EMAIL DETAILS

Hunter/Kathleen,

Hope the trip was good.

Just wanted to follow up on a seemingly small symptom that Naomi brought to our attention yesterday.

Your dad called down to our on-call nurse (Emily), and mentioned that Naomi heard/felt her pulse in her ear(s). Her blood pressure was fine, and she had just a bit of wax in her ear. Any irritation can cause troubles, so we went ahead and gave her some Debrox to flush out the canal.

Hopefully, this is short-lived and a nuthin-burger, but as you know by now - I'm a pessimist by profession.... What she's describing (though I haven't spoken to her myself yet) is "pulsatile tinnitus", and I know that you and your dad are both familiar with other forms of tinnitus. Usually benign and temporary things such as middle ear fluid, etc..., but there are a couple more concerning things that can also be on the list, which are pretty easy to cross OFF the list if her symptoms persist or increase, with some simple imaging. Nothing to lose sleep over at this point, but your family and vessels... -- I just don't want to poo-poo anything too quickly.

I'm available on cell any time. Just heading out of the office in a few. Don't anticipate coming in tomorrow, but certainly can. Otherwise, I will be here all day Thursday, before the Florida trip. Give me a call and we can discuss if you have any questions at all.

Cool. V/R Kevin

Kevin C. O'Connor, D.O., FAAFP
COL, MC, USA
Physician to the Vice President
Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Room 37
O: 202-757-2499
M: 202-757-7633
H: 410-721-8927
kcoconnor@whmo.mil<mailto:kcoconnor@whmo.mil>