New Sound. Just Shoot Me Already...

I went to see a different ENT yesterday to get help with seasonal allergies and ask about his professional opinion on how to get rid of hyperacusis (or sound anxiety) in a safe manner without risking making my tinnitus worse. I have been very protective of my ears since my tinnitus onset. I walked in with my earplugs inserted and said "Hello, I'm Jiri I suffer from tinnitus and HYPERACUSIS + allergies. Could you please advise me.. etc."

So obviously I took my earplugs out as he wanted to take a look into my ears, nose and throat. To my surprise he then literally started throwing all those instruments, after he was done using them, in the medical metal boxes that were right next to me (needless to say the metal clank 'sound effects' were ripping my ears off). I asked him about that and he goes: "No worries. Can't hurt you." Ok. Then he proceeded explaining smth to me and a nurse comes back with even more instruments that needed cleaning and again, started throwing them in the nearby metal boxes. It's a freaking metal hitting another piece of metal ffs! I clearly stated, I've got bad H and wanted advice on that. Like wtf?? Well, got a nasal spray that didn't work and later in the afternoon I noticed I've got this new loud constant cricket sound in my head

Will it go away, or will it stay now? Are all ENTs and their nurses this reckless? I can't stand it no more... that's 4 sounds now. 3 in my ears but this new one I can hear right in my head.

 

Probably sounded louder than it is in a very quiet medical office

 

Except it wasn't a quiet medical office. Unfortunately.

 

Yes, they are this reckless.
I've been told many times by many ENTs that I'm making stuff up.
I've also been told by my current ENT, that I shouldn't wear ear protection otherwise I will get ear infection and that my hearing can't get worse unless somebody shoots gun next to my ear...
I'm sorry, your new sound probably won't disappear completely, but it will probably calm down after some time.

 

@Jiri ,
I would put it down to anxiety about hearing the metal clanking and try relax and see how it goes over the weekend if it has settled down.
It wasn't nice of him clanking things about when you have Hyperacusis .
love glynis

 

Hi Jiri, sorry to hear how the ENT acted around you. In my opinion, he was unprofessional and didn’t take your feelings into account. He should have known better.

Are you still withdrawing from benzos? Don’t forget that your nervous system is all over the place at the moment which means anything could set you off. It’s easy to say this, yet almost impossible to imply at the height of anxiety, but you must try to remain calm. Go for a walk, clear your mind, and think about other things such as how your feet feel as they touch the ground. Feel the air on your face and take yourself away from all your worries. Imagine that whilst on the walk you are taking a time out from life, and give yourself permission not to care. Then take this incident with the ENT and throw it into your mental, metaphorical, bin. DO NOT Ruminate over it! If you find yourself slipping into an obsessive cycle then change what you’re doing immediately. Keep your brain intensely occupied by doing other things. If you can find somewhere quiet to exercise, do so! It’s another brilliant way to heal your body and mind.

In my opinion, things will calm down. And I really hope they do because you deserve a break. Go easy on yourself.

 

Sorry to hear about your new sound.. What a dickhead though. I know people like that as well. You tell 'm you have sound sensitivity/H before dinner and they treat you with even more silverware scraping and clanging than usual. As if they are deliberately out to test how far they can drive you.

About the new sound: Don't ever latch you attention onto it. Actively put you mind elsewhere. I sometimes have new sounds setting in faintly and I can usually sleep them off or literally 'forget' and make them go away by watching tv or going for a run/walk in nature.

 

You don't "ask him about it". You yell for him to stop. If you can't yell because you don't want to hurt your own ears, you grab his arm and tell him that what he is doing is NOT ok.

Alternatively, you leave the room.

When you told him about your H, it didn't get his attention. Once this became evident, you had to do what you had to do to actually get his attention.

 

It makes sense to wait for days or even for months before considering the possibility that it is going to be permanent.

 

I sincerely think that ENTs are just people who couldn't cut it as good doctors. This proves my point.

 

Hard to believe a doctor could be so careless. Do they even know what hyperacusis means?

 

If you are not going to take your H and your vulnerabilities seriously, neither will the other people (including ENTs).

My first instinct is also to follow the instructions I had been given, and to not make a scene. I learned the hard way that when T is involved, this is not a good attitude for one to have.

 

Ok, that's obviously rubbish advice from one-brain cell medical personnel.

It's what I fear the most, but it better does or else I'm gonna bleed myself to death. Just when you start habituating..

Thank you for your advice, Glynis. I hope it is my anxiety but it could also be a very real physical damage. I noticed it when I tried to calm myself down, reading smth and then thought to myself that crickets outside were a little too loud that day. Except for there weren't any crickets outside.

Hi Ed, and thank you for your opinion. See, I thought about the Monday incident with those petrol power scythes, and started believing what other members said in the thread that I probably overreacted and that it was unlikely for the sound inside my bedroom to reach dangerous levels. Then our conversation. Things started to make sense.

...​

So I came up with this 'equation' I could try and work on to get myself back on track asap: tinnitus (no solution as of yet, except habituation) ok → psych. drugs w/d (found a clinical pharmacist who helps me titrate my doses at even slower rate to minimize the possibility of a toxic injury), check → hyperacusis (super sensitive to sound due to overprotecting?), something I can work on and get rid off (btw 2 of my drugs have hyperacusis as a side effect). Ok.

On Tue I got this bad allergic reaction (proly due to the dry, cut, grass from the power scythes on Mon) and I got this perfect idea that I'm going to kill two birds with one stone. Better hospital equals better care, right? I scheduled an appointment to get a prescription to one of those steroid nasal sprays, get my hearing and sinuses checked, and ask about how to deal with hyperacusis, whether it makes sense to protect my hearing the way I do, those type of questions.

Everyone, I know my hearing is very sensitive to the point that even stupid drop of a teaspoon can make me jumpscare. The very last thing I would then expect was for them to be this loud around me. Especially, when I made it super clear at very beginning. For real, if I started throwing cutlery in a stainless steel drop-in sink.. know what I mean?? A friend of mine, many months ago, tried to measure it for me using a proper noise meter and yes, a metal fork drop to such a sink can easily measure at 100+ dB so... *sigh*

Either that, or they just careless dicks. Or absolutely idiotic. Can't decide. When I confronted the doc. he reassured me that noise could not have hurt me. He was actually being very polite and I wanted answers so yelling at him after the damage was already done. No point. Then the nurse walks in and here we go again.. press repeat.

Thanks for advice. I will defo try. I hope things settle down again and this noise will just disappear. I only slept like 5 hrs in 3 days total. Then again, maybe my body system was just so exhausted that it was easy to get hurt and get a new tone as a result. It's a tad difficult to think rationally when you're in a benzo w/d at the same time. (+ bad allergies)

A blink of an eye. That's how quick it was. I was stunned. No joke. Then obviously, again, I confronted him. He reassured me "That it's ok. No damage done.", again he's the pro (a senior doctor ENT as a matter of fact). It just all happened so fast. You've got virtually 0 time to prepare. The nurse then topped it all, with even more metal clanking afterwards. I was facing him, like you usually would. I wasn't paying attention to what was going on behind my back, besides I was already p**** off. It's like I walk to you from behind and pop a ballon next to your head. A little too late to be grabbing my hand.

It only became evident when it was too late to do anything about it. It's not like you watch someone light a firecracker so you've got time to flee the scene. Worst thing is (apart from the sound) it was an ENT medical office! Need I say more?

I am sorry, what? You think I'm not taking it seriously? Why would I then even bother going seek professional help in a hospital if I wasn't serious enough about it? Nonsense. I've lived isolated life on your advice. Not taking it seriously..

Unless they've got tinnitus and hyperacusis themselves or are not empathetic enough. I sadly agree now. Maybe it just takes a lot of hits until you run into the right M.D. who's willing to work with you on making your condition better.

I'm sure those who've had it themselves have a pretty good idea. In the medical note that he handed to me was stated: "Very sensitive to sounds. Even soft sounds bother him a lot."

...​

I don't know, friends. It feels to me like someone's having fun at my expense. Had he been right, and my brain didn't generate that new sound (still hopefull it disappears like a temp. spike with time), I'd have been actually happy and calm now I found an ENT whom I can trust, and who's willing to help. Like assembling a team of specialists who will act and help me together to overcome this 'symptom'. When I had a word with the nurse later she even apologized and promised not to do it anymore. What could I do?

 

When it comes to impulse noises, even if they might sound painful, the peak is usually very short lived. So the total exposure time to painfully loud sound from carelessly throwing handfull of instruments could be actually quite short. I hope this was the case and the crickets would settle down.

 

I am suprised how ENTs got their degrees. I knew so much more than my audiologist and my ENT. My audiologist said that Hyperacusis can cause hearing loss.

 

@Jiri
Man, you have had a string of rough days. I'm so sorry this happened to you. You've got a lot of people here who care about what's happening with you, so please let us know how you're doing. The anxiety can sometimes be the worst part of an incident like this.


Mystery Reader

 

It will most likely go away in a few days. I'm sure it was loud for you, but not loud enough to cause you any damage.

People are reckless, from slamming cash drawers closed, to throwing dishes into the bin, I have noticed people don't give there ears any respect. Today I saw a lawn company guy putting on fertilizer with a loud riding machine, and then using a gas powered blower, all the time with no ear protection in. This guy does this all day with no protection. No wonder Tinnitus is an epidemic.

 

From my experience, there's a shortage of them as well...​

 

Hi @Jiri, sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience. I hope things can clear up for you soon. -- You might want to consider chalking up your experience as a lesson in assertiveness. You had EVERY right to point out to him how painful his carelessness was, and that if he didn't stop, you'd have to leave. Or at least something to that effect. People with t and/or h can't be overly concerned with "nicities" when it comes to protecting ourselves.​

 

Oh @Jiri so sorry. This is when you educate the "specialist" in a nice way. But it is too late now. You should write a letter to his office explaining the way this affected you and nicely write that he should use more care with tinnitus/hyperacusis patients.

However, after saying that to you I did exactly that with a top specialist here. His response was horrible. He wrote back that I needed help with my depression!! WTF I wasn't depressed. I was attempting to explain the needs of tinnitus/hyperacusis patients. Oh boy was I pissed off. I wrote back including the remark that I would report him to the MDA.

This certainly does not help us at all when we are new to this and have lost our self-esteem and feel so worn down and rejected by medical professionals.

I am sure you will calm the new sounds down with time. Has it gotten any better yet?

 

I feel for your anger.
If I were you, I would change another ENT doctor.

 

When I wrote that comment, I was under the impression that after he reassured you, he exposed you to more noise (and that when the other lady made more noise, you didn't say anything to her).

 

Again, I was just trying to say that people won't care about our ears, even if we tell them about our problems. So we have to do what it takes to get them to care (i.e., get them to think "This guy seems to be crazy and unpredictable. He seems to care a great deal about me not making any noise. It will be easier for me if I just comply."

 

The sad truth about ENT is that they are just doctors who see only patients with ear, nose and throat issues. They are only as good as cases they have seen. They can only treat treatable diseases. They are not T specialist and are lame as hell in situations when there are no drugs for it. If they don't even have the decency to be sensitive to their patients, they are just worthless shit and shouldn't even be practicing medicine. @Jiri , sorry to hear that happened to you and I hope your spike will fade.

 

Heya, dang that's some real unfortunate stuff that happened to you, sounds like a comic, like going to the Dr. to get help for hyperacusis and then they just make noise. Rude and harsh

But have you considered the possibility that it might be the nasal spray that gave you the new tone?

Feel better my man

 

Well, what about impulse noises like those of firecrackers? Sensitive ears. Hate the metal impulse noise. It could probably measure at the same level as minifirecrackers going off. Nevertheless, I hope and pray you're right.

It's true, Mystery R. I'm doing c*** now. Back to square one. At ENT office, would you believe that? I hope it's just anxiety. You're a mysterious person (just like your name suggests) so if you can perform some healing magic to rid us of these new tones then... do it, please. The people who care.. words cannot describe how thankful I am to have them.

I've been overprotecting my ears for many many months. It feels like the metal sound impacts sent my neurons into overdrive (firing all over the place) which generated that new tone. I don't know. All I know is I wish hard you are right.

So so true. You don't know what you really have (health) until it's gone. Tinnitus is epidemic. Hopefully the new 'brain resetting' devices will be what saves us.

Hi @Lane thank you. I think for them it's just such a routine thing to do that they don't even realize what they're doing. Even tho, I made it perfectly clear at the very beginning. It just happened all so quick. All you can do is complain afterwards. Then again, I was reassured it couldn't have hurt me by a senior doc ENT so... you just leave.

Thank you @Starthrower Educating specialists. I came there to get educated and not hurt. An ENT office. I got upset and he saw that, I actually then shut all the windows close in his office and again wanted an explanation, or perhaps more like reassurance that no damage was done to my auditory system. That I got from him. So.. I only found out later.

This has got absolutely ZERO to do with depression. Where did he get his medical qualification, at McDonald's? I just realised that even writing smth back to them won't change a thing. At least not here. Lessen learned and all you can do is to habituate and keep looking for another doc. It's a little better in the morning but I 100% don't want to jinx anything.

Thanks @robHing I keep looking for an ENT I'd have confidence in since I got tinnitus.

I understand, Bill. I actually said a lot of things, I went and closed all the windows in the office, the ENT doc said that those noises couldn't have hurt me, the nurse had apologized to me when I had a word with her later and that's about all I could've done, really. Like I said, it just happened all so quick. So then you leave and you know the rest of the story.

Precisely, lesson learned at a price unfortunatelly. You ought to seek someone who specializes in tinnitus. However, that's not an easy task at all when in literature they say it's a health issue that ENTs, neurologists & psychiatrists 'treat.' Plus there's no treatment, just coping strategies. I hope it's just a spike and not a new permanent tone. Thank you.

Hey @3ri0w It's like someone's doing it all on purpose to me. For real, an ENT office. A Hospital. Needs no further explanation. I've considered it could've even been due to my bad one-day seasonal allergy. I've used the nasal spray only once so it wasn't proly that. I guess only time will show again. I hope you're doing ok.

 

Just wanted to say thank you to all of you who took the time to respond to this thread.

I appreciate very much your kind words, support and advice.

I wish you all the best.

Jiri

 

Hey @Jiri how are you doing now? Has the new tone remained?

 

Hey @Elfin thanks for asking. Pretty bad tbh. It is very confusing. That sound did disappear for some time. I was actually doing well on Saturday. Then yesterday my friend took me out for some nature walking and just to chat. I remember the crickets were loud in the fields. In the evening I could hear the intermittent cricket sound in my head ag.

And today I suffer badly from a tinnitus flare-up. It hit me like a ton of bricks in the afternoon. I don't know if it's because of my benzo w/d, the actual noise event in the ENT office (new acu trauma?), too much stress, some other loud sound I could've possibly heard somewhere, or even everything combined. It is painful and I don't know what to do?

 

Just wanted to ask if this is normal: The new noise I developed after that unfortunate ENT visit was this cricket sound. Since then I tried to give my ears as much rest as possible and the sound became intermittent and later it seemed as though it disappeared completely.

If I go on a nature walk now (my way of trying to fight hyperacusis) there are actual loud crickets absolutely everywhere. Not really surprising this time of a year. What is surprising to me is when I return back home I can hear that cricket sound again in my ears. It is intermittent. Is my brain playing games with me?

Please, don't tell me I can't even do nature walking now. Nature sounds should be safe and calming, correct?