Finally, after many months of waiting, I went today to see the specialist about my hearing problem. He was apologetic about my referral going astray, but I guess it was more the fault of Royal Mail than of him. First of all I had a hearing test which was normal. However, the whooshing pulsatile tinnitus was very mild in my right ear today so it wasn't the best day to see him. On the days when it is very bad I can hardly hear the TV. But it's always the way when you go to the doctors eh? I explained all my symptoms to him. Told him that I start getting light headed and feel like fainting if I lie on my tummy or stretch above my head, and also told him that 3 people (Steve, Jude and Hannah) were able to hear the sound in my right ear by listening with their ear against mine. At this point he got rather excited. Apparently he has only come across that 3 times in his career (and he wasn't a young man). I did explain to him that the whooshing sounds in my ear were not bad today but he had a listen anyway and seemed rather disappointed at not being able to hear anything. I explained that sometimes it can be very loud for maybe two weeks, and then quiet for two weeks. I offered to take his phone number and I'd call him next time it was audible, if he was that keen to hear it, LOL.
Anyway, I tried my best to express that this sound really was audible to others at times and it wasn't in my imagination. Thankfully he believed me, even though it is very rare, and said I had explained my symptoms perfectly and they all fitted (fitted what? I'm not sure).
So then he told me that as we age we get a thickening of the arteries and this can cause noises in the ear. Um, yes, so I turn 30 and all of a sudden I'm old?! But then, considering my age it was rather unusual. Thank goodness for that. So he told me he was referring me for either an MRI scan or a CAT scan of my head and neck. Then he preceded to tell me that it's very rare indeed (just as the noises being audible to others is) but there is a slight possibility that there is an abnormality in the arteries of my neck and head, or possibly a tumour in the eardrum. Nice. But don't worry, he said, because it's very rare... but if others have heard the noise, well, we better be sure. So there you go. I wonder how long I will wait for the MRI/CT scan, and what that will entail. Hopefully the scan appointment will be on a day when the whooshing sounds are bad! lol.
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5 comments:
yes you're definitely not a hypochondriac, it sounded like you had an dying bee living in your head
hannah
I was just thinking about this the other day, and wondered what was going on with it. Thanks for the update. I hope that you can sort this out really soon. Our bodies sure can do some wierd things.
Oh Hazel, hope you can have your mind put to rest soon and get some relief from this. It must be horrible.
I really hope you get the answers you seek soon, it must be a hopelessly frustrating situation.
Thoughts and prayers are with you, please keep us updated!
Dont worry about the scans Hazel, I've had both types, theyre only big X ray machines that they slide you into. \|Might have to drink a litre of orange tasting jollop first, even that tastes quite pleasant. On one occasion I had an injection in my arm, but no after effects
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