I wrote a couple of weeks ago, about anxiety & struggling to cope with the arrival in my life - tinnitus!
The last few weeks have been better for me mentally, however my tinnitus has actually probably got slightly worse & I now not only have a low hum in one ear which switches constantly between two tones, I have a quiet high pitched ringing in my right ear aswell.
I suffer from tension headaches, which were severe during the first month of my tinnitus onset which prompted me to seek GP advice as I was petrified of having a tumour.
I had a hearing test at a Specsavers, which showed no hearing loss. I have had a blood test which was normal, and I had an MRI last week which came back satisfactory in terms of not presenting any sinister goings on. However my GP did say I had minor scarring on my right side - I have no idea what this could result from as I have no known history of stroke/seizure or severe injury etc.
Throughout all of this I have not been referred to an ENT consultant.
So my question is should I now be asking for this referral? How would they help/support/test for anything else? Or does all of the above pretty much cover all that can be done for tinnitus?
I am on the waiting list for NHS CBT but not specifically related to tinnitus, more so for anxiety.
Any help or support would be appreciated, I have a call with my GP tomorrow so would be great to know what I should/could ask for.
Holly x
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Hla20
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I have similar experience to you. Right side tinnitus and I think some hyperacussis . When I had my mri scan it was done from the consultant . Mine like you was clear. I had to pay privately for the specialist . To be honest it was a waste of time because all he done was refer me to audiology and like you my hearing is very good. Nobody is really interested in tinnitus . I don’t know why. I think your find there is a long wait on NHS but to be honest it might be an idea to book your referral for a peace of mind, you can get it all off your chest . Hope you make a good decision. I’m sorry about your tinnitus. It’s awful I know. It should get a bit easier in time. I live in “ hope” still !!!!
I am going to ask for ENT, I have a feeling my GP has drawn a line under it from his side as he see’s that bloods are clear, MRI doesn’t show a immediate cause for concern... but it doesn’t answer all of my questions! It’s very frustrating. I think the frustration at the lack of understanding and knowledge from medical professionals plus the waiting to be seen is what add’s so much to the stress and anxiety... and then the tinnitus gets worse... and around in circles we go! Fingers crossed I can mentally continue to improve. Thank you for your reply & good luck x
Hi Hla. I'm sorry . I've been waiting since Jan for ENT & mri. I've got right side tinnitus & hearing loss. I would ask for ENT if I were you. They might be able to explain the scarring on the right side. This might be a clue to the headaches / tinnitus. Also I believe ENT refer you to audiology which might open a door for CBT related to tinnitus. All the best.
Thank you for your reply, so sorry to hear you have been waiting so long for MRI. I believe my GP referred me quickly due to the headaches I was experiencing rather than the tinnitus itself. Agree with you about the scarring, that’s a question left unanswered for me now & one I would like to get to the bottom of. Hopefully you’ll get an appointment soon, stay strong!
Holly - one last useful suggestion. If you look back over the past year on this site there are lots and lots of posts to read up on about people’s experiences with tinnitus. Especially a few very experienced old timers that have suffered tinnitus for years .
If you pay privately for ENT consultant about £195 . You will get an appointment very quickly. Otherwise you could find yourself on a very long NHS queue .
Sadly - there generally is no quick fix to tinnitus. I have had T for ten years and, although the T is still there (so simiar to your description of perceived sounds) I have mainly habituated to it I have had two major spikes - brought on by reaction to prescribed anti-biotics - and have had to habituate once again during these two nasty spells. Habituate is basically ' getting used to it' so your brain doesn't notice it anymore. What helps is really looking after other aspects of your health and having enjoyable distractions. I also used a simple white noise machine at night, at a very low volume, to focus on rather than listening to my T.
I would ask NHS audiology for a free rigorous clinically diagnostic hearing test - just in case you have a dip in your hearing on a very specific frequency - then free NHS hearing aids may be prescribed and tuned to increase your hearing on a particular frequency to help bring in the missing sounds to your audio senses. This is really helpful. Take care Hta 20. And remember there is generally no quick fix to tinnitus - so don't waste money chasing a fix.
Hi RONf. Would you mind clearing something up for me? When you talk about habituation, you make it sound like it's something you control, but I thought it was something that just might eventually happen on its own. Have you any tips on how you bring it about? Many thanks
He said I am still very new to tinnitus, and he believes that we haven’t given it enough time to ‘go away on its own’ / habituate. Which I guess I do agree with... as it’s only been 2/3 months... But I did explain I feel it’s got slightly worse, plus I now get a tingling or vibrating sensation at night when I’m laying down in my ears/jaw which I didn’t notice before - not sure if this is a common occurance for tinnitus suffers?
He mentioned a slight ‘thickening’ within the bone structure of my right ear (this ear has a slight high pitched ringing, it’s my left ear with the constant low tone hum that bothers me more) & I want more information on that, so he’s going back to the radiologist for clarification - although nothing was flagged up by them originally. I find it all so confusing, it’s like you are told there are minor abnormalities but no explanation as to why they have occurred, it’s no good for my anxiety!
Once I hear back from him about this issue I will again push forward referral to ENT.
Keep pressing for answers. That's all you - or any of us - can do. Have you read Living with Tinnitus & Hyperacusis by McKenna, Baguley & McFerran? I read it last autumn. The first section is very helpful. Chapter 4 outlines medical conditions associated with tinnitus and hyperacusis. This gave me an idea of what might be wrong with me and it may do the same for you. It helped with the anxiety too. Just a thought.
I’ve read all your posts and I think you’re doing great, and doing all the right things. As you’re interested in researching, you might want to look at the NICE guidance for GP’s on what pathway they should follow when a patient presents with T. Go to NICE and you’ll find it quite easily.Just one more thing, though - there may be no answers to the scarring and so on. The human body is a remarkable thing and we haven’t plumbed the depths at all.
Thank you so much. I have CBT starting next week on Friday, I am really looking forward to learning more about how to control health anxiety - which I personally think is a key contributing factor to my T. Will feedback on any interesting info along the way as want to make sure info is shared amoungst us all - you have all been so reassuring and so helpful for me during this strange & new experience. But honestly, the support here has lessened my fear. Hope you are well?
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