My roommate has been sick with an ear infection for almost a year- last January she had to go to the E.R. for terrible pain where they had to perforate her ear drum in order to drain it. Since then, her ear drum has not healed itself and she is, in fact, now missing approximately 25 percent of her eardrum and at least 50 percent of her hearing, according to specialists. They can't operate to patch the ear drum until the infection is gone, and she can't seem to kick it.
Apart from all of this, every time she eats, she vommits. Rarely can she keep anything down... what I'm wondering, though, is if this is a combination of an ear disorder and an eating disorder at this point? Because usually as soon as she's thrown up the last thing she ate, she goes right back and eats again- not a little bit, but full meals and then some. The cycle repeats every day, all day. Am I being overly sensitive- they report dizziness and nausea as side effects of the inner ear-related vertigo, but this kind of vommiting seems to be more than what is commonly reported. Does anyone else have some experiences they can relate to this? I'm just really worried that maybe she's not getting help for everything she needs help for?

My roommate has been sick with an ear infection for almost a year- last January she had to go to the E.R. for terrible pain where they had to perforate her ear drum in order to drain it. Since then, her ear drum has not healed itself and she is, in fact, now missing approximately 25 percent of her eardrum and at least 50 percent of her hearing, according to specialists. They can't operate to patch the ear drum until the infection is gone, and she can't seem to kick it.
Apart from all of this, every time she eats, she vommits. Rarely can she keep anything down... what I'm wondering, though, is if this is a combination of an ear disorder and an eating disorder at this point? Because usually as soon as she's thrown up the last thing she ate, she goes right back and eats again- not a little bit, but full meals and then some. The cycle repeats every day, all day. Am I being overly sensitive- they report dizziness and nausea as side effects of the inner ear-related vertigo, but this kind of vommiting seems to be more than what is commonly reported. Does anyone else have some experiences they can relate to this? I'm just really worried that maybe she's not getting help for everything she needs help for?

Hi Gabriella, just wanted to say first of all that it's great you're clearly being such a support for your roommate through all this.

Secondly, fluid behind the ear drum indicates a middle ear infection, rather than an inner ear problem as experienced mostly by people on this board.

You are correct in thinking that inner ear problems can cause vomiting, though this is generally as a result of the vertigo/dizzyness which is commonly experienced with this type of problem. You don't say whether your friend experiences any dizzyness so I presume she does not, in which case it is quite likely there is something going on in addition to her ear problem.

Additionally, with most illnesses which result in vomiting, nausea is present which would make it quite unlikely that you would want to eat massive meals, vomit, and then start again. In fact this sounds a rather bizarre behaviour which may in fact indicate an underlying eating disorder.

Is it possible to talk to your friend about her vomiting, express your concern and try to establish her reason for this. There may be a physiological cause - some drugs can cause nausea and vomiting, possibly those she is taking to fight the infection. If it is something like this then she must go back to the Doctor for a change in medication.

Otherwise this is quite a difficult subject to broach. Suggest to her that she needs to discuss the vomiting with her doctor if possible, whatever the cause as her body clearly will not be getting the nutrition it requires in order to fight off the infection. If it does seem to be an eating disorder and she admits this to you, then clearly helping her find professional help for this and supporting her is all you can, and clearly are doing.

I hope you get to the bottom of this soon, xx