Perhaps AN

[Kaybo]

I would definitely go with GRADUAL also...


K   

[Pooter]

Just to muddy the waters a bit, my wife said she noticed a gradual decline in my hearing over the years, but I never noticed it.  I noticed the sudden loss..

I would suspect that most people would not notice a gradual loss (although others might) but would notice a sudden loss.

Brian

[leapyrtwins]

I'm not sure if my hearing loss was sudden or gradual.

One day I was just sitting in my office and I realized that I couldn't hear normally out of my left ear.  It just hit me - I don't know why.  A few minutes later the phone rang and when I held it to my left ear like I always did post op, I could recognize the words the caller was saying, but everything was kind of muffled.  I also noticed that my left ear felt full - like I was in an airplane.   

I figured I was getting a cold or a sinus infection and that eventually my ear would "pop" and I'd be able to hear normally again.  As we all know now, that didn't happen 

Jan

[suboo73]

Mel,

Welcome to the Forum!  I hope you do not have to join this exclusive club...  Either way, as others have said, we are here for you.
I noticed gradual hearing loss for over 12 years, starting out with not hearing the preschool children - i was teaching 3 year olds at the time.
Then i had 2 hearing tests, and the docs said i was getting old - at 40!

So i went along until 2008, when my sister had some hearing loss, went to an ENT who promptly ordered an MRI.

WELL - that was enough for me, i found a different doctor and asked for my own MRI.
[I am sure my husband thought i was imagining things because my sister had a diagnosis.]

Nobody wants an AN, but i was quite relieved to know i wasn't going crazy!

You have some other family concerns right now. 
Travel safely and keep us posted on your progress when you are able.

Sincerely,
Sue

[kiwi]

Isn't it weird that although the diagnosis is an AN there is still a sense of relief that you have something with a name.  It was like a "told you there was something wrong"with me" to all the people who thought you were just being a hypochondriac.

My hearing loss was gradual and docs thought it was a blocked Eustachian tube....and I was quite willing to believe them because they were doctors.   On the 4th visit I kicked up a fuss and they thought it was Meniere's disease so sent me for tests - you could also have this Mel??  I hope you get yourself checked and don't leave it too long, although they are slow growing the size has a tendency to sneak up on you.

Anyway welcome back downunder, hope you enjoy Aussie (all the flys- cmon I know you miss them)

Kiwi

[suboo73]

Isn't it weird that although the diagnosis is an AN there is still a sense of relief that you have something with a name.  It was like a "told you there was something wrong"with me" to all the people who thought you were just being a hypochondriac.  Kiwi

I have to agree with Kiwi - i really wanted to say 'i told you so,' too.
I had an aunt who relatives always claimed was a hypochondriac.  She passed away when i was a teenager, after having a kidney removed and then cancer.
Maybe we were not 'listening' to her like we should have.  But then again, she would not seek a second opinion, and i am not sure but i think her primary care physician was somewhat of a 'quack.'

I realize how lucky i am that my SISTER'S doctor recognized the symptoms for her, which eventually led to my diagnosis.
But, even after a hearing test, my results were 'inconclusive' on the first round.  So i had to ASK for the MRI. 
Bet the ENT didn't expect to see an AN there either!  Well, i didn't wait for the call, just went and got the report from the radiology dept. - read my own results.

My sister was very concerned and i called her right away.  But i told her i was indeed relieved to know what i was dealing with.
This is just me - i like all the information i can gather, so i can try to make an intellectual decision based on that.

You will get through this, Mel.  And we are here for you.

Sincerely,
Sue

PS  If you can - please bring back some sunshine and warmer temps from down under - it is cold here in Virginia!

[CHD63]

It seems like there is no "standard" on hearing loss with an AN.  I am guessing the type of hearing loss has much to do with the location of one's tumor.  My balance issues had been present for almost a year before I suddenly had the stuffed up ear hearing loss in one ear only and no tinnitus.  Fortunately I had excellent physicians who took my complaints seriously and ordered the appropriate tests rather quickly.

Clarice

[EJTampa]

My hearing loss was also very gradual.  I think my wife had been telling me I was going deaf for about 5 years before the tinnitus started.  Even the tinnitus didn't immediately send me to the ENT.  I had some vertigo (which I also ignored), then I started to get really strange "vibration" type sounds in my right ear when exposed to loud noise (specifically, the organ at church).  That finally got me to get checked out.  My AN was fairly small, and has since been removed.
 
I can't add much more than what's been said already, Mel.  I will say that you surely have time to make appointments and such when things settle down some.  If it is an AN, they grow very slowly, and waiting a month or so will not have a huge impact on your outcome.  I don't know much about the other causes of hearing loss and tinnitus so can't speak on those subjects.
 
Just know that if you do end up diagnosed with an AN, you couldn't ask for a better bunch of people to talk to than what you will find here.
 
Ernie

[michelle d.]

HI Mel   I'm new here but I just wanted to encourage you to not put off going to an ENT with your concerns and if you feel it isn't addressed get a second opinion. My experience went on for months before I got a second opinion from an ENT that I know personally and right away he suspected AN and sent for MRI. (The first ENT told me I was just going deaf and needed a hearing aid!) I was also having bad dental work fixed and kept thinking that it was my teeth causing problems! There's a good chance that your problems could be something different but even if it is, you should find out what. Prayers to you....sincerely,michelle d. 

[mel07]

Hi all
Well, I'm back from my holiday, and what an intense three weeks it was. Absolutely exhausted. I STILL haven't gone to the ENT, but am going to make an appointment this week hopefully, once I'm over the jet lag and my brain fog lifts. I'm reaching the point where the endless speculation is driving me bonkers.

Anyway, during my vacation there were periods of time where I was just so busy and engaged that I actually forgot all about the tinnitus. Now that I'm home, however, and have all this time on my hands, I've become hyper-aware of it again.

I know it's counterproductive for me to be coming here and asking questions without a diagnosis, but I just can't help myself.  I guess I'm just looking for anything to grasp onto that might persuade me it's not an AN.

SO .... I was wanting to ask about the tone/sound etc of your tinnitus, and whether there's anything such thing as "typical" AN tinnitus. Also, the nature of your hearing loss. Is it high frequency? An overall muffling??

Apologies for being such a pain in the butt. I know what I need to do, and I will do it. Soon.

Mel

[rupert]

 Hi Mel,

             First let me say that increased  use of MRI's  has  been,  and will be beneficial to AN patients in the future because they are finding them when they are smaller.  This can hopefully give a person more options for treatment.  That said,  get thee to the Doc.

            On the tinnitus,     mine started out like bees buzzing.  It would only be when I turned my head a certain way when trying to sleep.  Actually thought the house was infested!   Then it just went away and my ear felt full all the time.  I thought it was wax.   Then it came back but,  sounded more like putting your ear to a sea shell. It now sounds like the sea shell but injects a high pitched squeal some times.  This is constant.  I know it's hard but the best way to deal with it I found is to not think about it.  Easier said than done, but I have become proficient at it enough to get by.

            So I guess tinnitus can be in any form or intensity and can change with the wind.   I wish you well.

                                                                                                                Bryan

[leapyrtwins]

My hearing, prior to my diagnosis, was muffled and my ear felt full - kind of like when you're on an airplane and you're waiting for your ear to "pop" - only mine never did. 

After my diagnostic MRI, I knew why   

[suboo73]

Hi Mel,

First let me say that increased  use of MRI's  has  been,  and will be beneficial to AN patients in the future because they are finding them when they are smaller.  This can hopefully give a person more options for treatment.  That said,  get thee to the Doc.
 
Bryan

Hi Mel and welcome back!

We are all here to support you, so don't worry about asking all your questions.
Some conditions are not exactly the same, but related and some with similar treatments.

I will agree with Bryan - time to get to the doc and find out what's really going on.
If not for my sister's ENT, i would STILL be wondering! [never heard of an AN before June 2008..]

My tinnitus is random and not often.  It is a very high pitch and when it does come, i just want it to STOP.
I believe there is a website where you can go and listen to the actual sounds others hear
(fellow Forumites -someone help me here, i forget the details...!)

I remember that you have a sick family member and traveled a long way to visit (is that correct?)
I hope you had a good visit - time can be so precious and i know you traveled quite a distance to see family.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Please send updates when you can.

Sincerely,
Sue

PS  I am now in W & W, so in essence have selected my 'treatment' at least for now. 
After a well-meaning resident tried to talk me into surgery last month, i e-mailed my ENT and told him to PLEASE have his residents read on the AN FORUM.  I told him i come to the FORUM for hope.
Take care.

[moe]

Hi Mel,
I don't think there is a "typical" AN tinnitus. I had tinnitus from an ear infection in 1985 or so, and just lived with it throughout the years.
Not until my hearing became "muffled" did I seek MD help.
Hope you "hear" an answer soon on all this. I agree it would drive me bonkers wondering...
Best wishes,
Maureen

[gingerbread6]

Hi Mel,

Welcome to the forum! I have been reading your posts. Please schedule your appt. with an ENT soon! You don't want to be speculating and worrrying. Whether or not you have an "an" we are here to support you. I found this group early on and they have seen me thru. I was diagnosed in July 2009 with an "an" and just had surgery in December. This forum has been invaluable to me. The people, the support is incredible. I could not have made it through this journey without them. Do what you need to do, and find out just what it is. We are here for you.

You will be in my thoughts and prayers,

Gingerbread 6