Tinnitus Cured After Open Heart Surgery

I had emergency open heart surgery to repair/replace my ascending aorta back in 2015. I mentioned in an earlier post at that time that my tinnitus which had plagued me for decades had mysteriously disappeared.

I shared this with my surgeon and cardiologist at that time and they seemed baffled, however, there is no doubt in my mind that there was a direct correlation. I had not modified my lifestyle in any other way. After my post in 2015 I had hoped that others on this site might’ve experienced a similar phenomenon, but that was not the case.

I recently had a second operation. This time to replace virtually my entire thoracic descending aorta (familial) due to significant aneurysms and dissection. This was a much more complex surgery than my first one back in 2015. I was in ICU for three weeks afterwords due to unforeseen complications.

I am happy to follow up with the fact I am on the road to recovery, and that I am still blessed with silence, but my questions to my surgeons and cardiologists still remain the same and unanswered. Both surgeries required heart lung bypass.

By now I had hoped to solve the mystery and share results in order to help others.

 

Glad to hear buddy, have a fast and quick recovery and all the best.

 

@MrNobody89, I assume you had pulsating tinnitus?

 

I'm happy for you that the operation got rid of your tinnitus, because with the kind of health problems you seem to be having you don't need the torture that's tinnitus on top of it - not that anybody does. Wishing you a speedy recovery, hopefully there won't be anymore major operations in your near or far future!

 

Thank you for wishing me a fast recovery.

I believe I had subjective tinnitus. It was not pulsating, but I had significant tinnitus for over 45 years. Yes, I’m that old. This condition was clearly from my rock ‘n’ roll days. I was in a group that had a million seller record in the late 1960s. We toured with the Who, The Rolling Stones, the Byrds, Ike & Tina Turner and many other noted groups of that period. I was a guitarist/vocalist, and in those days all the guitar sound came from amplifiers (Fender Dual Showman in my case), 2 speaker cabinets stacked on one another right behind me.

I’m sure this is where my problem began. It was incredibly loud. It was also an incredibly memorable time of my life.

Much to my amazement, my tinnitus was completely gone after my 2015 aorta surgery. I was worried that this new surgery, which was far more extensive, might cause it to show up again. The surgery on June 2nd this year to repair/replace my entire thoracic descending aorta was a success, however, there was a complication with the heart lung bypass procedure which lead to a heart attack during the surgery. I ended up in ICU for 3 weeks on a feeding tube and breathing tube (unable to breathe). It was “touch and go” and a harrowing experience.

By the end of the third week, I had failed 5 breathing tests, and out of desperation the surgical team scheduled me for a tracheotomy (yikes!) so I would be able to breathe. Late in the evening before the scheduled surgery my wife got a call from a nurse who was crying (not the phone call you want to receive from a hospital). She said “no need to come up tomorrow for the surgery, the breathing tube was pulled out and your husband is breathing on his own”.

The mystery is the fact that I was so weak I was unable to even lift my arms to communicate on a dry erase board, so there’s no way that I removed the rigid breathing tube that went into my mouth and then made an abrupt angle deep down my throat. All I remember is the fabulous sensation of taking deep breaths while laying across a very comfortable lap. We believe the only answer was Guardian Angel intervention. There seems to be no other explanation since I was physically unable to remove that breathing tube. Thankfully, throughout the procedure my tinnitus did not return, and has not returned to date.

I feel very fortunate indeed. Prayers were answered. I still have a long road to recovery and As you can imagine, I am very protective of my hearing these days.

I will continue to look for answers from the medical community regarding the disappearance of my tinnitus.

I will of course, share any information/explanation regarding the disappearance of my tinnitus.

 

I reckon Keith Moon doesn't want you in his new band just yet

 

IMHO not likely a better drummer to play with up there, but I’d like to wait a spell

 

I believe there is a source greater than our understanding. G-D bless. Remember there are people put on the earth that are miracles. The future looks good for science.

 

Theory: you were exposed to large amounts of general anesthetic during your operation. This boosts the GABA neurotransmitter in the brain. There have been other reports of tinnitus disappearing upon waking from general anesthetic. Sometimes it returns for the person but sometimes not, depending I suspect on the dose and the duration of exposure possibly changing the excitability level of the neurons.

Anyway, that's my theory.

 

Hi @MrNobody89,
did you find out any more detail about the type of anesthesia they used in your surgery? Or any other details about the steps done that can be related to your tinnitus switching off?

I wish you the best. Kind regards.

 

Amazing story with a great ending.

I do wonder about very high amounts of a benzodiazepine to provide some form of reset to the auditory part of the nervous system.

 

Aha, Guardian Angel. Tinnitus for 45 years. Prayers answered? They seem to transfer pretty slow over to the other side then.

Sorry, I just find it interesting how people can think it makes sense that there's some kind of being/power that are in control of things such as turning tinnitus on and off for people.

But I hope I'm wrong!

Anyway, really happy to hear your success story both when it comes to the surgery itself and that it also took away the tinnitus!

 

I am so happy to hear your story! I pray for continued recovery and blessings for you. May God bless your journey with healing.