Man heard ‘whistling’ sound coming from his nose — after 17 doctors’ failed attempts, he finally learned what was wrong
The most random signs can be indicators that something is wrong. A man named Bradley Rhoton experienced one such strange sign — a whistling sound coming from his nose, The Washington Post reported. Worried about why the sound was coming, the man consulted doctors, only to receive a diagnosis that wasn’t accurate and medication that had no effect. Finally, after years, the man learned what was wrong. It started as an eerie sound back in 2017 when Rhoton and his wife were carving pumpkins. They heard the unusual sound and had no idea where it was coming from. The duo was stunned to realize that it was coming from Rhoton.
Every time he inhaled, a whistling sound echoed. He went to a doctor who told him that he likely had a deviated septum. Rhoton was obliged to undergo corrective surgery but unfortunately, instead of breathing better, things took a turn for the worse. He experienced nasal congestion, disturbance in sleep and other symptoms that affected him deeply. “My symptoms made daily life a struggle simply to function,” the man explained. Along with this, he was constantly fatigued due to disrupted sleeping patterns. As a dad to a then-infant and toddler, he was beyond exhausted.
“It was like I was on a two-hour battery. I wanted to do fun things with my kids, but I was so diminished that I couldn’t care for them. I’d fall asleep in the lawn chair while I was supposed to be watching them play outside,” he recounted. He visited around 17 doctors but was unable to get an accurate diagnosis. Some even dismissed the man that he was just imagining things. “They told me my nose looked fine. They said, ‘Your nose is wide open. Straight. Healed. There’s nothing wrong with you,” he revealed. However, his condition was getting worse and affecting his daily life.
Despite trying nasal sprays, applications, medication and whatnot, nothing provided relief. After around 18 months of being told he was fine, he started wondering if it was all just in his head. “It was an upsetting journey that raised questions about how the health-care system responds and the often overlooked psychological toll of being misunderstood,” Rhoton remarked. Finally, in November 2023, Rhoton contacted Subinoy Das, medical director of the U.S. Institute for Advanced Sinus Care and Research in Columbus, Ohio. He explained his situation and learned that he could have ENS (Empty Nose Syndrome).
The condition is a controversial one wherein patients experience the opposite of relief in the nasal passage after a surgery, the Cleveland Clinic revealed. Pryor Brenner, a D.C. otolaryngologist, who conducted 2,000 nasal surgeries in 24 years, stated that ENS is a very “real” condition. “I discuss the possibility of ENS with all my patients because it’s a major medical problem when it does occur,” he explained, adding that it can greatly impact a person’s everyday life. Rhoton took the test, which measured a list of symptoms to identify ENS. He scored 26, the maximum was 30 and this score indicated the worst.
Jayakar Nayak, an ENT surgeon at Stanford University, conducted a second surgery. He noted that when he placed cotton in the place where the nasal tissue was missing, Rhoton’s score dropped from 26 to 2. “He told me that ‘whatever you just did, just leave it be. I finally can breathe through my nose again,” Nayak recalled. What followed was a series of injections and treatments and a road to recovery. After six long years, Rhoton finally had answers and knew he would be okay. Above all, he was able to breathe normally and that was the biggest win.
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