Long story short im on my 3rd ENT... Really happy with this one.. he actually didnt pat me on the back and push me out the door with no explination... anywhoo... He is thinking that i have Meneirs... he gave me a list of exercises to do...

my question is how many times a day do you do yours? is there such a thing as over doing it cause if it means a quicker recovery .. ill do them all day long.

it will be 3 months on the 24th since i came down with the dizzyness/brain fog that is CONSTANT no let up at all.

I missed 13 weeks of my daughters life so far... her first b-day, mothers day, fathers day..and she started walking and talking.. and while im here watching it all.. i cant participate and it rips my heart out. THANK GOD for my mother who is raising her while i go thru this... i dont know what id do without her... BUT I waited my whole life to be a mother and this is way to long to miss out.

well before this turns into a poor me novel.. i stop here. THanks... oh and have any of u heard of lipoflavonoid? He told me to take that to increase circulation in my middle ear? just wondering what your results were.

Thanks in advance

8Mile, how did your doc finally diagnose Meniere's? What symptoms are you having?

Wellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

March 24th, I was sitting outside with my mom when i got violently dizzy.. (it felt like a headrush) It went away. 2 hours later sitting on the couch, it happened again but more intense.. this time we called 911.. by the time they came it had gone away but i was left in this constant foggy dreamstate.

I should add that for 2 days previous i had fullness in my right ear and Jaw pain ...

anywhoo... first i was diagnosed with Viral Labyrinthitis.. sat around 8 weeks waiting it out... then the ENT changed his mind and said it wasnt labs and sent me to the neuro-ont. He threw his hands up in the air and said i dont know here is a low salt diet .. see ya in 6 weeks... which led me to the 3rd ent (could not wait 6 weeks after the 8 i had just waisted)

My neurologist said here is some b6 see ya in a month... (i am seeing a new one of those friday too)

my GP thinks its depression ( hahaha dont they all)

my symptoms have changed over the weeks... my hearing is in normal range but oddly enough my LEFT (even tho this started with fullness in the right ear) ear has slight hearing loss (still in normal range tho)

Im constantly in a dream like state...

I feel drunk ALL THE TIME. Its not a spinning vertigo.. its the off balance.. like im on a boat feeling...

My ears always feel like i need to pop them ... sometimes they do and sometimes they dont.. even when they do i still feel like my hearing is muffled.. as if i just got out of a loud concert.

i also have TMJ symptoms which im having treated now.

My dentist thinks the TMJ is causing the ear fullness and dizzyness but all my other drs say no that he is crazy. Im having it treated anyway.

i have also become very achey but i think thats from tmj and depression over all of this.

Oh and i get lots of pressure in my face too... like the top lip up to my forehead... oh and.. my mri, eeg, and blood work were all normal.

I had an eng done and the cool air warm air thing was a bit wacky but the neuro ont said it was insignificant.

Interesting,
I'm not sure what I have going on with me, but I had a vertigo attack (room was spinning right to left) this Saturday. The attack lasted about 8 hours total with the first 2 being the worst of it. It started about an hour after I had a can of soup for lunch so that MAY have set it off. Anyway, I have been having all balance symptoms for the past 9 months or so. The first 4 months I felt like I was constantly falling to my left. The next 5 months I felt like I was rocking on a boat. I saw an Neuro-oto in March who thought it may be enlarged aqueducts letting too much perilymph into the inner ear. He gave me a diuretic that didn't seem to help greatly. He referred me to another Neuro-oto closer to my home. I'm supposed to see him in August (these guys take forever to get in to see it seems).

So I called the first neuor-oto this Saturday in the middle of my attack and he said it sounded like Meniere's. I still haven't had anyone confirm anything that's why I was curious how they confirmed yours. My ENG and hearing as well as bloodwork is all normal too.

8mile,

I have some of the things you mention, such as ear fullness, the off-balance sensation. I have never been drunk (don't like many alcoholic drinks) so I don't know what that feels like. :confused: My symptoms also change a lot, making it very hard to describe them. I have also been diagnosed with Meniere's by one doctor (which was apparently upheld by another). But my current doctor maintains that it is very unlikely. I do not have any detectable hearing loss (from audiology exams), even though I have bouts where I can't hear things. The fullness sensations come and go for me and also ringing comes and goes (most of the time there is neither). Last visit he also gave me some kind of pressure test which was normal.

Anyways, it seems like doctors sometimes diagnose Meniere's simply because they don't know of other probable causes and cannot firmly diagnose anything else. And I don't like the diagnosis because you can't really disprove it. So I would ask the doctor for a clear explanation why he thinks it is Meniere's and how confident he is with that diagnosis. I am still searching for the real cause of my problems.

Cory,
Have you ever had a vertigo (spinning) spell that lasted more than 20 minutes? In all the reading I have done, it appears that hearing loss is not a necessity to have Meniere's. I had one ENT tell me that the actual abnormalities in your system may only be present during an attack. So it can be possible that all tests (pressure, ENG, audio) can all be normal when tested if you are not having an episode at the time of the test.

OhioRocker, I have had 1 well-defined spinning spell in the last 2.5 years. I think it occured 4 or 5 months ago. As I looked at the environment around me, it looked like the objects were moving or rotating. I could look at the ceiling when lying down and it would appear to rotate counterclockwise. Other than that, I have not had clear spinning sensations. I have had some sensations of unstableness my head and the environment. It seemed like things were not exactly still, but no clear rotation. I do have some sensations of lateral movement like I am getting pulled backwards or forwards, and perhaps some spinning if I close my eyes.

I did confront my current doctor about "atypical Meniere's" where it is possible to have the disorder but no hearing loss or vertigo. He did say it is possible, but "classic Meniere's" means hearing loss. And he said we should look into other things as well. I have had many audiology tests that usually no hearing loss or minor deviations. Sometimes I have gone in with some noticeable trouble hearing, but the tests do not show it. I have only had one pressure test, and I did tell the doctor before I had it that I was not feeling any pressure at the time.

Anyways, it seems that the pressure, hearing, and sound sensitivity that I have only occur occasionally, but I almost always have some dizziness problem. However, I also only have 1 good (or semi-good ear), so that may account for that. I have a complicated history! If you want, you can see my other thread "Two separate inner ear disorders?" for a more complete description.

You soudn VERY similar to me.
Mine started when my daughter was 8 weeks old. Vertigo, ears feeling closgged, the left one sounding as though bubbles were popping inside (ear doc said it might be sound of blood insude my head???:rolleyes:), brain fog.
Have had tons of tests (MRI, hearing tests) and they all came back normal.

Here I am 5 years later and I am pretty much still the same. I was told, and I do agree, it is depression and anxiety. It is incredible how anxiety can take so many physical forms.

Emster, have you taken anything for depression? If so, do you notice a difference?

I really truelly dont think that symptoms of vertigo are caused by anxiety or depression as the core, have you read up on the subject. I would like very much to give you an extremely imformative link, but its not as yet been approved. The type of dizzyness that is caused by anxiety etc is simply not at all the same as inner ear. Just a thought.


Ilia

I agree Ilia, at least for people like the ones on this board who suffer from symptoms 24/7. I could see anxiety bringing on sudden spells of lightheadedness, but nothing like the majority of symptoms that are presented on this board.

Agree re. Emster. You clearly have something else going on. DO NOT takeit from these doctors that its all depression...it aint.

Had to take a double take at your post as ur name similar to mine and one of my friends often calls me Emster! Weird! xxx

I'll fourth that one. Inner ear stuff can and does bring on anxiety (and then possibly resultant depression - a normal response when the body is on super high alert from all the mucked ear signals for too long).

Emster, take a look at the following study which examines how an inner ear problem can trigger anxiety (the last 2 models). Did you ever have anxiety/depression issues before this particular "episode" arrived? Were you viral when it started - ie, a cold or flu?

Dizziness and panic disorder: a review of the association between vestibular dysfunction and anxiety.
Simon et al. Annals of Clinical Psychiatry1998.


There are 3 models proposed:

Psychosomatic model: describes vestibular dysfunction as a consequence of anxiety. Hyperventilation and hyperarousal increase vestibulo-ocular reflex sensitivity, even among normals who hyperventilate. No studies have examined vestibular dysfunction during a panic attack.

Somatopsychic model: proposes that cases of panic disorder are triggered by misinterpreted internal stimuli (eg. stimuli from vestibuar dysfunction), that are interpreted as signifying imminent physical danger. Heightened sensitivity to vestibular sensations leads to increased anxiety and, through conditioning, drives the development of panic disorder.

Network alarm theory: derives from pharmacological challenge studies and other laboratory assessments of panic that suggest involvement of noradrenergic, serotonergic, and other connected neuronal systems. According to this theory, panic can be triggered by stimuli that set off a false alarm via afferents to the locus ceruleus, which then triggers the neuronal network. This network is thought to mediate anxiety and includes limbic, midbrain and prefrontal areas. Vestibular dysfunction in the setting of increased locus ceruleus sensitivity may be one potential trigger. The network alarm model contributes to a neuropsychiatric explanation for the somatopsychic model.

Cheers.....Scott