i had my ear syringed a week ago. It was very quickly carried out, probably less than 5 seconds. Two days later I got tinnitus. I went back and saw a different doctor, who couldn't see anything wrong but nevertheless gave me some drops to put in. They don't seem to be doing any good. Surely a procedure carried out at the doctors cannot cause permanent tinnitus? Should I go back and ask to see an ENT specialist?
Tinnitus in your case can be caused either by trauma to the tympanic membrane, or to the middle ear bones located immediately on the other side.
Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN
Clinical Neurophysiologist
Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology
How can this happen in a doctors surgery? The nurse was actually training a student! I have had this procedure before but not electronically and had no side effects. What can I do now. Does that mean I've got tinnitus permanently?
Can you just advise me what to do next, please?
When the other doctor said that he or she did not see anything wrong, do we mean that he looked inside your ear, and did not see the eardrum perforated? By the way, trauma-induced tinnitus is not permanent, and goes away with repair of the trauma.
Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN
Clinical Neurophysiologist
Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology
She looked in my ear, said she couldn't see anything wrong, said I must have very sensitive ears and gave me some Flumetasone / Clioquinol to put in. i did this for about four days but it didn't seem to help, in fact I think it made them worse, so I stopped them. I've made another appointment for Friday with my regular doctor, which is what she told me to do. My ear is better than it was, but I still have a horrible wind noise and my stress and anxiety levels are making me tune in to it .I was going to ask the doctor to refer me to an audiologist. Do you think that would be the best thing to do?
you have cheered me up by telling me this won't be permanent though. Thank you for your help.
At your next appointment on Friday, ask your doctor his or her opinion if it would be a good idea to see if the middle ear ossicles have been affected somehow, and if imaging of the middle ear ossicles with CT would be of benefit.
Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN
Clinical Neurophysiologist
Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology
Thank you for that advice. I will do as you say.. Will the imaging procedure be available at a local private hospital or will I have to wait in a queue for an NHS appointment.?
i have stayed indoors for a while, since this problem occurred, and avoided the gym and the golf course but tomorrow I have to go to London by train. Is it best to keep my ears warm or won't it make any difference?
One last thing. Before my ears were syringed I was asked if I had ever had a perforated eardrum. I said no but on thinking about it now I may had one fifty years ago. It's so long ago that I can't remember it clearly and whatever it was cleared up without any intervention. I have never had any problem with my ears until now.
Thank you again for your helpful advice and reassurance.
CT imaging should be available at a local hospital. It is more available than MRI. It should not be expensive either as CT is used very frequently.
Warming the ears will not make a difference.
Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN
Clinical Neurophysiologist
Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology
Hallo
my ear was so much better yesterday I cancelled my appointment. However the ringing has come back today and also the feeling of having cotton wool in my ear. I don't like to mess the surgery around so should I leave it over the weekend and see what happens or make another appointment now? I keep thinking I should try to be patient and give my ear time to recover.
Incidently I looked on the Internet for some fellow sufferers and found people who had also had this procedure and now had permanent tinnitus. I know you shouldn't look on the Internet for medical stuff but everyone does it! Now I feel very anxious about the outcome of this.
The coming and going of tinnitus is a much better sign than continuous tinnitus. It is possible that your ear is in repair. You could give it a week and see how it goes.
Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN
Clinical Neurophysiologist
Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology
Thanks for that. I will do as you say. Anything else I can do to help myself? I suppose it's just a matter of time.
My tinnitus seemed to be clearing up well until there was a family argument!voices were raised and now it's come back again quite badly.I am absolutely terrified that I have now got this permanently, due to my own stupidity. I've now had it for two weeks. One of my hobbies is singing in a choir but I'm thinking this is not a good idea now.
Again, it still sounds temporary, and shouting seemed to shake things a little bit.
Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN
Clinical Neurophysiologist
Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology
As well as tinnitus I also have earache so have made an appointment with the GP for Friday, since you suggested I did that after a week. I also feel that they should be told about the effect ear syringing has had on me . My friend, who is a retired nurse, seems to think this reaction to syringing is not uncommon; she also said I might end up with scar tissue on the tempanic membrane, although she added that it wasn't her area of expertise. So something else to worry about. Can you tell me roughly how long it will take my ear to recover? I can cope if I know it's not for ever! In the meantime I can try the saffron idea.
i do not expect longer than a month.
Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN
Clinical Neurophysiologist
Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology
Yesterday I really thought my tinnitus was going. I had such a good day until I accidently dropped my car keys on to a glass table! This noise was enough to trigger it all over again and this time it woke me in the night. It seems like I go two steps forward then one step back. Is this normal or have I got long term damage? How will this affect me in other aspects of my life eg swimming, going to concerts, flying? I am reluctant to go to my GP as that's where the trouble started in the first place and I really don't want her poking around my ear.
Hi, I went to the GP as I had an appointment and she says I must have had tinnitus already but it was muffled by ear wax. Removing the wax just allowed the tinnitus to return! Can this be true? I didn't have tinnitus and in any case it was getting better until last night. She is sending me to an audiologist but couldn't offer any crumbs of comfort other than playing white noise on my phone. I wouldn't let her look in my ear because the first doctor
I saw did that and the ear drum isn't perforated. So depressed after this
visit. Totally relying on your optimistic diagnosis and prognosis, which also seems to fit the progress of this very distressing condition.
Just wanted to say thank you for the excellent advice I received for my tinnitus, which helped me to cope with it over Christmas and the New Year. After three weeks it has now pretty well disappeared, as you said it would.
Fantastic!