I know you'll understand

[Irene]

Greetings! One of my favorite phrases is "the symptom imperative," because it is so true. So, last week when I lost most of Friday with vertigo (please don't call it "dizziness"), and found online that I have all the symptoms of Meniere's Disease (vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and fullness in the ears,) and that it has no cause and no cure (sound familiar?), I knew it was time to visit you again.

I had previously made an appointment with an ENT for a hearing test and, if needed, ear cleaning. That's scheduled for a week from today. However, now I see that this particular doctor specializes in thyroid conditions, not hearing. (He does take my insurance, though, [insert wry smile here.])

I don't know whether I should simply cancel the appointment or go for a preliminary exam and ask for a referral or ... If I reschedule with a more appropriate specialist, assuming I find another with my insurance, I may get more meaningful testing, but also may just be wasting everyone's time and money (your's too, as I have Medicaid), and could just work on the tms. Hmmm...

 

[Time2be]

It seems to me that this doctor, though maybe not specialized in Ménière’s disease, might as well be able to do the necessary tests. Maybe your general practitioner could give you advice? But I am wondering if the fact that the choice of doctor is bothering you so much, has something to with TMS? Like you really need an authority to tell you that nothing is wrong (structurally). For myself it was very important to find a doctor who not just told me that she/he doesn’t know why I have pain, but also a doctor who could tell me that I this pain is psychosomatic (as she calls it) .
So, if that’s your concern, you might look for a TMS doctor who could refer you to specialists for having the necessary tests.
Hope this makes sense to you!
Best
Pernille

 

[Irene]

Thank you, Pernille, You may well be right that what I'm looking for is someone I believe is trustworthy to tell me that "nothing is wrong." There are hearing sites which address my issues similarly to other TMS issues. And, I'm very confortable with that idea and believe I've found local doctors and therapists who could help. The preliminary tests are still needed to rule out any physical cause. So, I think that on Monday I'll make a few calls ... In the meantime, I've got to get through tomorrow -- church -- which believe it or not is where I encounter the loudests sounds (other than a school cafeteria). Last week I wore earplugs and will keep them handy tomorrow.