Tinnitus only symptom

[v357139]

Hi all.  Friend of mine has developed tinnitus so bad he can't sleep.  No other symptoms.  His ENT does not want to send him for MRI.  Not sure I agree.  Did anyone have an AN with tinnitus as their only symptom?  Any other thoughts?

[ANGuy]

It could be an AN.  It could be a gazillion other things as well.  I would think an MRI would be a good way to help narrow things down.  Maybe he should get another ENT?

99% of the time tinnitus is my only symptom.  However, I have had bad dizzy/vomiting attacks and mild hearing loss.  I didn't notice the hearing loss and the dizzy/vomiting was written off as benign vertigo by the ER docs since they only lasted a few hours and were years apart.  So, in a way, tinnitus is my only symptom.

For some reason, some Dr are quick to get CT scans.  But, CT scans only give limited info and involve a fair amount of radiation.  Ultimately and MRI is needed to figure things out and I am not sure why they don't just go to the MRI earlier.  Maybe insurance companies and cost get involved?  If I had tinnitus that bad and no explanation for it, I'd want an MRI for sure.

[arizonajack]

Hi all.  Friend of mine has developed tinnitus so bad he can't sleep.  No other symptoms.  His ENT does not want to send him for MRI.  Not sure I agree.  Did anyone have an AN with tinnitus as their only symptom?  Any other thoughts?

An AN with tinnitus as it's only symptom is possible, I suppose, but from all I've read on this site in the past 3 years, it's unlikely.

Tinnitus has a myriad of causes and manifestations.

The American Tinnitus Association has lots of information about tinnitus and does not sell snake oil remedies. Your friend can learn a lot from it.

http://www.ata.org/home

Meantime, I suggest he push for an MRI with contrast just to rule out an AN.

[hasovschib]

From what i know if  tinitus is from AN is always accompanied by hearing loss (not sure about the "always" part). So he should do a hearing test with his ENT. My only symptom was tinnitus, i did not notice any hearing loss but the hearing test showed that the hearing in the AN ear was not as good as in the other ear.  So if he has tinitus and hearing loss he should go get an MRI

[keithmac]

Hi all.  Friend of mine has developed tinnitus so bad he can't sleep.  No other symptoms.  His ENT does not want to send him for MRI.  Not sure I agree.  Did anyone have an AN with tinnitus as their only symptom?  Any other thoughts?

We're not clinicians but tinnitus is suffered by many without an associated tumor - I'm a member of the BTA and know no-one else there who also has an acoustic neuroma.

The simple answer would be to ask again for an MRI if it would help settle his mind.  Tinnitus can be bad enough without an a.n.!  Tinnitus developed recently in both the ears of my wife and because I have a tumor, and was with my wife when she saw the same specialist as diagnosed mine, I think it persuaded him to send her for an MRI to settle her mind. 

[v357139]

Thanks to all.  I appreciate your answers.  I will pass them along to my friend.

[Circusnole]

You may have already passed on the info, but I wanted to let you know that I have a 2.1x1.5 cm AN and other than a very little hearing loss in the AN ear (still with a 96% diff. rating) tinnitus is the ONLY symptom I have. we did the MRI to see why one ear was a little lower than other (my flight physical Dr was the first to detect it) and I'm glad we did.

Having it removed (translab) at HEI in a couple weeks

Not sure what % of cases this happens in, but I can verify that it IS possible that tinnitus is the only symptom

good luck with the testing

[v357139]

Thanks again.  Best of luck with your surgery.  I went to HEI with great result.  Who are you having it with?