Visit to the ENT

I went to my ENT appointment this morning, an interesting affair.

Another hearing test did show a mild unilateral sensorineural hearing loss - most common sensorineural hearing loss is aged related hearing loss. The tinnitus and the nausea are all related. The inner ear is a pretty cool device. I obviously don't have age related hearing loss as I am just not that old and have only have hearing loss in one ear.

A battery of seemingly random tests - including a few good shakes of my head which hurt - showed I have no other neurological issues related to my hearing loss. I can't quite put together why a shake of the head for 15 seconds, following pen caps, touching my nose or walking in a straight line has anything to do with my hearing loss but the doctor was pretty convinced it was necessary (and likely related to some sort of brain stem involvement - which I don't apparently have.)

So, what does it all mean? I have a few options ...

- mild hearing loss that will unlikely improve and more than likely will continue to deteriorate. However, it may deteriorate so slowly that come old age, I may still be well ahead of many of my peers. The tinnitus (ring in the ear) will likely stay and perhaps even get louder if the hearing loss worsens. The motion sickness and random nighttime spins likely won't reappear if I just have a hearing loss as my inner ear will learn to manage the new world order. If it continues at any clip, I understand a hearing aid would provide relief - I am a long long way off that requirement.


- Meniere's Disease - a real illness but I think based on my limited research actually a diagnosis by elimination, with symptoms that come and go at random times. A brief read shows that curtailing coffee, alcohol, and salt intake is one of the key recommendations. It is funny how that idea seems so devastating. This one may be a viable diagnosis given my temporary hearing loss 15 odd years ago.

- the last item of note is an acoustic neuroma - a benign, slow growing brain tumour. These suckers are pretty uncommon, but one of the most common forms of brain tumours. The occurrence rate is about 1 in 100,000. I have to challenge the mathematics of that one as I doubt someone with minor hearing loss is still part of that general 100,000 people. The ENT's office will schedule a MRI sometime in the next 4-6 weeks. Regardless, while a relatively serious diagnosis, most acoustic neuromas are put on a watchful waiting regime and nothing more than repeated hearing tests and annual MRIs are typically done. The surgery option is pretty darn scary (as any noggin cracking operation would be), it is not commonly performed unless the tumour is large and pressing on other vital brain functions (i.e the brain stem - not good). Some other radiation type options are available (and not very invasive) that slow down this already extremely slow growing tumour that could eliminate the need for any surgery. I gander, though, even with this option, hearing loss is pretty much on the downward spiral.

I am a bit reluctant to admit that I am somewhat relieved by the information. Over the past few days, I was doubting whether my symptoms were simply phantom thoughts, snowballed by my own imagination. I also had this fear that I would have queued up for these tests and this special appointment only to told that it was all caused by a huge ball of wax in my ear. On one hand, a great diagnosis and an easy cure - but gosh, how embarrassing would that be.

Last bit of cool information for the day - I guess I have a pretty good break in my nose. I have no memory at all of a broken nose so the doctor suggests it was likely broken when I was born.

More to come.