UPdate on Ringing Ears

In April 2008 I went to the Shea Clinic in Memphis for the first time.  Though the waiting rooms were filled. The results of the lidocaine perfusion were remarkable.  I am convinced this was the right choice for me.

The volume of the multiple sounds in each ear dropped exponentially! It was not silent inside my head but the decrease was SO noticeable that is FELT FANTASTIC. Actually, it felt like I had been living with my head inside a pillow in the fog.  These treatments removed the pillow and cleared the fog.

Lots of prayers of thanksgiving and joy and celebrations at home with this news. My friends and family have been with me through DECADES of worsening multiple sounds and increasingly louder decibel levels. Along the way, I had to change my line of work and get out of stressful situations because stress and fatigue were big catalysts for the sounds in my head which I could not change.

This summer, June 2011, I went back for a check up and to see if I needed or could benefit from a "booster" treatment. The answer was affirmative on both counts. Sounds had been returning and a new roaring sound was incessant and maddening. Actually that roaring sounds like a distant waterfall the size of Niagara Falls.
And some days it was closer than others. 

After meeting another group of remarkable people in the upstairs waiting room we began to share our stories about Tinnitus and how hard it had been to find treatment or even someone who would listen to our concerns. Patients came from all over. And I do mean ALL OVER. This seems to be the only place where this treatment is offered.

Though when I mentioned to Dr. Paul Shea( the grandson of the founder) that an ENT surgeon in Alabama was interested in learning these techniques he explained how  I could get them in contact with each other and showed a willingness to discuss training.  (Gee that was a LOOONG sentence!).

This time after my treatments. I was amazed and blessed  with the discovery of near silence inside my right ear. I almost did not recognize it. The sounds in my left ear had diminished a lot too. I have a follow up checkup in a few weeks and I surely do not want to miss it.







I found the most relief with sounds of wolves, whales and dolphins, which were, by the way, essentially all in the same musical key. of E flat.

Consequently, I appreciate Paul Winter's music and found it to be more calming for me than the electric fan sound that my cousin likes so much.
Sun Singer  Canyon  Silver Solstice (W/Dvd)

Tinnitus Slide Show - Clinical Perspective

Research has revealed a lot of new information in the past twenty years.

This slide show gives you an outline of the types of Tinnitus and various treatments that have been studied in clinical research situations.

My experience is not included within the content of the slide show. I share it here to fill in some of the knowledge gaps that I wish I had filled in many years ago.

Maybe you will discover something helpful here too.

Tinnitus

View more presentations from MedicineAndHealth14.

Is It Tinnitus? Meniere's? Or Imagination?

Even today people often think the ringing in one's ears is "all in your head" or just plain imagination. They are wrong. You must understand that it is real and believe in yourself if you are to learn how to handle life WITH tinnitus or Meniere's Disease.

It is not an easy task. Many ear, nose and throat specialists will still tell you it is just something you have to live with. And with no further ado and no further testing essentially give you the "brush off".

What a wonder it was to find an aging physician who was testing patients to try and assess how bad their tinnitus or Meniere's condition was, rather than just tell them to go cope with it. His office was very low tech, his audiologist had all the high tech equipment. The waiting room was full.

With just a handful of questions this physician had a ready analysis of the severity of the patient's tinnitus - self-reported. With a series of audiology tests that went beyond the average hearing test, he was able to review the charts and identify particular tones that were mimicked or similar to external sounds. Armed with this information he was able to make suggestions for lifestyle and diet changes, some of which are common knowledge now.

What was new for me was his suggestion of trying a masking device that would deliver the tones comparable to the ones inside the patient's head, thus teaching the brain to accommodate for the sound. All of this was self - taught by this little old man in his tiny office with historic equipment which he used daily. No, I shall not reveal his name here.

I share the tale because it is true. There are mavericks out there. This fellow had a particular pre-conception of what would work and he looked for ways to assess patients to determine whether his approach could help them. If yes, he kept them as patients and continued to work with them. If not, he suggested the basic lifestyle changes, offered practical coping strategies and advised them what to do if things got worse.

I have always held him in high regard. Even though he could not help me reduce my tinnitus, he was able to tell me that clearly in that first appointment. I gave him and his audiologist some new ideas that I had about coping strategies and they gave me suggestions for lifestyle and dietary changes that actually did improve my overall health. Isn't that what physicians are supposed to do?

As I left that office on that remarkable day, I looked around at the people who were waiting in simple wooden chairs. I realized that except for one child, I was the youngest person in the room. It made me wonder if it was that odd for people under 60 to have tinnitus. The answer to that is no, it is not that odd.

What IS unusual is having a patient seek help before they reach around 60 years old or so. That is an interesting anectodal observation on my part. I sought help because I knew my tinnitus was serious enough that it was having adverse effects in my work and social life. I believed in my empirical knowledge and ignored the casual "brush off" that I had received from 5 other ENTs before I found this man.

So, do not give up. Listen and trust your personal experience. It is not necessary to be the antagonist with the uneducated physicians who simply tell you to "live with it". Nor is it necessary to be the Victim and stay stuck because no one believes you have anything wrong happening inside your head.

By the way we were able to rule out Meniere's Disease quickly because my occasional bouts of dizziness and vertigo were exactly that. Occasional.