I must say, Ive read several posts in the last hour and feel a bit better. I've suffered from dizzy episodes all my life (I'm 32) and here recently, its gotten much worse.

I just returned from the ENT and he tells me that my middle ear pressure is normal, but that I have slight hearing loss in my left ear, and the eardrum is "weak". This could be due to childhood ear infections and so on. Can anyone tell me more about how damage to the nerve for loss of hearing can cause dizziness? It makes sense.. I just want to read up on it.

I just got through with a horrible bought of anxiety and severe vertigo that lasted almost 6 days. It was aweful. I took lexapro with a decongestant and it caused such a horrid reaction that I thought I was losing my mind! Talk about vertigo, vomiting for 3 days.. laid in bed, lost weight the whole bit.

I just left my next door neighbors house after the sensation of dropping through the floor followed by a vertigo bout that im still in the middle of as I write this.

Can someone point me to some exercises so I can get on with life?

THANKS SO MUCH! :wave:

>I just returned from the ENT and he tells me that my middle ear pressure is normal, but that I have slight hearing loss in my left ear, and the eardrum is "weak". This could be due to childhood ear infections and so on. Can anyone tell me more about how damage to the nerve for loss of hearing can cause dizziness? It makes sense.. I just want to read up on it.

Did the Ear Nose and Throat guy have any diagnosis? Labyrinthitis, Viral Neuronitis? Treatment and prognosis might be different for each of those. I am on my fifth bout of dizziness, Iv'e had both Viral Meningitis and Vestibular Neuronitis. Always in the left inner ear or the left side of the head. Labyrinthitis can start with a cold, as can Vestibular Neuronitis, and some other diseases.

If your ENT has not referred you to a Physical Therapist for Vestibular Rehabilitation therapy, then fire the idiot. I mean it. The ENT should know about this. VRT is valuable, and you can start it right now.

There are a lot of excercises in VRT, I don't know them all. Google on Cawthorne-Cooksey excercises, these are the simplest set. IT starts with eye excercises, very simple. Then walking, and tossing and bouncing a ball. Currently, I am at the stage where I can juggle a tennis ball for a few times before I get dizzy from it. The eyes are the third balance organ in your body, in addition to your two ears. You can orient yourself with eyesight even if your inner ear doesn't work at all, but it takes practice. That is why all the emphasis on eye movements and following objects with the eyes.

You can start Cawthorne-Cooksey excecises even in bed.

Gotta go, I am attempting walking to the grocery store (a big step for me, pun intended) about a block away. Wish me luck, it is a struggle.

--Lawrence

Hi Geedubyah,

Glad you found us. You will get here a lot of support from people who understand how you are feeling and a lot of people here are very knowledgable on the subject.

Could you describe in more details your dizziness problem. How did it start. Are there periods when you are dizzy free? Do you experience tinnitus (ringing in the ears) with your virtigo? Do you have headaches? Do you notice if a change in head position induces your virtigo.etc.

If you want more information on dizziness, check the first item on this board named "information archives".

Most ENTs don't seem very knowledgable when it comes to inner ear problems, the best trained doctors for this are neuro-otologists.

>Did the Ear Nose and Throat guy have any diagnosis? Labyrinthitis, Viral Neuronitis?
No diagnosis. Kinda peeved me off. He gave me some nasal spray and told me to cut out caffeine (which I did 4 weeks ago). Not much help. I am dissapointed.

Many people on this forum have pretty severe vestibular stuff from what I can read. Maybe I'm being a whiner! Ive had dizzy spells and a feeling of being "disconnected" from time to time all my life. My mother used to get so worried, because I would freak out, (im sure I went into anxiety/panic attacks everytime, not knowing what was wrong). Ive often wondered if the dizziness is stress induced or the other way around. I dont have a stressful life for the most part. ABout 5 months ago I started noticing that when I looked across the room, the room seemed to feel as though it was turning to the left, as if on a merri-go-round, in slow motion. It started to worry me, and I kept talking myself out of being anxious about it. About three months ago I went on a 9 day camping trip, and ended up with a severe bout of vertigo, feeling fuzzyheaded.. couldnt think. It scared me to death. I just knew "something wasnt right". Here lately, Ive been having sensations of "falling" through the floor, kinda like in an elevator, and it hits me alot of the time when there is alot of environmental stimulation, kids crying, people talking, alot of visual things going on. THe low lying dizziness seems to always be there, but if I try hard enough I can divert my attention and do something so I dont notice it. I dont like to sit for any period of time. It seems to be relieved when I lie down. I do have tinnitus, and I notice it more in the evenings.. which is strange. Its much higher in my left ear. I rarely get headaches.

Thanks so much for the support and the information you have provided me. I will try it all and see where I can go from here!

Cheers!

Hi there.

Most of us on here dont necessarily have bad vestibular disorders - I infact have a mild problem though the symptoms are not always mild...what I mean is though - many with vestibular disorders can be housebound, unable to walk more than 10metres, most of us here are not like that and altho horrible, the symptoms dont restrict us to the point of not having ANY life.

However, I know what you are saying as your problem sounds more low level and more episodic. This could still be a vestibular disorder though inner ear dysfuntion from labyrinthitis is most commonly 24/7 - so the dizziness is unrelenting - which many of us have here.

Your problem could be BPPV or it could be sinus related which is often less severe - hence the nasal spray.

If I were u, I'd hunt down a neurotologist.

Good luck xxx

hi there

Ive been feeling disconnected lately, i had really bad depression. i think its to do with the "eustacian tube" i also have a feelin of the room being on a tilt. clicking also heard when underwater. its weird