Do you think this ear problem was handled correctly?

An old friend, 66, developed ringing in her ears
(tinnitus) a couple months ago. She had no pain or head injuries. Her ears beat in rhythm with her heartbeat which makes me think it is from her cholesterol meds. She felt fine, went to seee an ENT, and he suddenly put a hose up her nose which went down into her throat. She said it Really hurt and she had a sore throat (and the tinnitus continues) for 2 days like he scratched her throat with the hose. Is this the usual “treatment?” She said he did nothing that made it better and said nothing about what caused it or how to treat it. She has never gone to a rock concert. I had told her that, far as I know, there’s no treatment and it’s often permanent.