Remedies for Noise Intolerance

[sarvsri]

My wife is suffering from very severe Noise Intolerance. It all began on the 10th of January 2009 On this day around 3 PM she had what was identified as a siezure by the Doctors later on. The physician who saw her (during her first siezure) asked for an EEG and Brain scan to be done. The EEG revealed Siezure Activity while the Brain Scan was normal.

He refered us to Dr AV Srinivasan, a Renowned Neuro Physician in Chennai. Dr AVS Confirmed that this was a minor siezure and all would be well and prescribed KEPRA 250mg twice a day. This was on 12th Jan 09. The first dose was given to her on 12th Jan around 11 PM and the following morning my wife had lost her memory. She had no idea about what was happening around her, could not remember me or the children or her parents and also the way around the house.

The Dr did not have any answers and so asked for a repeat of the Brain scan (Which was normal) and then a MRI to be done. The MRI also was normal. He then said there is nothing to worry about and that she would settle down as probably she had had an overdose of Kepra. This did not happen even 72 hours after her first dose of Kepra and hence we refered her to Dr P Natrajan, Neuro Surgeon and Dr R Shridharan, Neuro Physician at Apollo Hospitals in Chennai.

As all the Lab tests and Scan was normal, Dr Sridharan suggested that we do a Lumbar Puncture (Till this time my wife had totally lost her memory). 2 hours Following the lumbar puncture, my wife went into a coma and the doctors did a repeat CT Brain which revealed a Bleeding. The SDH was evacuated and a part of here skull was kept in her stomach (and we were told) to be put back once everything was ok.

The Swelling took almost 4 months to subside- during this time she was taking the following medication:

Tegretol 200 mg (1-1-1)
Valparin 500 mg (1-1-1)

and some antacids and Pain killers on SOS basis

However she was/is extremely intolerant to any kind of noise and used to have siezures lasting from a few minutes upto 15-30 minutes if there was any Noise. (This was during the period Post 1st Surgery and before the 2nd Surgery which was done to put back the part of the skull which was earlier kept in her stomach-Crainoplasty)

However the Surgeon felt that all was well and he did the Crainoplasty on 7th May 2009. Following this the recovery has generally been good- However her noise intolerance, though much better than before, is very very severe. She is unable to tolerate sound's such as:

Mobiles and Land Line Phones ringing
Door Bell Ringing
Infants crying
Ambulance Sirens
Aeroplane Noise
Construction Noise
Fire Crackers etc etc

The doctors have no suggestion as to what needs to be done- however each time some sound disturbs her she has, what the doctor calls a small siezure which lasts for about 5 - 10 mins

As no relief has been forthcoming for the last 7-8 months I would like to know if anyone in this forum is aware of such a problem and possible remedies. I would be very grateful for your suggestions

Best regards

S Yogesh Gupta
syogesh.***@****

[Dr Rajgopal]

Hi,
I understand the trauma your wife must be going through. The noise sensitivity or noise intolerance has occurred due to the use of Tegretol. Noise sensitivity is one of the major side effects of Tegretol. The only way to minimize the side effects of medication is a good nutrition to counter the adverse effects of medication on the body. Excellent nutrition can work wonders in patients with drug induced health problems. Please give your wife good natural supplements of multivitamins, multiminerals, Omega 3 fatty acids, calcium and specifically magnesium. Magnesium has been found to be very effective in reducing the noise intolerance. Take care that the supplements are natural and of good quality. Please try to reduce the noise in house. Make your wife’s room sound proof for some time till her symptoms improve. Please consult an ENT surgeon for examination and possible treatment. Hope this helps you. Take care and regards!  

[ggreg]

I am so glad your wife got her memory back!  Maybe the short-term will return with a bit of practice, I don't know.  Do try getting a bag of those little balls of cotton, they may work better than earplugs.  You might have to pull one of the balls apart, into halves, for it to fit in her ears.  Also, I take a tranquilizer, sounds bother me too, and the drug keeps me calm.  Altho I don't have a seizure at noises... it's certain pitches that merely irritate me.  Anyhow, I just wanted to remphasize the cotton and a tranquilizer.  Oh, and last time I forgot to mention that in your own household, you can disconnect the doorbell and turn off the ringer on the phone... ask friends to call a buzzing cell in your pocket to let you know they're wanting to talk or come up to the door.  I'll leave this post be, so others can make suggestions.

[sarvsri]

Hi Greg

thanks for your comment.  Her Memory came back completely- in fact it is 100% insofar as the past is concerned,  However, her temporary memory is a problem.

The doctors did try to put her on an Antibiotic course and increased the dosage of the seizure medicine, but it actually worsened the situation as she was unable to tolerate the increased medicine.

We have tried some of the best available Ear Plugs and also tried Noise cancellation head phones, which she cannot use as it compresses the area of surgery.

She appears better with each passing day, but we do need a solution as each time a noise irritates her, she has a minor seizure.

thanks once again

[ggreg]

I'm no expert whatsoever, but I can say a couple things that might help.  Whatever seizure medicine she is on, perhaps she should have a higher dose.  She might could use a tranquilizer, as well, so her nerves won't be quite so on edge.  But the easiest thing to do is get her some earplugs or gently but firmly put cotton in her ears every morning, and it will lessen the intensity of sounds.  I recall long time ago in this forum someone talked about earplugs that you can get at a sporting goods store that are particularly good for people who have to wear them a lot.  I hope your good wife's memory came back to some degree after her operation, but these things do happen despite knowledgeable doctors.  I sympathize with you so much, and I wish you and your family strength to cope with the situation.