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Suggest Treatment For Tinitus And Hypercausis

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Posted on Wed, 4 Jun 2014
Question: 5 weeks ago I woke up after the nite before playing with my rock band with ears hurting ,lot of sound sensitivity ,mental confusion, agitation and high pitch that seems to have gotten a little better . I remember a few days before that in practice it was too loud and my ears were hurting ,sometimes wore plugs sometimes not ,stupid me after I told the band to turn it down!probably my final,WARNING YOU IDIOT.. .After a week of knowing something was really wrong but should have acted earlier I went to my intern he checked my ears and said yeh tinnitus no cure for ringing get a fountain . I don't think he was taking it to serious, so I went to an audiologist and tested my hearing was normal but that was it. I probably need to see an ENT to get more test and find out now bad I damaged my hearing cuz I have to wear earplugs imwork in a warehouse and my ears still just hurt on and off. Music is my passion and don't know if I can play in a band ever again or just take off time cuz to be around any thing that loud now even with plugs hurts and causes anxiety it could do more damage ..signed frustrated bass player that doesn't want to quit
My question seems to have left out,some editing ..the tinnitus after 5 weeks seems to have gotten a little better or less noticeable ..probably permanent damage I assume,, I take a little Ativan to help sleep and maybe put on some masking noise like a rain or ocean waves...I have searched hours on line for solutions to TRT therapy ,red noise ,herbal vitamins like ginko biloba I taking . I'm concerned about the hypercausis that is annoying loud motorcycle ,screaming kids , forklift alarms at work, car horns, and of course loud music... Will this go away??...how much noise can I take if I wear good earplugs ,I'm a little anxious cuz I domt want to get worse tinnitus ,,,that's a big anxiety ...finally I went to see my endodontist yesterday and I soon will need a root canal have had several in the past..I like him and he said ear noise reduction head phones and he will drill with breaks ,and thinks it won't exacerbate the tinnitus ....
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
As below:

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for writing back.

1. In addition to your Tinnitus, you are experiencing a normal phenomenon seen with aging and damage to the cochlear hair cells. Recruitment may be the reason for your hyperacusis.

2. What you had 5 weeks ago was temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) in hearing after the noise exposure. This left behind a Tinnitus. Is the Tinnitus equal on both sides?

3. I have noticed patients who have increased Tinnitus when they are stressed, have fluctuations of blood pressure, low hemoglobin, low blood sugar levels and so on.

4. Cochlear Synaptic Tinnitus may be treated in up to 50% people with Caroverine infusion followed by capsules for two months. Other treatments such as transtympanic steroids, gingko biloba, multi-vitamins and anti-oxidants may also help in reducing Tinnitus.

5. Kindly let me know the results of your Audiogram. This will help in suggesting further treatment.

6. I must emphasize that in a vast majority of patients of tinnitus, the cause is never found. However there are further treatment options depending on the type of tinnitus.

7. The dental work is unlikely to exacerbate your Tinnitus. However, due to bone conduction of sound, especially from the upper jaw, wearing noise reduction headphones will only be of minimal help.

I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any further questions, I will be available to answer them.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Sumit Bhatti (3 hours later)
Thanks Doc.
1. Yes I agree I'm not young ,rock musicians my age probably have hearing damage and was playing louder and longer practices with this band,yes probably recruitment more than hyperacusis ,,maybe some of both .?
2.is TTS perhaps saying if I just give myself a break I might not have permanent damage and can play again at a lower volime?
3 I know I've been stressed ,life changing event getting married recently .and some issues ,I won't get into ..I'm not paying you to be my shrink
4 if I have chloclear damage do I have get that tested for ,or can I get this caroverine infusin at a vitamin store here in California ?
5 I can ask for results it was a free heading test I found this place on line nearby ,he showed me a graph after saying at my age hearing was normal..think they wanted sell me a hearing aid ,my insurance didn't cover
..thanks for reassurance about my root canal treatment
A. XXXXXXX
Yes the tinnitus appears to be in both ears sometimes feels inside head too I'm cutting back on my caffeine,alcohol which may be help reducing the loudness. Is it possible for it to go away completely one day?
About the recruitment, I read where it is good to expose myself to a little more noise every day without ear protection to not starve the brain for noise it looks for from the heRing loss .so..can you tell me what happends ?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (19 hours later)
Brief Answer:
As below:

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thank you for writing back.

1. There are changes in the way the brain processes sounds with age. It seems certain that there is also a noise induced hearing loss (NIHL). In your case, both may be all these: Less of hyperacusis, more of NIHL and some recruitment. There is no simple test to differentiate these.

2. Its been 5 weeks or so, hence whatever improvement that you noticed was a Temporary Threshold Shift.

3. A repeat Audiogram is recommended, especially since you have an improvement. It is important that an ENT Consultant examines you again.

4. Caroverine was not available in the US till last year. It is available in Europe and Asia. What you can take a trial with is high dose steroids, HBOT (HyperBaric Oxygen Therapy) and transtympanic steroids similar to the guidelines of SSNHL (SUdden Sensori-Neural Hearing Loss) by the AAO-HNS (American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

5. It is possible that your Tinnitus may become very less with time, Whether that will happen cannot be predicted. It is good that you are taking measures to reduce exposure to further noise and reducing the intake of caffeine and alcohol.

7. Desensitization for recruitment may or may not work. There is no way to predict this either. A mentioned before there are also changes in the brain besides the ear in both Tinnitus and Recruitment.

I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any further questions, I will be available to answer them.

Regards.
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Sumit Bhatti

Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist

Practicing since :1991

Answered : 2685 Questions

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Suggest Treatment For Tinitus And Hypercausis

Brief Answer: As below: Detailed Answer: Hi, Thank you for writing back. 1. In addition to your Tinnitus, you are experiencing a normal phenomenon seen with aging and damage to the cochlear hair cells. Recruitment may be the reason for your hyperacusis. 2. What you had 5 weeks ago was temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) in hearing after the noise exposure. This left behind a Tinnitus. Is the Tinnitus equal on both sides? 3. I have noticed patients who have increased Tinnitus when they are stressed, have fluctuations of blood pressure, low hemoglobin, low blood sugar levels and so on. 4. Cochlear Synaptic Tinnitus may be treated in up to 50% people with Caroverine infusion followed by capsules for two months. Other treatments such as transtympanic steroids, gingko biloba, multi-vitamins and anti-oxidants may also help in reducing Tinnitus. 5. Kindly let me know the results of your Audiogram. This will help in suggesting further treatment. 6. I must emphasize that in a vast majority of patients of tinnitus, the cause is never found. However there are further treatment options depending on the type of tinnitus. 7. The dental work is unlikely to exacerbate your Tinnitus. However, due to bone conduction of sound, especially from the upper jaw, wearing noise reduction headphones will only be of minimal help. I hope that I have answered your query. If you have any further questions, I will be available to answer them. Regards.