Which Ear-Related Tests Can Make Tinnitus Worse?

I see that sometimes people report their tinnitus aggravating after having some tests done by their ENT or audiologist. I am quite new to tinnitus and I have been to one ENT and only had a tympanometry (even though I am not sure if that's what it was as he never told me).

Since I would like to visit another ENT soon and probably an audiologist, they will probably suggest new tests. What tests are beneficial and have no risk and what should I stay away from?

Thank you,

SkyHigh

 

For some people, the dentist chair is considered a tinnitus endurance test. I know it's not ent related but many new t sufferers don't know how loud those drills are.

 

From dpdx's experience, the VEMP test, the ovemp test and the caloric test made his tinnitus much worse. I would suggest avoid going to an ENT. Just my opinion.

 

Thanks, this is exactly the kind of information I would like to know. But was it only one of those the culprit or any of them? I think completely avoiding going to ENT is pretty extreme... I want to inform myself first and in case one of the dangerous tests is proposed I will politely refuse.

 

I have drug induced tinnitus and I don't feel like sounds influence me that much, even though I became very paranoid and ordered some ear plugs just in case. I am not sure if the dentist drill would affect my tinnitus, but I would better avoid it for now. Thanks for the advice

 

I've been to the ent only once since I've had t ( in the last few years..).there is nothing they can tell me that a quick search button can't answer. There are a lot of ignorant ents out there

 

DO NOT wear ear plugs if the dentist is going to use the drill on you. It will cause the occlusion effect and make the sound even louder. There are many threads about what to do when going to the dentist. I highly suggest you look into reading them and about the 5 seconds on 10 seconds off rule. I also suggest a looking for a dentist that uses a laser drill. @Bill Bauer has talked about this in other threads and has first hand experience.

 

@Jack Straw I did not order ear plugs specifically to go the dentist, but it’s good to know that I should not wear them in case I will go to one!

 

Not everything will affect everyone the same way...some things well bother you whereas it won't do anything to another t sufferer. Surely others have had the vemp test and had no bad effects on their ears.

The same with a dentist. I had 2 cavities filled a few weeks ago with no breaks in between, and no issues. It's nice to be aware of the problems but don't neglect your dentist visits lol

 

Thank God! I was so scared that you were on your way to the dentist and was going to wear ear plugs during some drilling. Very relieved!

Definitely get a good pair of ear plugs to carry around with you on your key chain. I carry 2 different types with me at all times. One is the heavy duty CVS brand foam ear plugs. It has a 34 NRR and are used in loud environments.

Another more discrete brand I carry is called Downbeats. They are very small and fit in your ear helping block sound without it being obvious your wearing ear plugs. They have an NRR of 18. I mainly use them for restaurants that are too loud or when social settings start to get a little too loud for comfort.

 

Hi,
I had done the caloric test and ovemp, it resulted in inner hair cell damage. My Audiologist told me to steer away from Ecog, Acoustic Reflex, Ovemp, etc as they can damage our fragile ears further (permanently).
One user here did an ECOG and got permanent worsening of his tinnitus. I am dealing with severe hyperacusis and very bad tinnitus. Ovemp was 100db and lasted for 60 seconds or so.
Please dont mess around with this. You have NO IDEA HOW BAD THIS CAN GET and what ELSE IT CAN DO (visual snow, black eye floaters, etc)

 

VEMP, Acoustic Reflex, ECOG, etc will worsen your Tinnitus. I had mild T from October 3-January 14 JUST MILD T, from JAN 16- I have severe hyperacusis and tinnitus which was caused by that very test. I am calling that vestibular audiologist to ask how loud the test was but she is ignoring me. I have damaged inner hair cells as a result of this test and acoustic nerve fibers.

 

@dpdx I am very sorry to hear about your situation and I reaaly appreaciate that you are raising awareness about this. Why did they do these tests in the first place?

 

commercial purposes.
My Audiologist knew I had NIHL but still wanted me to see an ENT and rule out diseases. I remember my ENT telling me I have 20 diseases, and that we need to work together to find which one I have.

 

1. Acoustic Reflex- loud I think its somewhere between 60-80db (POTENTIAL DAMAGE,CAN EXACERBATE TINNITUS).
2. ECOG- loud 80-90db (DAMAGE HIGHLY LIKELY), this can cause permanent increase in tinnitus as there is a loud clicking sound.
3. OVEMP/CVEMP 90db-100db, peaks 105db-110db (DAMAGE HIGHLY LIKELY). OVEMP/CVEMP can cause hearing loss in people with normal ears if the sound parameters are not in safe thresholds. For people with Tinnitus/H it can permanently worsen.

Other tests that can worsen T permanently include:

1) Typanometry
2) Caloric Air Test (Water/Air) Calorics, Syringing. Air Caloric is dangerous and very loud.
3) Micro suction-
4) MRI (Need to wear very good protection, I did an MRI and nothing happened)

 

I think I had a tympanometry but I am not sure.

The doctor inserted a device in my ear that felt like it was putting some pressure on my ear drum and I could hear my ears pop. The procedure took about 10 seconds for each ear and then he printed a small paper with some graphs that he said looked good. I did not get to keep the paper though.

In any case I do not think the procedure affected my tinnitus in any way (it was about 3 weeks ago).

@dpdx thanks for your input again

 

I did something like that last November it didnt do anything it was very quick and it was pressure. Tympanometry is like a buzzing sound I think or clicks.

 

@dpdx Ok so Probably I didn’t have a tympanometry. I would like to know if I have hearing loss though. An audiogram should pe pretty safe, right?

I am also curious if after all these tests you got a proper diagnostic and a treatment schema or something? Since I got tinnitus my only concern was to make it go away, but after reading more on this forum I think my only concern should be to not make it worse.

I have pretty mild tinnitus, but I find it pretty inteusive because of my personality that kind of obsesses over the most minute details in general.

 

I did an audiogram, DPOAE, Speech in Noise, Word Recognition last year and earlier this week.
Audiogram up to 16khz
DPOAE Up to 10khz -tests Outer Hair Cells-damaged from concert (ACTUAL DEVICE/INSTRUMENT)
Speech in Noise- Tests Inner Hair Cells - Last year they were fine but this year they are damaged-guess from what? LOL (BEHAVIORAL)
Word Recognition-tests phonemes, inner hair cells/outer. (BEHAVIORAL)

 

Not sure I understand your comment... Is an audiogram safe? And what does BEHAVIORAL mean in this context?

 

What does microsuction do? Is that for wax removal?

 

Audiogram is normal. Well DPOAE is an instrument to test the OHC (Outer hair cells), while BEHAVIORAL means that you simply reply back to the words that the audiologist says. Get it?

 

Yes and it is known to cause Tinnitus

 

What is the safer alternative to wax removal then?

 

I got it done manually last November and it was safe.

 

not my ENT, she said I MAY have acoustic neuroma, meniere, cochlear hydrops, blood cancer, thyroid cancer, parotid cancer, lymphoma, brain cancer, ETD, etc

 

Here this poor individual asks whether an ACOUSTIC REFLEX can damage hearing, their T worsened as a result of this test permanently. Watch the audiologist not answer the question very well.
https://www.hearingsolutions.ca/blo...ustic-reflex-threshold-test-have-side-effects

 

@dpdx My tinnitus is mild - moderate and I am slowly starting to get used to it. After reading your story and others’ I decided not go to any ENT or audiologist anymore since there is a risk of their tests aggravating my tinnitus.

 

The speech test you did caused your tinnitus to get worse?

 

I agree that an acoustic reflex test is a bad idea for anyone with hyperacusis, and micro suctions and MRI's can be damaging, but why would a tympanometry alone be damaging?

I have had many tympanometry's done and none of them were very loud, it's just small changes in air pressure.


You can also add ABR's to the list of hearing tests to avoid if you have hyperacusis.