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This letter originally appeared in Dr. Hoffman's column on allHealth.com. |
Q: My niece in (eastern Europe) never was vaccinated for mumps when she was a baby. That's something they don't do in (eastern Europe.) Now when she got sick this year with mumps in April, she started to hear ringing in her ear, and doctors said it could be permanent. She is 12 years old. Is there any hope for her?
A: Unfortunately, the mumps virus is a well-known cause of sensorineural hearing loss (hearing loss due to damage to the inner ear or hearing nerve.) Any hearing loss which occurred as a result of this infection is almost certainly permanent. The ringing in her ears is a sign of such an injury, just as pain is a sign of injury to most other parts of the body. If she has her hearing tested, it will almost certainly show some degree of nerve deafness.
Your niece needs to have her hearing tested, not so much to confirm the diagnosis, but mainly to determine whether she needs hearing aids. If her hearing loss is significant, it could affect her ability to learn in school– and that could cause a lifetime of problems!
There is no cure for tinnitus (ringing in the ears) but there are a number of treatment options:
1. Live with it. If your niece is not disturbed by the tinnitus (if it is not interfering with her ability to learn, play, or sleep), then treatment is not necessary.
2. Hearing aid(s). If her hearing loss is severe enough to require hearing aids, then she may notice that her tinnitus is much less noticeable when she is using her aids. This occurs because the hearing aids amplify environmental noise but do not amplify her tinnitus.
3. Masking. Many individuals with tinnitus find that background noise (an electric fan or air filter, for example) makes the tinnitus diminish in intensity. There are even sophisticated instruments known as tinnitus maskers which deliver a low level of noise to the afflicted ear(s). The noise is carefully selected so that it will mask the tinnitus.
4. Biofeedback, hypnosis and other forms of conditioning. These are safe treatments which some individuals have found to be very effective; it may be difficult finding a professional who can administer such treatment, however.
5. Drug therapy. If all else fails and if the tinnitus is making the patient miserable, drug treatment (typically with antidepressants or anticonvulsants) can be attempted. Such drugs have significant side effects, so this is truly a treatment of last resort.
6. Surgery. There are NO operations for tinnitus– your niece’s parents must beware of any doctor who claims that an operation will cure their daughter’s tinnitus!
Much more information on tinnitus is available from the American Tinnitus Association. You can write to them at P.O. Box 5, Portland, OR 97207, or you can visit their website (http://www.teleport.com/~ata/).
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More information available on other diseases of the ears, nose and throat! |
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