tinnitus -can someone help? Sorry - long

[barbapapa]

Hi,

Have posted before about a pulsing noise (in time with my pulse) in my left ear. It came on during a very stressful time in my life, when I started to experience panic attacks. I have tinnitus of the highpitched screeching variety in both ears anyway and have had for years, doesn't bother me, I'm used to it. The pulsing noise is new.
Doc says probably gunk in eustachian tube and is also treating me for the anxiety and I think feels that this may also just be part of it. I am not convinced that this is the case. I would like a referral to an ENT person but the doc doesn't think it necessary. I have private medical (admittedly with a very high excess so I will have to pay for the appointment myself anyway)but can't get a referral! What to do - any advice on any of this including the pulsing in my ear ? It is only bad at night and is robbing me of sleep - I am not a very nice person to live with at the moment

[corrina28]

i would think that you may be getting an ear infection. I hav had loads over the years and mine always start with a pulsating in the affected ear,

[barbapapa]

Thanks corrina, I don't think it is that though as I have had this for three months now and doc has looked in my ear and no infection. It is driving me mad.....

[Carmenere]

Surely if you have insurance you can just ask for an appointment? I have tinnitus too so I feel your pain.

[noonar]

just a word of caution... i developed tinnitus 5 yrs ago after getting labyrinthitis. i went to see a specialist- mostly do do with the dizziness i was experiencing.

anyway, they did all these tests in my ears eg blowing air into them . the result of this was that the tinnitus was aggravated and i ended up with massively high anxiety levels.

things are better now, but i do get strange pulsing sensations too. although its not continuous.

i'd never let anyone mess about with my ears again!

i found taht an electric fan was a good way to mask the noise, on bad days.

just try to relax, it will probably pass soon. i often get temp changes in head noise.

[corrina28]

could you also be checked for menieres disease. my dad has tinnitus and was told that menieres disease is linked to it.

[noonar]

that's true it does, but this disease also causes hearing loss. dont panic yourself unnecessarily

more often than not, tinnitus is not a 'symptom' of anything else. except possibly stress and anxiety.

[WigWamBam]

My tinnitus is always worse when I'm stressed, and stress, anxiety and blood pressure are well-recognised as triggering or worsening tinnitus - so don't dismiss your GP completely out of hand.

You don't need a referral to a private clinic if you have medical insurance; as far as I know you can just ring and make an appointment, so the fact your GP won't refer you shouldn't be a problem. What your GP should be able to do, though, is refer you to a tinnitus clinic, who would give you techniques for managing the problem.

A lot of GPs seem to believe that tinnitus is a minor problem, and of course it can be. Make sure that you stress just how much of an impact it's having on you, and how difficult you are finding it to cope. You may find he is more sympathetic if you can make him understand how miserable it makes you. Otherwise can you see a different GP at the practice?

You can buy white-noise machines, or tapes of white-noise, which can help, particularly at night when a lot of people find tinnitus makes sleeping difficult. You can get them from the RNID.

RNID website has some good information about managing tinnitus. You may also find the British Tinnitus Association helpful.

[SpaceCadet]

i suffer from tinnitus and dizziness and have been diagnosed with a damaged balance organ, just out of curiousity..do you have any hearing problems at all?..most often than not, tinnitus is not connected to anything else but is purely noise that is produced by the auditory pathways..however anxiety can make it seem much worse and its normal to feel frightened when it appears to have got worse..visit your gp again and demand to see an ent specialist who will refer for audiologocal tests which can hopefully put your mind at rest, if you can afford it, you can ask to see the consultant as a one off private consultation, he/she will then refer you for the tests on the nhs.

[barbapapa]

Thank you everyone for your advice and support. It was nice to read your messages after a frustrating trip to the docs - I am no further forward!
Managed to see a different doc - my own doc doesn't have any appointments till December. She listened to what I said and then said "it is your carotid artery you can hear, at least you know you are alive!" Not very helpful when I had nil hours sleep last night because of it!
She said it didn't sound serious and only looked in my ears because I asked her to. She said she can't find any infection and when I asked her for an ENT referral stressing I would pay myself said that it wasn't necessary she thought and that she would run the whole matter past my own GP - so no progress made at all!
Didn't realise I could refer mself for a oneoff private consultation - how do I find the right sort of clinic/consultant locally?
In the meantime I will look at the RNID website thanks WWW. Spacecadet - I do think I may have some minor hearing loss and have always put this down to a series of very nasty ear infections as a child, but will ask for hearing to be tested.

[WigWamBam]

Ring your local private hospital and ask them what their procedure is for booking appointments.

Your GPs seem to be missing the point - you don't need to have an infection or anything else wrong with your ears to have tinnitus.

It's probably stress meaning that you're hearing your heartbeat - exercise, yoga or massage might help with your general stress levels, which may help with the tinnitus.

I would try the hearing loss as a way to seeing a specialist - mention your concerns about that and ask for a hearing test. If that shows any signs of hearing loss you will probably be referred to an ENT specialist who will either deal with the tinnitus or who will refer you to a tinnitus/hearing loss clinic (at least, that was my experience).

Be warned though that it can take ages to see someone; I initially had a hearing test with the HV, then when that showed up hearing loss I was sent to the audiology department at the hospital for another hearing test, before being referred to the ENT specialist who then referred me to a hearing clinic where my hearing loss and tinnitus were both dealt with.