otolaryngologist

Weeks of Tinnitus

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Part VIII

I wonder how I slept with the roar of pulsitile tinnitus surging with my blood pressure, heart rate, and anxiety. Somehow I managed to take the sleep vacation every night. The intratympanic corticosteroids injections only initially quieted the tinnitus. After a few hours after the treatment, the cochlea did seem to revive and the tinnitus signal increased in strength. I thought this might be a sign of healing. For the next three weeks I would see my Doctor, he would ask if wanted to continue the treatments, and then would proceed to inject the drugs through the ear drum. Some time before, on the same day, the Doctor of Audiology would give me a robust hearing screening to document any changes to my hearing thresholds.

After the 1st week of treatment, my speech discrimination improved at amplification from 60% to 88%. The 2nd week I achieved a 92% score, my best to date. Sadly, the tinnitus increased so much, it felt at times that was the only think I could hear. On my final cycle of Audiology to Otolaryngology, I asked if blood circulation could be a factor in the tinnitus. My Doctor thought it was a stretch, but agreed to refer me to get a computed tomography (CT) of the head and neck. My doctor wanted to see me for the last time to check if my eardrum had healed after the multiple last bore injections. I decided to postpone that final encounter well after the CT and at least 30 days after my last corticosteroid middle ear injection.

After my near simulated deafening from the MRI, I wondered if the CT would have a similar debilitating effect. The CT is an altogether different machine than MRI. Instead of using power electromagnets, the CT is a computer aided x-ray machine. A contrast agent would aid in distinguishing tissues, blood flow, and abnormalities. I would only wait 1 week before my scheduled CT, in the medical imaging department of my local hospital.

Alien Abduction or Medical Treatment?

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Part V
Before any major medical procedure, one signs a consent form. Before you get a large bore needle filled with corticosteroids injected directly through the eardrum without any anesthesia, you get a very stern lecture that this treatment may leave a permanent hole in the eardrum, cause horrible scaring and possibly exacerbate the deafness. I thought, “What choice to I have? My hearing is already irreparably damaged. Could it really get more destroyed?”

A trackpad and pen recorded my digital signature on a long form stating, “To try to recover the hearing.” If successful, I would undergo three injections of corticosteroids spaced out over three weeks. Each week the doctor would ask me if I wanted to continue or stop the protocol. While lying on an exam table, with my head slightly below my waist and turned to one side, the doctor prepared the solution. He warmed it up to not be too shocking when passed through the eardrum. The high gauge needle burned and stung without any anesthesia. The doctor did offer a topical anesthetic, but said if I could take the pain and not flinch, my eardrum would heal better.

I almost suggested I bite on my belt, but concentrated on pleasant thoughts while the otolaryngologist, using a specialized telescope, passed the needle through the round window membrane into my middle ear. As the anticipation of the agony of the needle passed, the warming sensation of the medicine led to a euphoria and dizziness, but quickly passed. I stayed in the supine position for 20 minutes alone. The most amazing thing happened as I waited, the horrible pulsatile tinnitus quieted for just a time, as my middle ear lay flooded in the brine of medicine.