Hi all. I’ve had tinnitus for the past couple of weeks and I’ve now made a GP appointment for tomorrow. I’ve not had it before so have been trying to research what to do, the possible causes etc. I’m quite anxious about it. The only relief is when I can sleep and it’s there as I wake.
My question is, what can I expect tomorrow at the drs? Thank you all for any help or advice.
Hello SpringGarden,
GPs vary widely in what they know about / do about T.
I am not medically qualified, just a person who has had bothersome T for a long time. In my experience, and from what I have read, a good appointment will involve (not necessarily in this order) :
1. Confirming that onset is as recent as you report here.
2. Asking about any recent exposure to loud noise or other trauma.
3. Asking what you hear - a hiss, a tone, swooshing sounds, clicks, music, voices - some combination of these?
4. Looking into your ears. Wax causes T in some cases.
5 Asking about any recent illnesses that might be relevant, eg Covid.
6. Asking whether your T is on one ear only, or both. This is an important question, but the fact that it is on one ear only does NOT necessarily mean that there is a tumour on the relevant auditory nerve. Those are very rare. Mine has been unilateral for more than 24 years and two MRI scans are clear.
7. Explaining that a couple of weeks is still quite recent and that recent T often resolves naturally.
8. Possibly suggesting an appointment at audiology to have your hearing tested, because the majority of T is related to hearing loss - that you might not know you have
9. Asking about the stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, and offering some mild medication temporarily to help to ease them.
10. Explaining that most T is annoying but harmless and that, if needed, there are courses to help people learn to habituate - but that it is really too early for you to think of that,
11. Asking if you have any questions, and that if not you go away for another couple of weeks, take any medication suggested under (9), and make another appointment if it does not resolve, possibly with a view to an MRI to confirm no tumour or other cause that can be detected by that means.
That is all I can think of. There are knowledgeable people on this forum who may be able to offer a better suggestion from more recent experience.
Best wishes.
Try to relax.
Thank you for your informative reply. It’s very helpful and has given me some idea of what to expect.
perlcoder has said it all! No more to add, other than, once you’ve seen the doctor, you have a look through the website of Tinnitus UK, the specialist charity.
I would just add that's if you're lucky. You may find that you have to take control of the conversation to be taken seriously. Because there is no cure, because it is annoying rather than life-threatening, some doctors are ready to dismiss you and tell you to learn to live with it, and get on to the next patient who is really ill. My tinnitus is generally dismissed, sympathetically admittedly, by most health care professionals. And I do understand that is at least in part because my hearing and Ménière's disease are the more important problems.
I’d echo what PABLR said. I’m not a shouty person at all but I had to really express my dissatisfaction when I first saw my GP and then left them a really bad survey before they started listening. There seems to be more concern about my hearing loss than there is about my tinnitus, but it’s the tinnitus that drives me absolutely up the wall. Be prepared to stand your ground and push home your point and good luck 😊
Have you tried nhs hearing aids. They can help by making other noises a bit louder.
The Dr will tell you there is nothing he can do, and will refer you to an audiologist so the hospital make money, they will check if you have hearing loss, and prescribe you a hearing device if you need it(But what you need is an Otologist), by that time the one month window you have to be treated with Prednisone will be gone and the damage will likely be permanent, if it lasts more than 6 month without ever stopping is almost a certainty you will have it permanently. So my recommendation is check the Internet for sudden hearing loss which is treated with Prednisone, the prednisone will stop the inflamation from damaging your hearing even more, the Dr. will try first with antibiotics a course of 2 weeks and extend it 2 weeks more by that time you will loose your one month windows to be treated with Prednisone, this is the situation you will have to tell the Dr. to treat you with Prednisone for sudden hearing loss which is gonna be the code the will use in their system since there is no tinnitus code in the system. Good Luck
Will prednisone help with tinnitus?
Conclusion: Immediate treatment of patients with unilateral idiopathic sudden hearing loss and additional symptoms (dizziness or tinnitus) with a 14-day course of 60 mg prednisone (with taper) is recommended.
Source: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/156....
*** Use this reference to ask your doctor for this treatment otherwise you will get nothing ***
This is relevant in that very specific scenario - using a steroid to treat SSNHL. That's now common practice in the UK ENT community (the link in the post from Reivax dates from 2005).
If tinnitus isn't related to SSNHL - a hearing loss which essentially happens overnight - then steroid treatment wouldn't help as it needs to be put in place quickly, as Reivax's post suggests.
Just as advice for someone new to tinnitus, I think PerlCoder's response is likely to be more relevant here - the underlying causes can vary quite a lot and many of them are benign.
Tinnitus can change dramatically for the better in a surprising number of cases.
Of course that will happen the Dr. will check for Wax because they can easily remove it right there in the office, Dr. will check the throat, will order a MRI to rule out a tumor which is correct, and will send you to an Audiologist/ENT for a hearing test in the meantime the person already missed the windows to be treated with Prednisone (immediate treatment within 2 weeks from onset). Do you know what Idiopathic means??. An analogy if you have an infection which can be Fungal, Viral or Bacterial the Dr. will prescribe you an Antibiotic as an Idiopathic treatment the antibiotic won't work on Fungal or Viral infection but Dr. don't know the cause and cannot wait to start an Idiopathic treatment or will get worst, same should be with Tinnitus but if you wait for all the bureaucracy to happen the person will miss the windows of opportunity to be treated (immediate treatment within 2 weeks from onset), that's why they should ask their primary Dr. to do this of course they will be reluctant to do it because is not their field and they don't even know what to do and that is the problem he may prescribe you a 2 weeks course of antibiotics followed by another 2 weeks of antibiotics that is already more than 2 months, by the time the patient goes to their primary Dr. is already 2 weeks or more. We are talking about getting an idiopathic treatment, a throat check, ear check, MRI that is not a treatment it does nothing, after that will go to the ENT will do the same ear check, throat check but this time with a specific device to look down there, will order an Audiogram. This is not a treatment, it does nothing, at the end what will be the Conclusion: "You have a degree of hearing loss and that is the cause of your tinnitus" Oh!!! Really, and where is your treatment there wasn't any 3 Months later.
Oh gosh, sorry you have this. Best advise - tell them any changes lately, think about anything, cold, stress, etc etc. there's no known trigger, it's multiple. The doctor should check for infection and wax. That's routine. There's no drug that can help as I'm sure you may have read. If you have difficulty with sleep explain that. Make sure you think about the things that could have changed before you go.If after a few weeks you aren't making progress or it's worsening you'll need to go back,maybe ask for audiologist (ENT consultant and hearing) refer all and be checked by them.
Quality of response is variable but get the process started.
Best of luck.
Thank you
I can't add much but speculate as to where your tinnitus came from. Have you had an extremely stressful time of late? Stress will bring it on, and to be pragmatic, if you have to have the thing then better it is that that be the cause. If so, you may find at times it's not obvious. It seems to be improving with me but that took months. It's there when I wake but frequently once the blood gets flowing on rising in the morning, it's about as relevant to me as outside traffic noise, and the brain filters that out, or so it seems!
Ototoxic medicines, viral infections(especially Covid), drug abuse, exposure to very loud noise(Concerts, Amplifiers, Headphones) this are the most common ones. Some of the non common Meniere Disease, Tumor(Usually Acoustic Neuromas), Pulsatile Tinnitus(Blood Vessel Disorder plaque usually, Narrow Vessel, Intracranial Hypertension) etc.
A few routes you can explore.
Allergies
Ear/sinus infections
TMJ/Clenching/bite alignment
Ear wax
Blood Pressure
Beyound that, a hearing test is a good idea every few years anyways, but might reveal you could have some hearing damage that is causing this.
I’m sorry to hear this though. It started this way for me as well. Just woke up one morning and my fricken ear was ringing. It’s gone away once or twice for a few days, but came right back. For just about one year now. It will get better though. The first bit was rough for me. But you’ll forget about it eventually.
Thank you
So sorry you have developed tinnitus, the beginning is always the worst, it will settle down .Dont expect any help from the doctors who will just pass you on to the ENT clinic, they will see if you have any wax in your ears and will want to take it out, if your ears are not blocked do not let them take the ear wax out, it may damage your ears and make your tinnitus worse which is what happened to me. they will then give you a hearing test and then refer you for a MRI scan, the scan will almost certainly come back normal, but be aware the MRI scan is very very noisy. There is no cure for tinnitus, but don't despair there are things that can help you cope,one main thing you haft to do is get out of the house, try and live your life as normal as possible, and try not to get too anxious or depressed, if possible do not take any medication for it, as that can also make it worse.having said all that , tinnitus can fluctuate, and if your lucky it may be quite low in which case in time it will not bother you at all and it may stop all together People on this site will guide you through tough times, we have all been there,Best of luck.
Thank you John for your reassurance.
I know this is controversial but mine started after a third covid vaccine and then went away. After my fourth vaccine I have it permanently. It was really loud but now after 7 months it is milder. It is only In One ear. I am not an anti vaxer. Or a conspiracist I live in california so it is easy to so ialize outside and I put on a mask the shopping. I am only going to get vaccines if I go overseas or when winter draws near. I have also found I have a b12 deficiency I get shots for that. No idea if this is connected. I also have complex aura migraines. Which also has declined over time from the time of the vaccine. If I were u I would push to get to see and ear nose and throat. Def try to get distracted from it. Perhaps take melatonin for sleeping g. Would not use earplugs or go I'm noisy places
There no limit for B12 intake is non toxic and non ototoxic, the excess will go to the urine. I read a few people reporting the same about the vaccines causing tinnitus but what i heard more is tinnitus caused after a Covid infection.
SpringGarden Can you share some comments on how your visit to the doctor was??
Thank you to everyone for their replies to my post. I was able to pick out some helpful comments from many of you.
The dr checked my ears for wax and infection. We talked about me stopping the amitriptyline I take for back pain which I’m going to try.
I have a hearing test booked for next week.
As for managing it, the many comments here were helpful. I’m very grateful to you all.
Hi, check out Julian Cowan and his app called Quieten, he knows what he is talking about as he had tinnitus for 20 years! wishing all the best for you.
Thank you Rivvy. I’ll look that out.
glad to hear you got on ok at the doctors. Yes. There are a few good books to read on tinnitus, very worth reading
anxiety with Tinnitus 
Tinnitus and swimming
Tinnitus and antidepressants 
Earthing and Tinnitus 
Accupuncture for Tinnitus 
