Tips for a Good Check-Up from an ENT

Diagnosis of tinnitus includes a physical examination of the patient's head and neck. The doctor will use an otoscope to examine the ears for wax, infection, or structural changes. He or she will also use a stethoscope to listen to the blood vessels in the neck. Additional tests may also utilized.

The Rinne and Weber tests are commonly used to evaluate the type and severity of hearing loss. In the Weber test, the doctor holds a tuning fork against the patient's forehead or front teeth. If the hearing loss is sensorineural, the sound radiates to the ear with better hearing; if the hearing loss is conductive, the sound will be louder in the damaged ear. In the Rinne test, the tuning fork is placed alternately on the mastoid bone (behind the ear) and infront of the ear. In conductive hearing loss, bone conduction (BC) is greater than air conduction (AC). In sensorineural hearing loss, AC is greater than BC.

Magnetic resonance angiography or venography (MRA and MRV) can be used to evaluate malformations of the blood vessels. Computed tomography scans (CT scans) or magnetic resonance imaging scans (MRIs) can be used to locate tumors orabnormalities of the brain stem.

The doctor may order a complete blood count (CBC) with specific antibody tests to rule out syphilis or immune system disorders.

Ive seen 3 ENTs none of them followed anything similar to this list. I have auto-immune issues none have checked my CBC or ordered MRA MVR nada. You have to demand this treatment, be your own advocate. Good luck and be positive. My T is all over, some times its subjective and then its objective. I wish I knew three years ago what I know now.


Read more: http://www.faqs.org/health/topics/92/Tinnitus.html#Comments_form#ixzz3dlyZ91aL

 

+ if you are panicked, don't show it! Be calm and self confident. If you are stressed the ENT will minimize the examinations to reassure / get rid of you.

 

If your in the UK then chances are you will get nowhere with ENT. They will check your ears for wax and THAT'S IT. No scans, further checks, examinations, nothing. Seeing another next month but expect nothing.

 

I find it's quite the opposite. If you do not show you are suffering Doctors won't assume you have it very bad.

 

Depends of the ENT i think. My first ENT it was like that.

 

I think the best thing to do to get what you want out of any doctor appointment is to bring a list of questions, written out, that you want answered. We often forget these kind of questions in the moment, so having a list helps. You can't guarantee what kind of doctor you're going to get or how they'll react to your mood, but you're paying for their time and knowledge, so even if they can't prescribe anything to fix it, they can answer questions you pose. That usually gets them to give more information than they might normally think to provide.

 

My GP did this, but told me the opposite was true. No ENT (out of four I saw) actually performed any tests at all.

 

I think it may depend where you are, or which clinic you go to, or which ENT you happen to see.
Some seem better than others.

I went primarily because of hearing loss rather than because of my T and maybe that's why he did a bit more. I guess they generally know more about hearing loss than they do about tinnitus, and hearing loss can be more objectively measured.

I didn't get all the tests mentioned in the OP, but I did get some, and have another visit scheduled.

I do get the impression that people in the USA (provided that they can afford it of course) do get more attention from their ENTs than we do, but then our (NHS) system, with its long waiting lists and long queues in the waiting room, works a bit like an assembly line, so you are never going to get a high level of individual attention like you would in an expensive private setup.