Research your ENT to see what Medical School they went to

My first ENT
Med. School:Univ Central Del Este (Uce), Esc De Med, San Pedro De MacOris
Grad. Year:1981

 

I saw two neurotologists, who graduated from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively. Both schools are Ivy League; both physicians were useless.

The first physician offered to give me an MRI since my tinnitus was unilateral, but he felt by looking at my eardrum and listening to my history that it probably was from a barotrauma. I saw him three weeks into my tinnitus. He said to come back in six months if my tinnitus was still present and I was concerned I had an acoustic neuroma.

The second physician might've been willing to give me an intratympanic injection of dexamethasone but said, at five weeks into my tinnitus, it was too late. He offered to give my a low dose tricyclic antidepressant to help me sleep since he felt I was not depressed. And he only offered this after learning I was taking melatonin as a sleep aid. This disconcerted him. Apparently, he had not read the studies on melatonin and tinnitus.

Only my family doctor tried to help. She syringed my ear after she thought she saw a piece of hair on my eardrum. Neither she nor I knew that ear syringing may cause or worsen tinnitus. And, in hindsight, perhaps the ear syringing was the final blow in my becoming chronic. But at least she tried to help me and was sympathetic about my tinnitus--which she said was a terrible disease. Had I known about prednisone, I would've asked her for a prescription and I'm sure she would've agreed.