[mark2410]

just go visit them and wait till you get a responce

 

[Frankie K]

Oh man, sorry to hear they are still jerking You around! Do You have an HMO like GHI, HIP, Etc., if You do maybe they can give You a recommendation for a ENT. Explain the situation to them and what You are going thru with the Dr. and maybe they will take care of this for You.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Yeah, you should really go to an ENT ASAP...the longer this is put off the higher the chance is you'll have permanent damage done to your ears.  Also, I'd recommend against putting Q-Tips deep into your ear canal, you could damage your ears.  Doctors usually recommend against doing that.

 

[Shike]

Just an update. I'm trying to get in touch with a proper ear specialist. Unfortunately, my doctor's incompetent secretaries put me on a 45 minute (not exaggerating) hold just to talk to someone. I tried on monday to get in touch with him. He had told me to call if the ear problem persisted, and it has gotten no better. I got put on hold for 45 minutes, then the nurse finally came on. I told her that i was told to call back if the problem was still there and to ask for the name of an audiologist. She said the doctor will call me back either that afternoon or the next day after 4. I told her to make sure he calls my cell number because I will probably not be home to take their call, and gave the cell number.

Obviously, they called my house number at about 1 PM and rather than leave a name and number, asked me to "call them back". so now im sitting on hold for another 20 minutes (and counting) to speak to someone. Probably they'll keep this game of phone tag up until I decide "screw my ears" or "screw this hospital" and try to find a different provider.

Check with your insurance provider. Odds are they'll end up charging you double co-pay, but usually there's a way to skip over the non-specialist.

I had to do this when my ear problem wasn't being treated properly, and should have done it in the first place.

 

[rroseperry]

^x2 You need to get to a specialist as soon as you can. Either go and camp out in their (the recalcitrant GP's) office or jump to the provider.
 
(edit for clarity)

 

[shrimants]

Went to the ENT today. there was mostly good news but a little bit of meh news. I'll start with the meh news.

The ENT (ear, nose, throat specialist) has no idea what might be causing my problem. He is putting me on a low blood pressure inducing diarrhetic (the thing that makes you loose water and pee a bunch). He thinks it might help the drainage. He said that if that doesnt work out, he'll do the whole cat scan to see if theres an abrasion (i think thats the word he used. basically an inflamation) above my cochlea. If that doesnt work either (and keep in mind, im gonna be on the medicine for about a month) then he'll send me to a straight up audiologist instead of an ENT.

Good news part 1:
They did a bunch of hearing tests on me to test it all out. They said i was scoring above the charts, often hearing clearly in the below 0 range. This was despite a horrible quality sound proof room and gear inside that had abysmal levels of microphonics. they said my hearing ability was as high as human ears can possibly go on their charts, though at the 18khz+ range it dropped into the average area. that is to be expected considering i'm in my early 20's. everythign below that was at near perfect hearing though.

Good news part 2:
They do ear impressions for 25 bucks per mold. I just call ahead and ask for it and they'll make me 1 mold of each ear for a total of 50 bucks in about 30 minutes. They also work closely with Westone. They being my hospital. I'm still debating on whether I should get full size cans or custom IEM's for my next buy, considering this whole pressure thing is throwing my hearing off with the whooshy sounds. I'm pretty sure i'm gonna end up with full size cans due to the soundstage benefits and repairability, but its still nice to know that they offer this service for so cheap. I thought it woudl cost twice that much. They even offer custom fit service for any pair of headphones I bring in. 3 weeks and an ear mold appointment later, they'll have any pair of headphones fit with custom molds for me for about 75 bucks.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Glad to hear you have a clean bill of health! Hopefully, whatever it is will clear up soon.

 

[Frankie K]

That's Great new's, give it some time to heal and get over the ear can's.