Almost two weeks ago I went through the full ENG and neurological work-up by Dr. Hughes who co-invented the Epley. And one of the most respected otoneurologists on the west coast.

During the test he said his preliminary findings were 30 to 50% loss in the right vestibular system. My ENT who ordered the tests has been on vacation for two weeks so I have been unable to discuss the full test results.

Being anxious I called Dr. Hughes direct - I am in a total tail spin on his final report. He now says I have no sign of any loose crystals (Epley done 1 week prior) in any canal and have no discernible damage to either right or left vestibular system.

My Dr. is still gone so I can't go over this with him - question. Dr. Hughes claims that with no damage there is no accommodation necessary and no activity restrictions.....THEN WHY am I so dizzy and off balance.

My ENT's physician's assistant said a quick check of you vestibular health is to put your feet together, close you eyes and hold your arms out to the side. If anyone can see you ( or you feel) wobble you have a vestibular problem - if not you probably don't.

BIG QUESTION - if I have no damage do I still have to accommodate to the BPPV that we still don't know if I ever had.

I do have an anxiety disorder and this whole situation has got it totally out of control - can stress and anxiety cause severe dizziness and bouts of vertigo. Anyone else told they have no damage but still have symptoms.

Rik

Hi James,

Well, welcome to the club :confused: . I've been dizzy 24/7 with desiquilibrium for the past 31 months and all my tests came back normal. So, like a lot of us here, I got the anxiety/stress theory. I know that when your feeling dizzy you do experience anxiety but I'm 100% sure that my condition is middle ear related.

Many people on this site have seen many doctors before they got a proper diagnosis.

Hang in there :)

I am waiting for a copy of my report - I do know that Dr. Hughes is nationally recognized as the BPPV and inner ear expert. He only does special consults in problem cases or on request by an ENT...so I think he has ruled out 99.999% of possibilities.....I hope?

Rik

Hi Rik,

Don't forget that the ENG doesn't test all areas of the balance organ. Apparently it only tests on part of the semi-circular canals and not the other two. I also passed the ENG with flying colours but remain unbalanced. The good news is that the anxiety does decrease over time. I know it seems like forever but it does. I had a terrible time with it and now I'm almost back to normal. Maybe you could look into having an EcoG done. This will measure the fluid levels in the inner ear. Mine came back as higher than normal and probably a result of the inflammation created by the virus according to the doc. This could be your situation too.

Hang in there.

Cheers...Scott :cool:

Rik,

I'm just perplexed as to why he would tell you two different things. He seemed very careful not to want to make any conclusions during and immediately after my test, stating that he would need to compile the information for my ENT, and that the ENT would tell me during my follow-up visit the next week. He only hinted that there were some issues showing up and it would explain why I was feeling the way I was.

Did he tell you how/why he could conclude two different things??

And, yes, I do believe anxiety can cause dizziness. That's why there are so many of us on this board (ask portlandmandy about this!!!) who just get shoved aside by the docs stating it's just anxiety when we first present them with the dizziness disorder.

Terri

Hi Rik,

I haven't been on the boards for a while because I needed to catch up on my homework! But I wanted to respond about the anxiety. Like Terri, I too, believe anxiety has a lot to do with the condition. In my experience, my inner ear (post-labyrinth concussion disorder) triggered the anxiety, but the combination of both made life unbearable. At the time, several doc's would only diagnos me with anxiety. When I got to Dr. Black, however, the first test I had was the one you spoke of -- eyes closed, one foot directly in front of the other, and arms out. I felt quite off balance. Interestly, I was given a similar test by another doctor prior to Dr. Black, but he didn't make me put my foot in front, so I "passed" the test. Actually, the latter sounds like the test they gave you...hmm?? To this day I still have to be careful when I take a shower because I can accidentally mimic that test!

Even though I'm about 95% better, I still stay involved with these boards and other things because I know how awful it is to suffer from this. For your sake, I wish I knew more about BVVP (but they are sure that is the problem?). What kind of dizziness do you have now? More of a swimming feeling or spinning (vertigo)?

In regards to the dizziness, all I can tell you is that I started Paxil to ease the anxiety and I truly, truly believe that's what helped get me through!

take care,
mandy

Almost two weeks ago I went through the full ENG and neurological work-up by Dr. Hughes who co-invented the Epley. And one of the most respected otoneurologists on the west coast.

During the test he said his preliminary findings were 30 to 50% loss in the right vestibular system. My ENT who ordered the tests has been on vacation for two weeks so I have been unable to discuss the full test results.

Being anxious I called Dr. Hughes direct - I am in a total tail spin on his final report. He now says I have no sign of any loose crystals (Epley done 1 week prior) in any canal and have no discernible damage to either right or left vestibular system.

My Dr. is still gone so I can't go over this with him - question. Dr. Hughes claims that with no damage there is no accommodation necessary and no activity restrictions.....THEN WHY am I so dizzy and off balance.

My ENT's physician's assistant said a quick check of you vestibular health is to put your feet together, close you eyes and hold your arms out to the side. If anyone can see you ( or you feel) wobble you have a vestibular problem - if not you probably don't.

BIG QUESTION - if I have no damage do I still have to accommodate to the BPPV that we still don't know if I ever had.

I do have an anxiety disorder and this whole situation has got it totally out of control - can stress and anxiety cause severe dizziness and bouts of vertigo. Anyone else told they have no damage but still have symptoms.

Rik



I just had to respond to this....It took me 4 years and 3 ENG's before I could get a dr. to tell me I had an innner ear problem. I have a 40% loss on my right side. If you BELIEVE you have a problem, don't stop fighting to find out.

I'm sure stress and anxiety CAN cause dizziness, but for me, it was the other way around. In the beginning I was told it was depression causing my problems, I knew better. Most docs don't know enough about ear disorders so it is easily passed off as depression .

Kim