If you have ringing ears, facial numbness & tingling, headaches

I'm not posting this to scare anybody, but I am getting checked out for an Acoustic Neuroma in about a month.
What the heck is that, you may ask.

An Acoustic Neuroma is a benign tumor of the nerve that connects the ear to the brain. Because I had a hearing test at the ENT and it showed I have good hearing, they are sending me for another test, called ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response). The test won't hurt. All I'll have to do is lie there.

The reason I am sharing this is to bring attention to the symptoms that are listed on this page of the Acoustic Neuroma Association. Don't assume that ringing ears, facial numbness & tingling and headaches are "just part of having Fibro."
Although the tumor (if I have it) is always a benign type of tumor, it can cause hydrocephaly (water on the brain) which can kill people if a person had the tumor and it grew.

So, check this out - I argued with myself about whether to share this, because I hate to scare anyone, but then I thought about the risk of someone having all these symptoms and not being aware that it could be anything but Fibro.


www.anausa.org/index.php/overview/symptoms

Actually, Cathy, the good part is is that your heart is beating! 

 

Not everything is caused by fibro and you are wise to be checked out.  We used to have a great mod that kept having bad headaches and thought it was fibro.  It actually was a brain anyurism and she ended up having a stroke and a heart attack.  She is fine now but it took a lot out of her.  So always talk to your doctor about your symptoms.

It's too easy to blame things on fibro and other illnesses.  Thanks for sharing.

Sherrine 

I used to get daily migraines, sometimes with aura. It was terrible! I had an MRI & I had a deviated septum, a bone spur, & a pocket of air in my facial bone. Those things worked with each other to set off migraines. Since I had the surgery, it's rare that I ever have migraines. I maybe have 1 once a year. Just throwing that out there as another thing to consider. . .good luck with your test! I feel afraid people think I'm a hypochondriac too :-(

The test I am going to have for the Tinnitis is Auditory Brainstem Respone (ABR). The paperwork I have from the ENT says "The ABR is a simple test that evaluates the auditory nerve for any rare growths or abnormalities. This test will reveal whether or not the auditory nerve and lower brainstem are functioning properly."

Did you ever have that test for your Tinnitis? I don't go for this test until early November, so I have to wait and wonder, but I have a feeling it's not going to find anything at all...which will be good, except it might mean I'm stuck with tinnitis.

See an ENT if you haven't yet. You are not a whiny baby at all, you are strong, super strong, other people would buckle from everything you are dealing with.

These people in offices! Argh! Ok, I have an idea -- try to get the human resources people to contact your company's rep with the insurance company.

Every company that has insurance to offer its employees has one. Basically, he or she is a SALESPERSON -- meaning -- that person wants to clear up problems so the insurance company will still have the employer as a customer the next time insurance is up for renewal.

The rep can make calls that go way over and above what the employer's Human Resources person or you can do. They change the "rules" on stuff like this all the time.

The key part of this is that you must find/contact the person with the employer who deals with the insurance company's representative TO the company. You will have to be firm and determined but not come off as pushy or a jerk. Make some notes so you have all the pertinent dates & info that they may ask.

If you can't get them to do anything, you're in the same spot you are now, so there's nothing to lose -- but I have seen the reps bend over backwards to help the employers/plan administrator

Good luck!

Oh yes, the insurance analyst was mean because. . .
((drum roll))
They WANT you to give up
so they don't have to pay up!
That's why you really need to try to find someone at your employer's company HR who is higher up. Create a file to keep everything related to this situation. Note every conversation. Really, just be a tigress
You can even send a letter to someone higher up in the company & send the letter Certified so they will pay more attention to it. Keep copies of everything.

The reason I know that the insurance company WILL act when your employer asks them to fix your situation is because I used to work in Human Resources. It was about 10 years ago, so I realize some things have changed, but the fact that your employer could switch insurance companies when the contract with this one is up shouldn't have changed.

Your company's contract is worth a LOT of money to the insurance company, & the rep wants to keep his/her commission. That can work in your favor. When you talk to HR person, pour your heart out, actually ask, "I really hope you can help me, I am at the end of my rope with this. . " Tell the truth if course, but what I am stressing here is to appeal to the person's humanity, to try to get him or her emotionally involved in trying to help you.

The insurance company's customer is the employer you get your insurance through. You are not their customer. You want to get the employer to see that the insurance company is not being reasonable, & that they need to ask their rep with the insurance company to intercede with you in the inside channels of the insurance company, to make an exception since the lateness of the documents was out of your control.

You say you depend on your boyfriend, & that's fine -- but -- you have either paid in to this insurance plan, expecting a certain coverage, or if your employer paid for it, they're being cheated if they aren't providing the protection that was promised.

& considering the work involved & your health isn't up to it, there is probably an attorney who knows about working with insurance companies, & I don't know how much money your benefit would be, but a lot of attorneys will give you a consultation about what your rights might be.

Wow, would really like to know what you found out.. I have had ringing in my ears for YEARS, and migraines have been terrible! Knock on wood that they have let up some since my hysterectomy.
But I would be very interested to know what you found out! Good luck