Nose Surgery

As well as my tinnitus, I have a deviated septum and enlarged turbinates resulting in considerable nasal blockage, mainly in my right nostril which is almost totally blocked. Incidentally my tinnitus is worst in my right ear. I also have considerable eustachian tube problems. My tympanometry test was normal, however my tubes are always blocked, I struggle to pop them and they crackle around a lot when I swallow, tilt my head or move my jaw.

Whilst the doctors don't know whether or not this will help my tinnitus, I think that it might as it would make sense to me that all of these issues may be somewhat inter-connected, with a severe nasal obstruction being the root cause. I've read mixed thoughts about this online and mixed results as well from those who have been through the surgery.

My tinnitus is reasonably mild compared with what most people report here. I hear it loudly at night, while at my desk at work or anywhere quiet, but it is relatively easily drowned out by background noise such as city traffic or the rumble of the train on the way to work.

Next Saturday I will be having a septoplasty and a turbinate reduction done and will report back on how I go.

I am interested to hear if anyone has been through this themselves, or knows someone who has, and can give me some feedback on how the surgery helped their tinnitus - or any other aspect of their life for that matter. Particularly in those who also have Eustachian tube problems.

Thanks,

Simon

 

Hi Simon!

Please let us know the result of your surgery.

I have also a deviated septum and enlarged nostril passages, my left side is almost closed... and you know what? It is also my worst ear. The T in the left is louder, and the fullness is also worst on that side.

Wish you the best,
Johnny.

 

Absolutely, I'll update the thread as I go over the coming weeks and months.

 

I had my surgery yesterday and spent the night in hospital. I'll be discharged right after breakfast.

Relatively painless, it's just been a bit uncomfortable so far.

No impact on my tinnitus yet, although my nose is still quite congested so that is not too surprising.

The surgeon said it went well, although my right nostril was even more crooked than he thought, so much so that he could hardly get the camera up there!

The doctor said he has seen improved air flow through the nose ease tinnitus in a lot of cases but it will take around 2 weeks to notice if it will start to make a difference.

 

I am scheduled for surgery in November for my ETD so I am very interested in how the surgery will affect your Tinnitus on the long run. Please keep us updated and speedy recovery!

Btw my doctor told me it can easily take 6 weeks until improvement can be felt because of the swelling

 

Hi Seal,

The surgery and recovery hasn't been too bad, not painful, just uncomfortable. A lot of time spent on the couch with blood and goop running down to a bandage. Not sexy at all.

My surgeon said a similar thing, that it will be some time until any benefit is noticed regarding tinnitus, if at all. So far I haven't noticed any change but will keep this page updated as I go.

Even if this doesn't help me, it may help others as I don't actually know what the cause of my tinnitus is, nasal issues are just one possibility and my surgeon did say he has seen this help a lot of patients but not always.

At the very least, I had a lot of other symptoms because of my blocked nose and I am very confident that this will at least resolve those and hopefully my tinnitus too.

 

Hi Simon!

I am also going through a nose surgery in July! I try my very best not to have high hopes, but I trust my doctor who said that he had seen success in many cases (sometimes the sound doesn't vanish completely, but still a huge relief for his patients).
As you have noticed, at the VERY least, I also hope ETD and similar symptoms could be resolved as well.
Please keep updating this thread!

True! My doctors also states that a month is an average to first results. Though interesting that he once mentioned a case his colleague had with a patient with Meniere's, the affected side had a totally blocked nostril. His dizziness vanished the next day after the surgery, not very typical though, but here you go.

Good luck to all!

 

Well it has been a little over two weeks since the surgery and there has been no change to my tinnitus as yet.

In saying that though, my breathing has not improved too much compared with before the surgery as yet. My left nostril is probably a little better but the bad one, my right, which is also the side I have the worst tinnitus is still blocked up. I can tell that there are still a lot of stitches etc in place and I suspect that this is the cause of the blockage.

Hopefully these dissolve soon and I start to see some real improvement.

 

Please can you tell me what is the relation between nose and tinnitus?

 

It can lead to eustachian tube dysfunction and even TMJ disorder if breathing problems are causing jaw clenching or tooth grinding during the night. Both of these conditions can cause tinnitus.

 

I suspect that this may be what is happening with me and possibly others here. Whilst this article doesn't mention tinnitus specifically, it does draw a direct link between nasal issues and Eustachian tube problems, which are well documented as being a cause of tinnitus.

http://www.fulspecialista.hu/ro/nose/septal-deviation

 

It's been almost 4 weeks since my surgery now and I had my follow-up appointment with the ENT surgeon yesterday. My right nostril was fairly blocked still but he cleared that out for me and now I can breathe very well. He said it's not surprising my tinnitus was still there as my nasal congestion was still there until he cleared it out yesterday - mostly dried blood etc. I also have a few stitches in my nose as well that adds to the blockage. He said it would take at least another 8 weeks for any Eustachian tube inflammation to subside and any fluid to clear if there is any of either. No guarantees that it will help my tinnitus of course but he did state again that he has seen many patients report a reduction in tinnitus after having nasal issues corrected. At the very least it is nice to be able to breathe again.

My tinnitus lately has been on the lower side, but still within my normal range so nothing to get too excited over.

Having clearer nostrils facilitate more effective nasal spray use so I'll look to start giving a long course of nasonex a go soon. Historically for me, spray was near useless on the bad side as my nostril was significantly blocked but that shouldn't be an issue now.

I'll keep the updates coming.

 

This is so interesting. I have had blocked and bloody nose for half a year now and my tinnitus has been much louder since then. Only today I realized they could have a connection.

Keep on updating!

 

He|ix thanks for updates Sr!

Me too, I have related my T with my chronic closed nostrils. My left ear, the one with the most T and fullness problems, is also the side with the most closed nostril.

I think that this life long nose problems became into ETD problems, and also TMJ which I was diagnosed 1 year ago. I have also Sleep Apnea, in some degree related with my low capacity to breath throught the nose.

Keep posting your updates and thanks!

Regards,
Johnny,

 

Despite the fact that I can't pop my eustachian tubes very well using either the valsalva manouver or an otovent balloon (I have to tilt my head to each side to have any hope of getting the opposing ear to pop) I came up with 'normal' pressure (A), before I had the surgery, so maybe I'm not a candidate for tinnitus related improvement from nasal surgery, who knows.

For those that have nasal issues and do also have middle ear pressure problems, this study might be interesting.

http://www.ejo.eg.net/article.asp?i...issue=3;spage=191;epage=195;aulast=Abdel-Naby

 

I think in time it will get better.
Please keep us posted.

 

Asia88, have you had your surgery yet? Myself, and I am sure others, will be keen to see how your progress goes.

 

I had a surgery 2 weeks ago, so nothing to tell so far. My surgeon said it would take up to 1.5-2 month for swelling to come off, and up to 2-3 months for ETD to resolve as a result of restored ventilation. He also noticed (and he stressed that even before the surgery), that he cannot guarantee that I will be 100% tinnitus free, but at the very least I will cut the process and won't provoke any further damage to my inner ear. As the less ventilation it gets, the more atrophy to the tissues is caused.

We also had a lot of talk on why ETD/ear noise come up out of nowhere for some of us, and the reason is that our nose grows until we're 25, so it is like the process is slowly developing while our body learns to adjust to it. As we grow older our natural resources to compensate for impairment deplete, so we face issues our body successfully "covered" before.

Anyway, the only thing I noticed so far is a huge improvement as a breath, so I am sure I will benefit from it in the long run.

And, interesting fact, first night after the surgery when I had drains in my nostrils and couldn't breath through, I could modify the sound in my ears as I swallowed (lowering the pressure in the tube and getting higher pitch tone as a result). So now I learned on my own, that it is true when they say ears breath through nose.

I also noticed a slight change in the tone which I didn't have before.. Pray this indicates a positive change!

 

Wow, your development sounds a lot better than mine as I've not head any luck modulating my tinnitus etc. I hope you're on the road to recovery.

Thanks also for sharing the word from your ENT specialist as well.

I hope you continue to progress through the recovery. I didn't find the surgery too bad and I trust it was fairly smooth for you too. you'll probably feel even better after your follow up with the surgeon.

 

I checked your threads, do you have ETD? I'm sure you should have a little patience - you will also notice some improvement someday. As you can see, my doctor gives plenty of time to heal after surgery (even if it is not that bad, it is still a traumatic intervention), so you have plenty of time to get considerable results!

We have similar symptoms too, crazy ear popping and good hearing with worst tinnitus ear belonging to the side of a blocked nostril.

 

Yep, I have ETD too (worse on the side of my deviation).

 

@He|ix
My first Ent (1998) adviced me to do the surgry to my nasal ,i didn't do it because I searched on internet and i didn't find result about "nasal deviation and tinnitus"

 

I don't know if masa surgery is a silver bullet. It may help or may not. I've seen a lot of professionals write that it won't have any effect, but some say it can. Who knows really.

Perhaps it will indirectly help eg. Better breathing, less jaw clenching at night and therefore improved TMJ function.

 

Yes I think that I will do the surgry it will be good for the health in general
Do you know how much it Costs?

 

No doctor can confirm that there is direct correlation between septum deviation and tinnitus, but extreme deviation and ETD usually come together. Next question is whether ETD is the reason for tinnitus or it is something else..

So no direct indication for surgery in order to resolve exactly tinnitus.

 

I went through Medicare, our public healthcare system in Australia and so did not pay anything, although I had to wait for about 6 months.

When I was quoted by my initial ENT through the private system I think it was around $4,500 AUD. This covered everything including the surgeons fees, anaesthetist, hospital bed etc. I would imagine this varies considerably from country to country.

 

In a not so good development, I began noticing a whistle as I breathe through my nose. It turns out that I have a perforated septum, which is visible in the mirror with the use of a torch. Apparently this is a complication that occurs in 1-5% of patients. Not ideal! I'll have to try and get in touch with the surgeon tomorrow.

 

Wow, any news?... Looks like you're heading to another surgery to cover perforation?.. But you're lucky to find it out not so long after surgery, it can be really mild and won't grow fast. Or?..

I am also experiencing a set back, got flu and now my ears are ringing like never before.. oh bye bye sweet progress..

 

Yep, I am back for a consultation with an ENT on Monday morning. My surgeon is apparently not at that hospital anymore, so I'll be seeing my 4th ENT since my tinnitus became a real issue two years ago. Hopefully they can repair the perforation. I have heard it's a complex surgery, far more so than septoplasty so most ENT's aren't willing to do it.

Hopefully your tinnitus settles down again once your flu clears up. The added congestion would be making things a lot worse but I am sure it will be temporary (fingers crossed).

 

Post-surgery update. I breathe like never before.
T is here and it didn't even plan to leave