Mum-of-two died of heart attack aged 34 after ‘self-medicating’ with cocaine and wine to treat her severe Tinnitus
Claire Fielding suffered a persistent buzzing noise in her ears and deteriorated rapidly in the months before her death
A MUM-OF-TWO died of a heart attack aged 34 after 'self-medicating' with cocaine and wine to treat her severe Tinnitus.
Claire Fielding suffered a persistent buzzing noise in her ears and would take 4g of the Class A drug and drink half a bottle of wine every night.
She suddenly fell ill at her home in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in July, and despite desperate attempts by paramedics to revive her she died in hospital.
An inquest in Bolton heard Miss Fielding, a retail assistant had been 'outgoing and bubbly' but had retreated 'into her shell' due to the hearing condition.
Her boyfriend of 17 years, James Goodyear, 41, said: "She had hearing problems which deteriorated more recently.
"She also had problems with panic attacks and with her breathing. There were two or three occasions where she had struggled to breathe.
"She did drink about half a bottle of wine most nights, regularly.
"She suffered from tinnitus and that's what calmed her.
"It was this buzzing in her ears all the time.
''I knew that she took cocaine at weekends sometimes.
"It was a form of self medication for her.
"She was quite a private person really.
"She never really said what was going through her head."
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He continued:"The week that she died had been quite a hot week, and she had started to lose her voice and it was quite croaky.
"She had problems with her breathing two or three times before that I knew about, and twice at work.
"On the day of her death I went upstairs and woke her up, because she couldn't hear the alarm and went back downstairs.
"She came down into the kitchen, she was gasping for breath and she said ring an ambulance.
"She was in the kitchen and going to the back door for some fresh air but as I was on the phone to the ambulance she started to go to the front door.
"I had seen her like this before.
"Her lips had started to go blue but they had gone back to normal by the time the ambulance arrived. She wasn't in a good state."
Mr Goodyear was asked if he knew if Claire had taken any cocaine the night before her death but he was unable to say if she did or not and added: "She could have done. Claire lived her own life. All the medical stuff she did herself. We only know what she told us.
"I think because of her Tinnitus she put herself in a shell.
"She just sat there and she didn't want to go out. She was an outgoing person she used to go out all the time."
Dr Anindita Paul from the Royal Bolton Hospital had been treating Claire for her tinnitus and inflammation of the throat from 3 February 2016 and last saw her in May.
Dr Paul said: "Claire has to be stabilised at that time with the tracheostomy and some steroids were found to be helping. Claire also had a collapsed nasal bridge. She was a very bubbly person.
"She obviously had difficulties at the time with her tracheostomy but felt the steroids were helping to improve. My job was to identify the cause of the infection. The toxic infection in this case was due to cocaine use. She told us that she was using the substance by inhalation rather than injecting.
"She told me that she had been taking cocaine and inhaling it nasally since 2002.
"The only treatment is to immediately refrain from taking the toxin. We were trying to find a middle zone, but the only treatment was to stop taking the cocaine.
"She did tell us that she was lowering her use of cocaine.
''On the 26th May she said that when she went to the toilet she could hear herself passing water for the first time in a long time and that was really amusing to her.
"She was very open and honest."
Claire was also referred to Bolton Drug and Alcohol service where she was given some support, but her attendance was described as 'intermittent'.
Lyndsey Price from the service told the inquest that Claire admitted to using 4g a day of cocaine, but had managed to reduce that to one to two grams, along with six units of alcohol a day – the equivalent to half a bottle of wine.
Mrs Price added: "She wanted to stop and she wanted to engage.
"Cocaine addiction is a very, very strong psychological addiction.
"Claire did do her own research and she was very interested and very motivated in trying to cut down.
"She found that sorting her daughters' Lego helped to keep her hands busy.
"On each meeting she was warned about the cocaine use. Claire was aware of the risks."
A post-mortem examination established Miss Fielding had died of sudden cardiac death as a result of cocaine used.
Traces of the drug, plus ibroprofen and paracetamol, were found in her blood, leading a pathologist to believe Miss Fielding had taken cocaine either the night before her death or a large quantity the weekend before.
Recording a conclusion of a drug related death Assistant Coroner Rachel Griffin said: "Claire has been described as a very bubbly and very caring young lady.
WHAT IS TINNITUS?
Tinnitus is the term for hearing sounds that come from inside your body, rather than from an outside source.
It's often described as "ringing in the ears", although several sounds can be heard, including: buzzing, humming, grinding, hissing and whistling.
Some people may hear sounds similar to music or singing, and others hear noises that beat in time with their pulse.
Hearing generally is not as good it was and people can become more sensitive to everyday sounds.
It's rarely a sign of a serious underlying condition and for some people it can come and go and only be a minor irritation.
However, for some it can be continuous and have a significant impact on everyday life, with severe cases leading to insomnia and depression.
Source: NHS Choices
"She had struggled during her life with drug use and particularly her use of cocaine.
"She reported that she was using cocaine on a daily basis and that she was using the drug to a relatively high level.
"She was warned about the risk of using cocaine and she was fully educated from her own research of cocaine.
"It is clear to me Claire died from a cardiac event due to her drug use. I hope that if any good can come out of Claire's death it is a warning to others about use of cocaine and the dangers of using cocaine.
"It is a very dangerous drug even in small amounts even with a one off use or long term use it can have fatal consequences."
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