SHL and Tinnitus

[Mitbaster]

Hi,
My problem started a month ago, after I took a nap i noticed that my right ear is kinda stuffed and a buzzing sound apeard, i know about tinnitus at that time but people told my that the probable thing is that wax accumulated in my ear and that is the only problem, few days later i went tho the doctors and afther they checked my ears they did audiometry test to tes my hearing and it was bad up to 60Db dips in some frequencies, next day i started the treatment that conssisted of injections of steroid for 10 days, after my hearing was better, 35Db top dip, they said it was a great improvement but my T was the same, after that started the HBO therapy, i'm at my 9th session, going for 20 at least, it seems to me that a i'm coping better with it. What is strange for me is that my T varies from time to time for example when i'm outside it gets worse, not sure is it of the outside noise or my body movement, and when i'm home sitting, studying for example for few hours it gets quiet, sometimes i need to close my ear to hear the buzzing sound, some mild hissing sound is constant, also when i close my left ear and the noises are proccesed by my right damaged ear i hear less of the T,can these variations on the level of T be the signs of some vascular problems, doc mentioned that maybe i could go to take MR scan of my head and neck, is that a good thing to do at this point, from your expertise are there any additional tests i can take? Sorry if misspelled some words, English is not my native language. Best regards.

 

[Dr. Nagler]

Hi @Mitbaster -

I do not feel comfortable second-guessing your doctor or making recommendations for further testing - but if I may, I'd like to offer some general observations.

A month ago not only your ear but also your brain suffered an incredible auditory insult. By that I mean that the sudden sensorineural hearing loss that affected your ear secondarily resulted in loss of significant auditory input to your brain, the result of which was development of tinnitus. In the first two to three months after such an insult, as I see it things are in a great deal of flux as your brain tries to sort things out especially in view of your partially recovering your hearing.

My thinking is that you might try to keep your hearing loss and your tinnitus separate as you go forward. Continue to do whatever your doctor recommends in the short term to regain as much of your hearing as possible - and then at that point you and your doctor can begin to figure out how best to further evaluate and address your tinnitus.

In the meantime, try to avoid totally silent environments. Such environments tend to stress the auditory system as it strains to hear (which is why you have an auditory system in the first place!) So keep some soft sounds around you - music, nature sounds, and the like - as your system tries to find some sort of balance over the next weeks. And then go on from there.

Please note that my suggestions above are largely based on theory and experience rather than on hard science. Your best resource will - of course - be your own doctor, who has personally evaluated you and who knows you best.

Hope this helps more than confuses.

Dr. Stephen Nagler