What to expect at an ENT appoinment

[LyraLilly]

Hello, lovely BTA people

I have an ENT appointment on Wednesday ( it's only taken since last April to get one!) and wondered should I have any expectation of any help they can offer? There is nothing on the invitation letter apart from the generic 'come along at such and such a time'

Can I expect an MRI scan? Or is it just the start of a lot of talking with not much hope of any conclusion on the first visit?

thanks in advance for any experiences you can share

cheers

LL

[Happyrosie]

personally I got nothing out of mine whatsoever, other than a recommendation to visit the BTA website with which I was already familiar, and from my recollection of posts over the last few years some people have benefitted and some not. Let’s hope someone better than me responds to you!

[ValDee88]

I waited the same amount of time for my ENT appt-so maybe thats the average now? I was given what I think was a thorough hearing test and then spoke to a consultant for approx 10 mins. An MRI was then booked which was approx 2 months later and the feedback from that was several weeks after the MRI and by phone. The consultant said that the vast majority of MRIs are normal and the likelihood was I would need to carry on managing my Tinnitus as I was already doing. That was exactly what happened-MRI normal, no unusual hearing loss, carry on as before.

[LyraLilly in reply to ValDee88]

Thanks for the response, about what i was expecting, I already have hearing loss, so my lovely audiologist has set my hearing aids to support Tinnitus, but it is still driving me up the wall when i just want to sit in silence maybe those days are gone? Oh well at least it will get checked out some how. take care LL

[ValDee88 in reply to LyraLilly]

I did really feel that I had been given good info in regard to the state of my hearing. Of course that doesn't help at all in the day to day management of it and the increase in it, is now impacting my sleep, which is not good at all. However, most days I do manage it by listening to Audible or podcasts-but yes, silence is very difficult, although being outside is easier as there are other things to focus on. You take care as well.

[doglover1973]

Hi Lilly. Nine months isn't bad at all! As you've already been to Audiology I expect the ENT doctor will check your ears and refer you for several things. Namely an MRI scan and an appt with the hospital tinnitus clinic - if they have one. Waits for scans are not too long but waits for the clinic can be very long. The ENT doctor may or may not be sympathetic to tinnitus. Mine was - surprisingly so. The appt lasted 15 mins not including the hearing test. All the best on Wednesday 🙂

[Chumpiechops]

in my experience, they did some tests, confirmed it was T and arranged for a visit to the tinnitus clinic. Had that in December, all they did was ask a few Q’s, look in both ears, my nose and throat and just said come back for MRI. I’m claustrophobic so not looking forward to that.

[Pitt12345]

I have had ‘very loud normal type ’ tinnitus 25 years and was given masker hearing aid for that ear . Two years ago heartbeat sound in other ear. Had CT scan of neck and head. They then referred me for another hearing aid with magnifying and also a masking control (both ears this time). The heartbeat sound has faded most of the time . Don’t use aid as much now.

[ETHEL103]

Unfortunately all I got was a basic hearing test and there's nothing we can do .Hmmm

[Philip6]

I had hearing tests and an MRI, spoke to the Consultant who was utterly useless then a 10 min chat with an audiologist, who was nice but offered nothing. I think if you go expecting nothing you won’t be disappointed.

[Lanzarotelover]

Please don’t expect a miracle cure My consultant was very good but MRI scan was normal I find meditation helps and nice background music keeping calm and keep busy

[surreycccfan]

Hi, if NHS ENT its unlikely they will do an MRI, I think the most important thing is to be prepared for this meeting with your ENT. Some folks have mixed experiences with their ENT so knowing what questions you want answered and what you want to leave the meeting with is really helpful.

One thing that I think is really helpful is understanding the the National Institute of Health Care and Excellence (NICE) guidelines on T (nice.org.uk/guidance/ng155) which ALL clinicians should be following, this is a lengthy document so have a look at this flowchart in the supporting document section (nice.org.uk/guidance/ng155/... which shows your GP should be helping you get a MANAGEMENT PLAN in place for your T, if they are unable to do this then have them refer to audiology/ENT who should be able to help you with the management plan. Often the ENT will ensure there is nothing sinister wrong and it can fall to an audiologist to help you put a management plan in place.

For me I wanted to know there was nothing sinister wrong (and to be honest the MRI was the key in helping me understand this) but as my GP and Auidlogist had not been helpful with management techniques I 'pushed' the ENT to help me with this. I hope all goes well for you.

Hoped this helped in some small way, stay safe

[LyraLilly]

Thanks for all the comments, it pretty much reflected my expectations, just wanted to check there's nothing sinister and tick it off the listCurrently have hearing aids with a tinnitus setting of lovely waves, so that's soothing

Learning to embrace tinnitus as part of me and accept that this is how it will be

Cheers for everyone's help

LL

[bluebell71]

hi

I found my ENT appointment very helpful on my journey to accepting tinnitus. I was issued with a hearing aid which like yourself combined masker noises. When my T is very bad I enjoy wearing and using the device it helps me a lot. At the moment my T is loud in my left ear and a humming noise across my head which I can cope with and somehow manage to distract myself away from the noises, however, the noises are always there, I’ve had much worse. My T sometimes gives me a bad time but it always goes back to a more manageable level.

Hope this helps you LL, best wishes Jean

[LyraLilly]

UpdateThanks for all your advice. An update on my visit today

It went as expected, I have been referred for an MRI scan just in case but he couldn't sense/feel anything physically wrong.

I had my ears 'hoovered' out , so they feel a bit tender but lots of impacted eax probably not helping. So that might help make the hearing better

Using hearing aids doesn't help to keep the ears free of wax.

I have a call with audiologist next week in the diary already, so will see what he/she suggests but I feel since stopped my anti depressant, it has reduced a bit but I may becoming habituated

On to the next adventure 😊 take care everyone, I hope your journey is well supported

LL