Ears ringing and possible treatment
 

Apologies in advance for posting this here but as it relates (I think) to the air travel experience and possibly also the NHS, I am hoping to seek some advice relating to the best treatment for the ringing in my left ear.

Back in April 2008, I travelled out to Austria on a business trip with an absolute stinker of a cold. By the end of the trip I was absolutely exhausted having worked long hours over a period of two days involving an intensive series of meetings and factory visits. The journey home took me from SZG to FRA in an Austrian Arrows Q400 prop with onward connection at FRA to EDI on an Lufty 737. The final hour on the homeward sector turned out to be the most unbearable flight experience ever, what with my sinuses blocked and suffering intense ear pain. I arrived home in one piece in the wee hours of the morning and went to bed with my left ear still blocked. I awoke the following morning still feeling wrecked but followed my customary routine of showering before determining whether or not I was fit for work. With ear still blocked and my balance more wobbly than usual for that hour, I called in and retired to bed. Slept for eight hours straight and when I stirred discovered to my relief my left ear has cleared.

About a month or so following this, I first noticed a light ringing in my left ear, initially noticeable only at home, usually when I return from work. However, it has become steadily more pronounced since.

Travelling over the holidays, this time long haul on LH whilst I adore the open plan configuration of its 747 J cabin, it is less conducive than BA's equivalent for kip (and with the FRA connection the need to rest was many times stronger than the equivalent BA connection at LHR) so I cracked open the amenity sack and inserted the ear plugs then fetched my trusted BA F eye mask, found a comfortable setting with the wedge bed and fell asleep shortly after. After a four hour kip, I was back to my old self and fully charged (those 4am wake up calls are truly wretched). Strangely, this was the first opportunity I have had since I think late April 2008 to use ear plugs and I was taken aback by just how loud my inner music had become. So a visit to the GP will be arranged within the week ahead.

I guess the point to this long ramble is, has anyone else had a parallel experience and through treatment on the NHS found their hearing return to normal? From what I have discovered online, I am not particularly optimistic there is a cure for tinnitus (assuming this is what I have).

I've had a similar experiences (one through flying, the other from diving). I went to see the quack on both occasions and was told I had badly damaged my ear drum (hugely inflammed skin around the bones but no hole). The cure was a simple case of resting the ears and that little could be done about any resulting tinnitus. The ringing slowly faded after both incidents but is still there and judging from my GP's opinion will always be so.

The price we pay....

I am virtually deaf in my right ear following something similar. I had a lot of wax in my ear and went swimming on holiday. The water blocked my ear, and I spent all week trying to unblock it with my finger. This increased the pressure on my ear drum, and my hearing deteriorated rapidly of the next few months after I'd had the wax removed.

Fortunately, my left ear is pretty good.

I'd get it checked out ASAP, as could be something 'fixable' at an early stage.

Cheers,
Rick

Hi

I have had tinnitus for many years as a result of ear/sinus infections when I was a kid.

Unfortunately, I have found it has gradually worsened over the years especially with my increased flying schedule and the pressure on my sinus/ear drums.

My GP has been very helpful over the years with suggesting surgery on my sinuses (something I do not recommend) and 'remedies' when the noise has been particularly bad, including 'white noise' boxes, etc... But even he has admitted 'the damage was done a long time ago' and maybe I should consider cutting down on the amount of flying I do (must suggest that to my employers).

Sorry I can't be more positive and every person is different!

Kaz

Don't hang around but get to your GP ASAP. Sounds like a badly inflamed/infected ear drum.

Procrastination will only make recovery a lot longer and painful. :eek:

I had a similar experience which started with a "blocked" ear but I left it for a couple of years as it wasn't too bad. Eventually I saw a specialist but alas it proved too late.

After a couple of operations, which weren't very pleasant, I am partially deaf and have acute tinnitus.

Luckily it only affects one ear. My advice to anyone with ear problems is get it checked out pronto.

Cheers

B

Mrs LoM had something similar recently and was referred by the GP to the ENT unit at Barts where a comprehensive dewaxing seemed to sort things out.

Around 15 years ago I caught an ear infection while skiing at altitude in Breckenridge Colorado and had intense pain on the drive and descent into Denver. My ears then started bleeding on board the plane, but at least the pain had gone by then. It took around 3 weeks with 2 types of antibiotic treatments to clear the infection and hear normally again. My ears are now very susceptible to infection if they get the least bit damp.

Eek. I'm about to have sinus surgery to create a new "sinus window". Why wouldn't you recommend it? I'm having it to correct obstructive sleep apnea and a recurrent and persistent sinus infection. I can't believe it is worse than not sleeping or being able to hear properly.

Tonyx2 - I had surgery to 'expand' my sinuses due to recurrent infections (will not go into further details re why they needed to be expanded because it's very unpleasant) and although it gave me temporary respite, the problems returned within 6 months. Considering the three weeks of swelling/bruising/pain and the risk of general surgery as a whole, I wouldn't make the same decision again.

But I must stress that what happened to me may very well not happen to you. As I said in my previous post, everyone is different and I wish you the very best of luck with your surgery.

Kaz

I've gone down a more tree hugging route with my sinus problems - Neti.

Basically a nasal wash with salt water. Works very well for me and even if I do get the odd infection (such as after a cold or too much flying) it only lasts a day or two.

Worth a shot and it does keep colds down and I've not had hay fever attacks over the past few years.

The OT posts an FT BAEC Moderator can get away with! :rolleyes:

If I'd posted here seeking advice for treatment of an STD caught while joining the mile-high club I'd have been run out of town. ;)

I, too, suffer from tinnitus, the result of too much too loud music too many years ago. My late brother-in-law, a famous musician, had a much more severe case than I, from the same cause. I highly recommend getting to a specialist immediately. It is my understanding that the effects of tinnitus are irreversible, but that you can do things to slow its progression. You may also find this helpful.

Slightly more OT - what are those big ear plugs that singers have on TV they are really bulky - I noticed them recently on shows such as X Factor - is it to protect their ear from the noise or are they receiving a better sound quality of music to mime to..............??

I think its a combination of both. They exclude the loud background noise and replay the output of the microphone, so the singer can hear what they actually sound like.

You are quite right Phil but aren't we all FT members first and foremost? :)

Thanks to all for the helpful advice (and for the supportive PMs too). As is customary with OT threads, without further ado this thread shall be dispatched from BAEC over to TravelBuzz!