Man who could hear his own eyeballs moving is cured after six-year agony



A father-of-two who heard his eyes scratching like 'sandpaper' every time they moved in their sockets, has finally found relief.

Stephen Mabbutt, 57, from Charlton in Oxfordshire, started experiencing symptoms six years ago.

A dull ache in his head progressed to a vibrating sensation that affected his vision every time he spoke. Meanwhile loud noises started to make him feel dizzy.

Relief: Stephen Mabbutt's hearing is improving all the time following surgery for a rare ear syndrome

Before long Mr Mabbutt could hear his heart beating and eyeballs moving and found he could barely follow a conversation or hear the TV.

'It sounded like sandpaper on wood, that sort of noise, when I moved my eyes,' he told the Oxford Mail.



Doctors were baffled by the condition and tried to treat him with nasal sprays and antibiotics with no success.

Then surgeon Martin Burton, from the Oxford Radcliffe Hospital, noticed perforations inside the semicircular canals inside Mr Mabbutt's ear.



He was referred to Richard Irving at the Birmingham Ear Clinic, who diagnosed him with the rare condition superior canal dehiscence syndrome.



SCDS affects only one in 500,000 people in the UK and was only discovered a decade ago.



It occurs when part of the bone covering the semicircular canals is missing, which exposes the sensitive membrane underneath.

Mr Mabbutt had holes in the bone covering his semicircular canals (5)

Mr Mabbutt underwent surgery in May to seal the holes. He is now back at work at Abbot Diabetes Care, where he is a training coordinator.

'You cannot believe what a relief it is,' he said.

Mr Irving said of the case: 'It is very unusual with symptoms which could easily have been dismissed. It must have been very distressing.'