Thong Chai Sengkang Acupuncture 4

Went for my 4th session at Thong Chai today.

It's another different doctor today. Dr T2.
Young Chap in black leather shoes.

He applied pressure correctly and I did feel some "suan" and "pain" from the acupoints.

Found it commendable the way he handled some patients who were not very courteous.

I still have tinnitus in both ears.
No significant changes noted.

Sian Chay Medical Institution 2 - Punggol North

Decided to try to get meds from Sian Chay Punggol instead of going down to Geylang.

The Punggol branch was very crowded and the queue had over 20+ people waiting in line.

There was only 2 doctors.
One for Acupuncture.
One for Tuina.

Spoke to one of the regular patients and she shared that more and more people have started to visit this clinic. And that it was getting very popular.

She thinks it's because the doctors are good.

They can only give me meds up to 6 days.
So I'll have to come back weekly for this.

Thong Chai Sengkang Acupuncture 3

Today I went for my 3rd acupuncture session after the 2nd one seems like it did not help at all.

The doctor today was Dr P.? Not sure how to read or pronounce the Chinese word.
Very complicated word.

He was similar to the first Dr C. when applying the needle.
He asked if I could feel any sensation and slowly pressed deeper till there was some "suan" or "pain".

For my hands, he did something similar to the Dr T., which did not seem to help the numbness.
(Side of Hand)

The first Dr C, applied a better acupoint for that.(Top of hand)

As I was lying face down, halfway through, a lot of mucus started forming in my nose.
I did not have my usual sinus in the morning and found it strange that this was happening halfway though my day on the treatment bed.

Perhaps it is good as it purges out the toxins and germs.

1. Dr C
2. Dr T
3. Dr P

Thong Chai Sengkang Acupuncture 2

Went for my 2nd acupuncture session at Thong Chai today.

Did not manage to see the first Doctor I saw.
And I got arranged to meet another Doc. Doc Tan.

Felt the needling he did was not effective at all.
I told him about the numbness in my fingers and yet after the session, the numbness was still there.

I did not feel any "Suan" (Soreness) or "Tong" (Pain) during his needle insertion.
And so I do not think his acupuncture was on point.

Sian Chay Medical Institution - Geylang 692

https://www.sianchay.org.sg/en/our-tcm-centre/

I went to get consultation, acupuncture and medication from Sian Chay TCM earlier today for my SSHL.

It's been about 4 months since it's started.

Doctor Huang mentioned that he suspects that my liver is on "fire".
He tells me that the Western notion of "liver" and the TCM definition of "liver" is slightly different.
And asked me if I had a temper, in which I nodded.
In particular, I shared that I actually had a big internal upheaval 2 to 3 hours before I lost my hearing and got my ear block.

He responded that because I did not release my anger and held it in, it actually made things worse for my body. And that the "qi" could not flow in my body.

He prescribed me medicine and only did acupuncture for me upon my persuasion.
Felt that the acupuncture points he did were much more milder compared to previous ones I had with other doctors. He did about 3 points on my ears. And 1 point on my hand.
The time he used was also shorter, which was only 15 minutes.
He added a warming lamp over the affected area.

I paid about $30 for the whole treatment and did not really have to wait for a long time, compared to Thong Chai, which was free and had a along queue.

What I like about Sian Chay was the availability of medication collection on the same day.
The doctor also seems more experienced.
He was able to relate other similar patients he had encountered.

Such as
1. Someone who developed tinnitus while taking a flight and never recovered.
2. Someone who vomitted so badly and developed tinnitus.

And gave me more insight on my illness.

He gave me:
1. Black Pills For Ears
2. Red Pills for Liver?
3. Some dark liquid to allow me to sleep better?

To be updated.

Thong Chai Sengkang Acupuncture

Went for my TCM first session at Thong Chai Sengkang.

Thong Chai? What's that?
Yup, I have never heard of them before until recently.

It's a free TCM medical consultation clinic that's available for the public.
You're welcome to donate to support the noble cause.

They offer acupuncture and medicine freely.
But the thing is, you can only opt for acupuncture or medicine each time you come, which I thought was kind of weird.

It's very inconvenient for patients to come twice in the same week for the same purpose of getting better.

The medicine is also only available for 3 days. So if you're really in need, you'll end up coming here 4 times a week.

2 times for treatment.
2 times for medicine.

My doctor today was Clara and she was relatively young.
She was very gentle and polite.
And managed to find my acupuncture points.

Some of the points she used, were different from my experience with 2 other sinsehs.
At this time, I'm not sure who is more accurate.

Right now. I have no particular sensation after the first session.
Will update.

Asked her about whether she had treated patients with tinnitus and hearing loss.
She said she has only encountered tinnitus patients.
And I am her first SSHL patient.
She thinks that I'm suffering from kidney problems.
And that my body is heaty.
And she advised me from taking too much of Yi Qi Zong Ming Tang after my query on this meds I'm currently taking on my own.

MY MIMI APP HEARING TEST RESULTS AFTER TCM TODAY:

Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture

Chanced upon this instagram post.
It's a lady in Taiwan who underwent yamamoto new scalp acupuncture to recover fully from her SSHL episode.

This was supposedly weeks after her SSHL happened.
She had previously gone for traditional acupuncture but had little results.

View this post on Instagram

<本病歷經病患同意後上傳> 朱小姐 突發性耳聾已數周 經過傳統針灸治療後無明顯改善 高資承醫師使用山元式新頭針療法治療後 治療第四次後 聽力即恢復正常 耳鼻喉科表示痊癒 #YNSA #YamamotoNewScalpAcupuncture #高資承醫師 #突發性耳聾 #中醫 #針灸 #醫心堂中醫診所 #鍼灸 #Acupuncture #突発性難聴　#SSHL #suddensensorineuralhearingloss

A post shared by 醫心堂中醫診所高資承院長 (@drkaotzuchen) on Jan 9, 2019 at 5:02am PST

Is there someone in Singapore who knows how to do Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture?
In particular to treat SSHL and Tinnitus?!!!

Source: https://www.instagram.com/drkaotzuchen/?hl=en


Another guy who went to the same doctor for the same treatment. Months later though.
He did not fully recover, but managed to gained by 10 decibels of sound.

View this post on Instagram

<本病歷經病患同意後上傳> 劉先生 突發性耳聾已數月 經過傳統針灸治療後無明顯改善 高資承醫師使用山元式新頭針療法治療後 聽力進步10dB 恭喜這位病患治療成功!!! #YNSA #YamamotoNewScalpAcupuncture #高資承醫師 #突發性耳聾 #耳中風 #中醫 #針灸 #醫心堂中醫診所 #鍼灸 #Acupuncture #突発性難聴 #SuddenSensorineuralHearingLoss

A post shared by 醫心堂中醫診所高資承院長 (@drkaotzuchen) on Jan 4, 2019 at 5:32am PST

My Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment For Sudden Hearing Loss

I'm about 4 months into my SSHL.
Started: 13th September 2018
Right Now: 15th January 2019

I have: 
SSHL in: Left Ear.
Slight Tinnitus: Right Ear
Moderate/Severe Tinnitus: Left Ear
Facial Numbness: None currently
Ear Fullness: None currently
Head Fullness: None currently
Vertigo: None currently

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today is the 20th time that I'm undergoing the Hyperbaric Treatment at Novena Medical Centre.




OUTCOME:
I did not recover fully from my hearing loss but my tinnitus has lowered in volume considerably.
But that said, it still sometimes spikes at night before I sleep or when I wake up.
It's much better than before though.
I wonder if this tinnitus volume would last once treatment ends.

I also felt some of my facial numbness diminishing after the 1st session.

I am disappointed that I'm not one of those patients who have managed to miraculously recover from their SSHL via a series of Hyperbaric Oxygen treatments.

HEARSAY IN THIS CENTRE:
Some 20 something guy managed to recover only after 3 treatments within his 4 week SSHL period.
Another 50 something lady managed to recover after 10 treatments within her 4 month SSHL period.







It was one of the last hope that I was hanging onto.

To be fair, I only went slightly after the 3 month window period after much internal struggling.
I was afraid I would be spending too much money for something that might not work out. 

I gained around 5 decibels of hearing across some frequencies.
And I think I've heard some different tones popping in my bad ear around my 14th session onwards during the decompression segment.
Which means I've probably gained back some new sound frequency?

Was it money well spent?
(It's quite expensive and intense as you have to pay around $280 to $380 every day for 20 times)

Well, I think so. Otherwise I would always be thinking at the back of my head, "What if I did it and it could have helped me? And I didn't do it".

Those horrible thoughts would have consumed me. Better to get it out of the system.

I also wanted to do this to see if it would have helped my tinnitus on my good ear. But it didn't. Did this as a preventive measure. Got to protect what I have left.

I though it was also good that I did this to help my body to get better, to heal.
I was also having anxiety about possibly having stroke.
Coz I think this SSHL episode seems to be a warning to me.
So this oxygen treatment was also helpful to help "circulate" oxygen to the different parts of my body besides my ear.

Article From Asiaone - Reverse Slope Hearing Loss From Lady In China Who Can't Hear Her Boyfriend When She Woke Up

http://www.asiaone.com/health/woman-wakes-unable-hear-mens-voices-including-her-boyfriend


Excerpt:

WHAT IS REVERSE-SLOPE HEARING LOSS?

According to Audiology Inc, reverse-slope hearing loss (RSHL) is a rare condition, affecting only 3,000 people in the US and Canada.

It's known as 'reverse-slope' because its shape on an audiogram is the reverse of ski-slope (high-frequency) hearing loss. The graph starts in the lower-left-hand corner and slopes upward steeply.

RSHL is also known as low-frequency hearing loss.

The main contributing cause of RSHL is genetics, but certain diseases affecting the hair cells responsible for sending sound information from the inner ear to the brain have been implicated as well. Examples include sudden hearing loss, Ménière’s disease, and viral infection.

Another possible source of RSHL is due to a change in pressure of the endolymph, or fluid in the inner ear.