable of remarkable adjustment when it comes to the body and mind.

 

Your ENT more than likely doesn't know what they are talking about.

 

So far I am keeping the fight or flight mode at bay through meditation which is something I have done for years now and I have been going to sleep early and trying to use my noise to lull me to sleep all the while pushing the negative thoughts consciously away. I fear though that this is only working because I still hope it will go away.

I need to prepare for the possibility that it won’t.

 

Sorry to hear about your tinnitus onset, do you have any hearing loss that you are aware of?

If you are going for MRI scan some of these are very loud, so I would recommend wearing earplugs plus the ear muffs, you do not want to aggravate your ears further.

Tinnitus is known to cause anxiety, so it is good to hear that you can at least practice your meditation to help with this.

 

@Kiralm

Your ENT doctor maybe right but could also be wrong as many things can cause tinnitus. ENT doctors are physicians and I give them due respect for their professional training in knowing about the Ear, Nose and Throat and being able to treat medical conditions associated with them. Usually, they will be able to treat underlying medical problems within the auditory system that is causing the tinnitus such as: Otosclerosis, Meniere's disease, ETD ( Eustachian tube dysfunction ) etc. However, tinnitus is an entirely different kettle of fish and most of them know very little about the condition. Their knowledge of it mostly comes from patients they see affected by it but the majority of them have no personal experience of tinnitus.

To have a good understanding of tinnitus and the way it affects a person's mental and emotional wellbeing, one has to have the condition. When there is no underlying medical problem causing the tinnitus as in noise induced, the patient should be referred to Audiology to see a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist that practices tinnitus and hyperacusis management and treatment. Exposure to loud noise is the most common cause of tinnitus. If you are a frequent user of headphones or attend places where loud music is played: clubs, concerts or work in a noisy environment then you might have noise induced tinnitus. If this is the case, I advise that you don't use headphones even at low volume, as there is a risk of making the tinnitus worse.

Once tests are carried out at ENT hopefully your doctor will be able to make a diagnoses of the cause of your tinnitus. Please click on the links below and read my posts on tinnitus that you might find helpful.

All the best
Michael

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/new-to-tinnitus-what-to-do.12558/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-a-personal-view.18668/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/hyperacusis-as-i-see-it.19174/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/acquiring-a-positive-mindset.23969/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/tinnitus-and-the-negative-mindset.23705/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/the-habituation-process.20767/
https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/is-positivity-important.23150/

 

Why do you say that?

I don’t know but from what I have researched, the audiogram and tests he performed are what is standard to come to this possible conclusion and he did say he suspected it could this but needed a scan to confirm it.

I live in Switzerland and doctors are very good and experienced here. My ENT is also an experienced ENT surgeon.

Not that this should necessarily mean anything but it does count for something.

I see you post a lot here and seem to be quite knowledgeable so would be interested in more input on the subject from you.

 

Thanks for the more in-depth explanation it’s much appreciated.

You are right in what you say but in this case he has tinnitus too and is quite passionate on the subject though that doesn’t always mean they know a lot about it. Here’s to hoping.

thanks for the links I will read them.

 

Thank you so much for your answer and encouragement I think that’s just what the doctor ordered

 

To add on what @JohnAdams is saying here...

ENT's are specialists in their own field. This is both a strength and a weakness when it comes to tinnitus.

A few years ago, one of my ears was clogged with wax, with resulted in a constant tone. The ENT could fix this in five minutes, and I walked out happily.

Half a year ago, I got multiple tones in a few weeks. I assumed the ENT would fix it again, but at the end of the appointment, he said that there was nothing he could do and that I would have to live with it.

His first statement was correct, but he was wrong to add the last conclusion. There are many conditions outside his field of knowledge that can cause tinnitus: these were not investigated yet, but he already jumped to his final conclusion: most likely because he does not know that tinnitus can also come forth out of issues with the blood flow, jaw, neck or specific nerves.

I eventually found out that my tinnitus (most likely) is a result of issues with my neck muscles, but I had to do a lot of research by myself, and visit many different doctors, where some of which were pretty useless concerning communication. I highly respect their knowledge, they studied hard for it: but there are multiple fields where they don't know anything about (because its not their profession).

That's the problem with tinnitus: it is a symptom, not a disease, and it can be a result out of many different causes. No person in the world knows all the possible origins (yet). Luckily, since more research is coming up this past few years about tinnitus, more doctors and scientists are actually talking to each other and are spreading the knowledge, but its a slow process so far.

 

Yes I definitely see what you mean and you are indeed right so I take on the approach of taking all the hits of information I can from doctors, google, holistic therapies, people in forums such as this and my own common sense to be as correctly informed as possible.

it’s a tough road I seems but so many seem to be walking it that this gives me enormous comfort.

 

Thanks for the reply, I will be having a CT scan so no MRI but good to know about the MRI in case I need to have one should the CT scan not show anything conclusive.

 

I don’t notice any hearing loss though there is a slight loss according to the audiogram.

 

I have otosclerosis and know quite a bit about it.
What symptoms or tests have led your ENT doc to this conclusion?

Can you post your audiogram here? (blank out any personal info)

 

Here it is

 

Hello @Kiralm.

Do you have hearing problems?
The symptoms of otosclerosis are conductive hearing loss (usually at lower frequencies), dizziness, and tinnitus. Any one in your family has it as well?

Warmest regards,
Albert

 

I have slight hearing loss but don't notice it much and tinnitus but no dizziness (was dizzy once a few weeks back but probably not related as it was only brief) and no one in my family has it that I know of though difficult to find out on my dads side.

 

@Kiralm

Like your doctor, I would also suspect otosclerosis.
It sometimes shows in CT scans (as radiolucencies), so it may be worth doing.

You may also want to ask about Fluoride supplements (they are meant to try and slow down the progress of the disease). If you live in France, they may tell you that it's unavailable.

You have a few options, from hearing aids to surgery. Surgery has reasonable odds of getting rid of tinnitus (around 50% last time I checked) but carries some level of risk. If you go through with it, pick a very experience surgeon. That surgery is not a walk in the park, especially the recovery, especially if your tinnitus isn't gone post op.

You should have a conversation with your doc. I wouldn't wait too long.

Bon courage et bonne chance!

 

Thanks for taking a look and for your advice and encouragement I am really hoping that it is Oto (can’t believe I’m wishing I have something a disease; this tinnitus is evil) and at least I can have a chance for it it to maybe go away.

You and others on here are so brave, I only hope I can be brave too.

I live in Switzerland so it shouldn’t be a problem though I am next door to France too.

Did you have the operation?

As soon as I have he scan I will talk to my ENT to see my options but things move fast here so there’s that.

Merci

 

Yes I did the surgery. It gave me some hearing back, and got rid of my severe hyperacusis, so that was pretty good. Unfortunately it didn't get rid of the T, most likely because the disease had started attacking my cochlea.

Moving fast is not a bad thing. Since I did surgery, the disease hasn't progressed.

 

Yes that’s why time is of the essence if I do have it. The wait is killing me but I need to stay positive for my two year old and four month old.

I really know nothing on the subject but was reading up on cochlear implants but I guess that would only make hearing better, not get rid of T.

I will cross whatever bridge I need to when I get to it.

 

Actually, there is a reasonable success rate with CI to address T. However, I would only consider CI as last resort: the procedure is a one-way door (it destroys your natural hearing, or most of it), and doesn't "sound the same as natural hearing".

The surgery for O is typically a stapedotomy, which replaces your stapes bone with a prosthesis.

 

Hey Greg,

I was curious if you ever experienced episodes where the world seemed quiet (you could hear but there was no depth if you know what I mean, akin to low frequency hearing loss)?

What did your tinnitus sound like on onset?

Did you ever get low frequency constant drones intermittent thumps or pulsing buzzing that was loud and reactive (even to your heartbeat if you can hear that in bed like I do)?

 

Yes. When my (lower frequency) air-bone gap was large, it all sounded very remote, no depth.

A helicopter turbine.

Every once in a while I get some low frequency "hum" that stays for a few hours or days, and then seems to go away.

Also perhaps once a year, a get some pulsatile component, where i hear knocking sync'd with my heart beat.