A Second Opinion (and lots of medical terminology)

It was early in the new year, and my boyfriend and I had travelled to London for a second opinion about my condition. We arrived at the Ears Nose and Throat clinic and were asked to complete a basic information form and to wait in the waiting room. The waiting room was enormous. There were plush sofas around the perimeter and an elaborately decorated Christmas tree that dominated one side of the room. At the end of the room on the left, was a drinks machine that served all types of teas and coffees; all free of charge. We had done our research to find a specialist with lots of experience and with expertise in some of the issues I had been having. We were hoping to gain some more information and some understanding regarding my hearing loss.

When we first met the specialist, my immediate thought was that he looked older than the photo on the clinic’s web-page. He was smartly dressed; wearing a dark suit jacket, white shirt and a tie. His hair was dark with a generous scattering of flicks of silvery grey; additions to his jet black hair that had not been captured in his professional photo. As we entered the consultation room, he greeted us by shaking our hands. He dropped his pen as he walked towards his desk, and stooped down to pick it up. He had the slightly awkward air of a genius. He immediately starting asking questions and scribbling down information on his notepad. He was eager to see some previous medical notes and grabbed at what I had brought. He continued to scribble down information. Whilst writing, he kept looking up at my face and commented more than once telling me that he thought I was very pale. He had the nature of an accomplished professional, who seemed to be trying to find an answer to my problem, at an accelerating pace.

He started with some unusual tests. He asked me to stand up and I accompanied him to the corner of the room. He commented on my size saying, ‘there wasn’t much of me’. I was asked to walk in a straight line; stand still and balance; and to close my eye, put my hands together in front of me and march on the spot. When he asked me to stop marching, I opened my eyes and found that I was no longer looking at the same part of the wall as when I had started marching; I had rotated about 45 degrees. My boyfriend found this amusing. This test showed that I was somewhat off-balance. He also asked me to sit down and look him in the eyes, as he flung me from side to side. He asked me to lie down on a chair in a small room that was attached to the main consultation room, and again I had to look at the bridge of his nose as he flung me from side to side. This left me quite dizzy, and when he let go of me I swayed slightly to the left. Next, I went to have some hearing tests. These were the usual tests that I had done so many times, and also tests of the middle ear, including a tympanometry and Eustachian tube function test.

After a short wait, we went back into the consultation room. The doctor told me directly, that I had lost 90 per cent of the hearing in my left ear. He told me that there was also a small hearing loss in my right ear. There was also evidence of significant inefficient Eustachian tubal function in both ears; marked on the right side.  I had never been told so clearly the extent of my hearing loss, although I was very aware that it was severe. Nobody had told me that I also had a hearing loss in my right ear, and this came as a shock to me. He said that as the hearing loss in my left ear was so severe, it would be unlikely that a hearing aid would help me. This was disheartening. The specialists in Spain had given me some hope regarding some kind of aid. I appreciated this specialist’s candidness, even if it was difficult to receive this information. He then commented again about the paleness of my skin. He recommended that I get my Vitamin D levels checked, along with some other blood tests. I said ‘yes’ to all of his suggestions. He also suggested that I carry out a speech discrimination test of my (good) right ear, to see how well I understand speech.

I had my blood taken. Soon after, I was sitting back in the hearing test room, listening to an audio of someone saying words at different volumes. All I had to do what say what I could hear. It reminded me of a test that teachers might give to young children or to children who are learning English as a second language. I found this test OK, until the quiet level, where I ended up saying word endings or just a single letter-sound that I could distinguish in the words. Everything happened at such a fast pace.

Then the specialist told me that he recommended me to have an Electrocochleography (ECoG) test of my (good) right ear. This test measures the electrical potentials generated in the cochlea—a part of the inner ear—in response to sound stimulation. He wanted to see if the test would show any evidence for the reason for the small loss of hearing I had in this ear. He stressed the importance of taking care of my right ear – my only hearing ear. So he squeezed anaesthetic cream into my ear and we went downstairs to the waiting room for about half an hour while my ear became numb. Yet again, I had electrode pads stuck to my head. He rubbed my forehead harshly with the sandpaper and was surprised at the sensitivity of my skin. I then lay back on the chair and I was attached by the electrode pads to the computer. An electrode was also fed deep into my good ear. Yet again I had the same feeling as when I had the steroid injections: the scratchy discomfort, deep in my ear and in the back of my throat. Yet again, a series of clicks were played into my ear.

The specialist explained the results of this test. He told me I had a form of a condition called endolymphatic hydrops in my (good) right ear. Endolymphatic hydrops (also known as Cochlear hydrops) is thought to be an early form of Ménière’s disease. Basically, it is a problem with the fluid in the inner ear. This diagnosis explained the pressure and feeling of fullness in my ears; the tinnitus; the hearing loss; and dizziness I had been experiencing. The specialist thought it was likely that the hydrops was also the underlying pathology affecting my left ear six years ago, when I had begun to experience tinnitus that had lasted three years. He felt I had probably had Cochlear hydrops in my left ear all these years, and it had subsequently resulted in my sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

After five hours of tests and consultations, we had a lot more information and a bit of a plan. I was to wait for the blood test results. I was going to take some more strong antiviral medication for 5 days, in case of the hearing loss being a result of a virus. After completing the anti-viral medication I was then to start inner ear vasodilator treatment by taking a medicine called Serc 16mg, for 4 weeks, to see if this had any effect on reducing the pressure in my ears.

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