Hello all,
I'm posting this in hopes of finding options to treat what seems to be an inner ear barotrauma I suffered 25 days ago. My story and timeline is such:
Day 1: Initial snorkel trip; dive down about 2.5 meters, perform Valsalva maneuver; ear barely clears; 2 min later extreme tinnitus starts in left ear.
Back on the boat, dizzy / hearing loss / tinnitus.
Later that day; went to local clinic; discover 100% impacted wax in affected ear - Doc tries to wash it out; moderate pain during this / they abort; prescribed ear drops for wax removal.
Day 2 - 9: Fly to New Zealand with no problems; continued using drops; still have tinnitus and mild hearing loss
Day 10: visit a new clinic suspecting that wax hasn't cleared - discover both ears totally clear. Doc says eustachian tube dysfunction should heal on its own.
Week 2-5: Gradually hearing returns / tinitus subsides / Fly to Sydney Aus, no problems, hearing feel back to normal
Now it gets interesting....
Day 1 (second time): Dive on great barrier reef, descend to 15m; 10 min into dive; tinnitus starts back up
Back on boat, more dizziness / naseau - not as severe as first time incident.
Day 2: Hearing loss feels worse overall / tinnitus more intense.
Day 3 - 10: Symptoms stay the same, Fly back to LA no problems
Day 14: See an ENT after it feels like symptoms are worsening - tinnitus in particular; ringing has increased. He prescribes 5 days of Prednisone and provides diagnosis: barotrauma / barotitis
Day 14 - 19: complete course of steroids; no improvement over this time; some slight pain in left ear and occasional / relatively brief headaches.
Day 22: New appointment with local ENT and audiologist; my ears as usual through this adventure are fine - hardest news to get yet after hearing test - - I've lost -50db past 4khz and it's not conductive loss; it's SSNHL (Sensorineural hearing loss) at the cochlea level. Prescribes longer course of Prednisone but isn't too hopeful given the way it has progressed. Recommends that it may heal on its own as in first time and to come back in 3 mo for updated hearing test.
Day 23: New subtle "bubbling" / chirping noises in ear. Call ENT and says this might actually be sound of nerves waking back up.
Also got referral to University hospital specializing in hearing research. Awaiting appointment.
Also scheduled appointment with Dr specializing in Neurotology in 4 days.
I'll update this as it evolves... Why all the intense logging and pretty much desperate search? Well, I do sound design and music for a living. And no, I don't listen to loud music ever
My main questions at this point are considering:
Anyone else experience getting a steroid shot to the inner ear? Did it help? This is known as
intratympanic steroid injections. I have read a lot about them but it seems to be more for SSNHL rather than IEBT (inner ear barotrauma).
Possible PLF since my hearing loss is at neural level... How would this be detected / tested for when it seems visual detection via exploratory tympanotomy is difficult.
Additional treatments - I've seen a LMT about trying to open my eustachian tubes / improve sinuses; cranio sacral therapy which has been relaxing; taking Ginkgo and B-12; also using Netipot daily.
Thank you for reading this post - any insight or advice is incredibly appreciated!
I'm posting this in hopes of finding options to treat what seems to be an inner ear barotrauma I suffered 25 days ago. My story and timeline is such:
Day 1: Initial snorkel trip; dive down about 2.5 meters, perform Valsalva maneuver; ear barely clears; 2 min later extreme tinnitus starts in left ear.
Back on the boat, dizzy / hearing loss / tinnitus.
Later that day; went to local clinic; discover 100% impacted wax in affected ear - Doc tries to wash it out; moderate pain during this / they abort; prescribed ear drops for wax removal.
Day 2 - 9: Fly to New Zealand with no problems; continued using drops; still have tinnitus and mild hearing loss
Day 10: visit a new clinic suspecting that wax hasn't cleared - discover both ears totally clear. Doc says eustachian tube dysfunction should heal on its own.
Week 2-5: Gradually hearing returns / tinitus subsides / Fly to Sydney Aus, no problems, hearing feel back to normal
Now it gets interesting....
Day 1 (second time): Dive on great barrier reef, descend to 15m; 10 min into dive; tinnitus starts back up
Back on boat, more dizziness / naseau - not as severe as first time incident.
Day 2: Hearing loss feels worse overall / tinnitus more intense.
Day 3 - 10: Symptoms stay the same, Fly back to LA no problems
Day 14: See an ENT after it feels like symptoms are worsening - tinnitus in particular; ringing has increased. He prescribes 5 days of Prednisone and provides diagnosis: barotrauma / barotitis
Day 14 - 19: complete course of steroids; no improvement over this time; some slight pain in left ear and occasional / relatively brief headaches.
Day 22: New appointment with local ENT and audiologist; my ears as usual through this adventure are fine - hardest news to get yet after hearing test - - I've lost -50db past 4khz and it's not conductive loss; it's SSNHL (Sensorineural hearing loss) at the cochlea level. Prescribes longer course of Prednisone but isn't too hopeful given the way it has progressed. Recommends that it may heal on its own as in first time and to come back in 3 mo for updated hearing test.
Day 23: New subtle "bubbling" / chirping noises in ear. Call ENT and says this might actually be sound of nerves waking back up.
Also got referral to University hospital specializing in hearing research. Awaiting appointment.
Also scheduled appointment with Dr specializing in Neurotology in 4 days.
I'll update this as it evolves... Why all the intense logging and pretty much desperate search? Well, I do sound design and music for a living. And no, I don't listen to loud music ever
My main questions at this point are considering:
Anyone else experience getting a steroid shot to the inner ear? Did it help? This is known as
intratympanic steroid injections. I have read a lot about them but it seems to be more for SSNHL rather than IEBT (inner ear barotrauma).
Possible PLF since my hearing loss is at neural level... How would this be detected / tested for when it seems visual detection via exploratory tympanotomy is difficult.
Additional treatments - I've seen a LMT about trying to open my eustachian tubes / improve sinuses; cranio sacral therapy which has been relaxing; taking Ginkgo and B-12; also using Netipot daily.
Thank you for reading this post - any insight or advice is incredibly appreciated!
