Microscopic Level.

[Untold]

Yesterday I had another appointment with apparently, the country's top ENT Professor and Surgeon (I've no reason to doubt that) and learnt something new.I have brutal and chronic somatic tinnitus, this I already knew.

Symptoms:

Loud skull splitting baseline ring/hiss, this gets louder with many body movements such as face/head/neck/jaw movements. Foot fall also spikes the baseline level every time my foot hits the floor. I also get strange zaps that sound like those light sabres in Star Wars film.

I can have two different types of headache at the same time. Ear pressure (that has reduced over time but I still get it.) I also get weird clicking and crackling when swallowing, typical signs of subjective ETD (but I've been told I don't have that either.) I get a few neck aches which led me to believe that my somatic tinnitus was a sub type, Cervicogenic tinnitus especially as I had all the symptoms.

Yesterday, the Professor I've seen showed me all my x-rays and scans and explained some stuff. My neck aches are nothing more than wear and tear and typical of my age and are nothing to do with my T. All the other scans showed nothing at all. I have somatic tinnitus but they can find no reason for any of my symptoms, the ringing, the subjective ETD symptoms, the zaps, the foot fall spikes or anything else.

My T started when these symptoms woke me up suddenly at 03.30am. with no prior symptoms or problems.

The Professor told me he has seen this before where there are no obvious or visible reasons for this, despite the symptoms, because something has happened in that area, left ear, middle/inner, nerves etc. but unknown.

But whatever has happened, has happened at a "Microscopic Level" and it will never be found. I'd never heard of tinnitus being caused by a Microscopic Level problem. It's usually loud noise, HLIT, infection, sinuses etc.

So it looks like these symptoms will stay and I'm stuck with it.

Love and silence to all.

[ks1966]

Hello. Can you pleased share the name of the professor? Thank you

[happyrosie1 in reply to ks1966]

That would be against the forum rules - but you could post a message to Untold and ask.

[Pipster25]

I have nearly all your symptoms but all of them. Sudden onset from a low level normal tinnitus 1 year ago. I get the zaps you talk of and all the spikes from head neck and jaw movements. As in your case all scans and tests negative. I believe the “ microscopic “ level changes are damage or malfunction to the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus which is where the somatic nerve and the auditory nerve have a shared pathway. A cross over which should not be happening ,means somatic nerve activity also changes tinnitus activity and causes spikes and zaps etc. That’s as I understand it.

[Pipster25 in reply to Pipster25]

Should read NOT all of them.

[MobilePhoneandStress]

.. so the UK's top ENT professor couldn't help. No surprise. Electromagnetic radiofrequency damage is what I'm sure we're all suffering from