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!

But please go see your quack ASAP! :)

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.

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. :D

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

TINNITUS
 

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.

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! :(

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!

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