OPebble

But please go see your quack ASAP!

Princess1

On the upside, mine is a perfect B flat (or A sharp, if you wish)

Comes in handy when I need to do some sightreading.

Phil the Flyer

Prospero - my comment was very much light-hearted in nature. I personally don't mind what appears on the FT BAEC Forum - to me it's a great source of all things British that I miss when I am working overseas. And you do seem to be an extremely fair-minded Moderator (if such a comment is permitted).

OPebble - I'm just waiting for a certain lady member held in high esteem on the FT BAEC Forum to return to base, then I'll make an appointment for the two of us.

macabus

Prospero, do you drink diet soda? If so, the aspartame may be contributing to your tinnitus.

Aspartame is a proven neurotoxin which has been linked in medical studies to increased eardrum sensitivity and tinnitus. Especially after some sort of trauma to the eustachian tubes.

I would recommend avoiding anything with aspartame for a week or two and see if your symptoms clear up. Note that almost every brand of chewing gum contains aspartame - even non-sugarless varieties, so read the labels.

BTW, my brother had severe tinnitus and I recommended eliminating aspartame. He didn't believe me and saw a litany of specialists who sent him for hearing tests, brain scans and MRIs. Finally a neurologist told him to stop drinking diet soda and his tinnitus disappeared within a week.

I hope this helps.

schwarm

If I were you, I'd see an ENT and have an audiogram.

If is possible that you suffered some pressure-related damage to your middle ear structures. If a problem is found, you could benefit from medical or (less likely) surgical treatment. If the middle ear looks OK, and the audiogram suggests an inner ear problem, the standard of care (at least here in the US) would be to obtain an MRI (typically true for unilateral but not bilateral hearing problems). This would be to rule-out an acoustic neuroma or other tumor.

Tinnitus is subjective, so the best advice after ruling out anything structurally wrong is to try your best to be bothered as little as possible by it. Don't become obsessed.

N965VJ

I’m not a soda drinker, but I do chew sugarless gum. Thanks for the tip!

LeisureFirst

If you're having it done in the States, it will probably be done competently and I would recommend it. On the NHS, forget it.

I've had sinus surgery twice. The first time, on the U.K.'s Notional Health Service, was a succession of delay, botches, neglect, and then emergency operations (literally "you need to get this guy to theatre right NOW") to correct the mistakes. Privately done, it was the exact opposite.

I think my view on the NHS are well-known. Having known some close friends - and my mother when I was eight years old - almost die as a result of their incompetence (left on trolleys for eight hours with no care during which time their appendix burst - on two different occasions), and most recently having seen my father's health destroyed by a succession of failures (consultant's instructions that he needed certain treatment within weeks and then, due to a system lacking any proper co-ordination and ownership of responsibility, nothing done for over six months as he steadily deteriorated), I'm convinced we'd be better off if the NHS were closed down tomorrow.

LeisureFirst

I think that's sort of true, but it's a bit of a simplification. I suffer from some mild tinnitus, which I think was triggered by being on dance floors in Brazil, where they tend to play the music really absurdly loud. (I always use professional standard earplugs now when in Brazil, and sometimes in Spain which is also bad - although London is much better). There are some treatments that sometimes work, but it's quite a complicated business and there isn't any one treatment that works for everyone (or even for most people). I think with quite a lot of expensive investigation (or just trying things recommended on various websites - of which there are plenty) you might get some relief; already a couple of suggestions have been made in this thread. I also understand that there is quite a lot of research going on into it, and some people are hopeful that there will be a general cure within the not too distant future.

SoFlyOn

This is very good advice. I woke up one morning with severe tinnitus and single-sided deafness, with no other symptoms before that time. I scheduled an appointment with an ENT and had an audiological examination as fast as I could.

It turned out that I had an acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma), which was confirmed by an MRI (which I had scheduled 4 days after my ENT appointment).

Given you symptoms, I would try to get an ENT/audiology appointment ASAP (even if I had to pay out of pocket). There are several possible causes, several of which can be treated very effectively if caught early. If sudden onset tinnitus is accompanied by partial hearing loss (it feels like you have a bad cold/blocked sinuses), a trip to the ER is recommended, as often that is caused by acute inflammation that can be treated with prednisone, and the inflammation halted before permanent damage is done.

As also has been pointed out, tinnitus can also be a side effect of some medications or other chemicals. But considering you mentioned that you had some balance problems, that would indicate some involvement with the vestibular system, so most likely you have some inner-ear involvement.

I don't wish to alarm, but it's better to be safe than sorry, when often immediate intervention can halt or reverse the problem, whereas any delay can cause permanent damage.

John

EOS

Sorry about your ear and hearing.

I suggest you look up 'tinnitus' on many medical websites online to get a range of insights and opinions. You will learn the many causes, most of them vague and impossible to ascertain for sure. Important to check medical sites, as well as some that have chat groups that also offer insights.

Good idea to have a serious consultation with an ENT or even better, a hearing specialist. Tinnitus can be age-related, and evidently nothing can be done about that.

Get practical and hard-core information from checking a variety of medical sites (not the ones trying to sell a product) online. At least it will arm you with information. And you will learn about the myriad of possible causes and effects. I did not get the impression that it can be 'cured'. Good luck with everything.

tony2x

Thanks! I've got exactly the same problem and am off to see the surgeon on Tuesday. I've been on steroids to try and reduce the inflammation and all that has done has made me fat!

tony2x

Yep I live here now so i'll be having the op in Palo Alto. I've too suffered at the butcherous hands of the NHS but on the other hand they took very good care of my father when he was seriously ill recently.

Being the idealistic Brit living here in California I don't think that the UK would be better off without the NHS. At least if you don't have money or a good healthcare plan you will receive treatment appropriate to your condition.

I think the NHS experience is a postcode lottery and it sounds like you got the booby prize. I'm sorry to hear about the crappy treatment your family and friends received at their hands. I had a recurrent stomach problem that took 2 years to get diagnosis (I was told I had everything from pneumonia to a anxiety disorder) on and I used my employer's private healthcare insurance in the UK and got to see an amazing Doctor who fixed everything in a matter of weeks.

However since moving to the US I've found the standard of medical care to be just as varying. My GP here will throw pills at me as if they were candy. Stiff neck? No problem here's some Vicodin! When I went to see the GI doctor here to get my 5 year post-op check up the colonoscopy was done in such a ham fisted fashion I had to have some minor surgery in a *very* uncomfortable place.

Doctors the world over vary, find a good one and hang on to them!

DulcePaola

hey i got tinnitus 2 just from left ear, im deaf by medical negligence. when i traveled to san diego for christmas 1999 and during my vacation i got a weird sound like whispering or tree was shaking leaves or just wind, but i didnt pay attention till i returned back to mexico for school, and the sound was being bothered and i was having headache even i were sleeping still with noise. that noise makes sound like ambulance, noises from tv, etc. bah, i dont think if some treatment could fix cuz there is not 100% secure