Ear Problem - Tumor?

[ernstinen]

Hi My Friends,Man, I sure hope I don't join the ranks of composers like Brian Wilson or (gasp!) Beethoven --- Yesterday I got a real scare concerning the status of my left ear. I've been noticing something wrong for about a month, and went to a top-notch Hearing Clinic located here in L.A. They first gave me a hearing test, with headphones on, and I thought it was real cool while it was happening. (I thought it would prove my claim of being able to hear up to 24 kHz --- LOL!). Well, the test only went up to 8 kHz, and they found some problems, I'm sorry to say.Since I'm an audio engineer as well as a composer, I've always been careful with my ears, and am very aware of frequency graphs. But the graph they printed out showed a significant drop of over 20 db starting around 4 kHz. My hearing then got better going up to 8 kHz, but that's where the testing stopped, and my worrying started. The doctor didn't have to explain the graph to me --- I knew exactly what it meant. Big trouble for Ol' Ern. The Doctor of Otolaryngology wants me to have an MRI because of a possible tumor between the ear and the brain. The tumor is called an "Acoustic Neuroma," and presses on the 7th and/or 8th nerves coming out of the inner ear. If they DO find a tumor, and it's small and removed surgically, I have about a 50% chance of being able to continue to hear out of my left ear. I've been taking nightly walks to help clear out my negative thoughts --- just like Beethoven used to do when he was going deaf.Any thoughts are appreciated!Ern

[Casey H]

Best wishes Ern... Think positive!We'll all be thinking about you. Please keep up posted... Casey

[ernstinen]

WOW!Thank you all for the quick replies and the PMs. I really appreciate it!I DID have two different doctors say I need an MRI, so I'll have that and take it from there.BTW, when my internist recommended this clinic and said it was one of the best in the country, I was fired up --- UNTIL he told me the name of it:"THE HOUSE EAR CLINIC." As a fan of the TV show, I asked if "Dr. House" worked there. The doc said "No, and if 'I' ever did ONE thing that Dr. House does, I'd have my license taken away IMMEDIATELY!" LOL! Gotta keep a sense of humor about this stuff --- Ern

[linziellen]

Ern I'm thinking about you, let us know when you know a little more but definitely try and keep positive in the meantime.Lindsey

[hummingbird]

Ern, I don't know if this will help you at all - and most of you won't know this, but I had a similar tumor discovered when I was 12 or 13. Upshot was they had to do surgery (much more invasive then) & they also removed the 3 bones behind the eardrum as they had been compromised by the tumor. So I have been deaf in one ear since then. Let me remind you, I have since become a fully trained singer, a well-respected voice teacher, and now composer producer with forwards/deals. I do have difficulty hearing in noisy places, and I have difficulty hearing quiet voices on my deaf side. I don't wear a hearing aid cause I hate them (and they cause build-ups/inflections in the ear). Figure I'll wait until ya'll are shoutin' at me, then I'll worry about it. I share this with you because, although it is a tough challenge to face what is in front of you, it need not impact your career at all. Be glad they have the technology to find & remove these things before they spread. However, I do agree you should get a second opinion before making a decision.sending you ((((hugs)))))Hummin'bird

[ernstinen]

Apr 23, 2008, 2:17pm, hummingbird wrote:Ern, I don't know if this will help you at all - and most of you won't know this, but I had a similar tumor discovered when I was 12 or 13. Upshot was they had to do surgery (much more invasive then) & they also removed the 3 bones behind the eardrum as they had been compromised by the tumor. So I have been deaf in one ear since then.Wow, Vickie, that's amazing! Thanks for telling me that ---I know that the reason Brian Wilson mixed the Beach Boys' tunes in Mono was because he was deaf in one ear. Rumor has it that his tyranical father used to "cuff him upside the head" when he was younger. Luckily, I never had that problem (or did I -- can't remember -- hmmmm ).The audiologist and doctors ALL asked me if I was a surfer, though. I kept saying 'No' and wonderin' why they'd ask that. They started talking about swimming in cold water, and a light bulb went on in my little pea brain --- I grew up swimming in Lake Michigan, and spent a lot of my summers in N. Minnesota, swimming for hours in cold water. REAL cold water, especially after a sauna. I've got some growths in the outer part of my left ear caused by that, probably. --- BUT, that doesn't have anything to do with a tumor, so that will be the focus for now.Thanks again for all your support, guys! Ern

[sgs4u]

ah, shit man sorry to hear of your loss You know it's going to work itself out, you'll be fine. And you used to play loud, for a lotta years too, right? You survived that! And, I bet you still have that nice strat hiding in the closet, don't cha... And orchestras in Europe are playing/recording your compositions... life must be pretty good, besides the neighbor?steve

[jchitty]

Ern, I hope everything turns out okay for you. Hopefully, you'll have the very best outcome. Keep us posted.

[squids]

Wow, ark.I feel in need of an enema. It's so annoying isn't it? It's hard to find a doc who rides the line instead of leaning too far in the direction of "I'm jes clockin' in" all the way to "I'm totally FREAKED ABOUT YOUR HEALTH! CAN YOU TELL??" (sigh) and it always costs us big bucks to find out which one we've got cuz the midline ones are so rare, you jes KNOW we don't have him.

[ernstinen]

Thanks for the words of wisdom, guys! Yea, the Doc is just probably ruling things out. It could just be old age LOL! Or maybe the years of loud guitar playing. I was talking to a buddy today, and he and I both played guitar on stage right most of our gigging careers, with the drums to our left. Do most guitarists play on the right side of the stage? Kinda seems that way, why I don't know. My buddy said it's because the bassist likes to be on the left near the drummer's hi hat. Huh?Apr 24, 2008, 9:23pm, milfus wrote:bah, get a partner to do the panning, worst case, one ear will make you better at dynamics, your worst case scenario is just getting someone to pan stuff for you buddy, a service i will do for free any time you need it.Good point, milfus! I'm used to other people panning my music all the time! Maybe I'll partner up with Brian Wilson, if his good ear is his left one. We could write some awesome tunes, and collaborate on the panning during mixdown. Ern