i've been reading some back posts on this board, so i know i'm probably just doing overkill here.

but since i'm recovering from my inner ear episode that i mentioned in my other post (still feeling off balance) i get terribly anxious if my symptoms get a little bit worse every now and again.

i've been having some out of the oridnary things happen lately....my husband's birthday, party, going to the stomach doctor, trying to quit a job and my parents visiting for a short bit.

could these things (that make my anxiety worse) make me feel a little more dizzy or off balance?

I have the same problem , when i get anxious my balance gets even worse,
but the way i see it is this .......

I have had anxiety on and off thru my life , it never used to make me off balance at all , so the reason it does now is because I have a inner ear disorder ! (and my audiologist agrees).

hope you feel better soon xxx

I have the same problem , when i get anxious my balance gets even worse,
but the way i see it is this .......

I have had anxiety on and off thru my life , it never used to make me off balance at all , so the reason it does now is because I have a inner ear disorder ! (and my audiologist agrees).

hope you feel better soon xxx

I never had anxiety until this started now the slightest little thing has me grinding my teeth and clenching my fists, I think with everything going on it's the anxiety.
You mention the stomach doc did you have stomach problems before inner ear troubles??
Jayne

I never had anxiety problems till this dizzy stuff started. Everything just kinda rolled off me. Now when I feel "off," the anxiety kicks in; gets bad sometimes. It definitely makes the dizzy symptoms worse: more off-balance, more nauseous, more horrible feeling all around. As soon as I start feeling better dizzy-wise, the anxiety goes away.

I believe by now it's pretty well researched and documented that vestibular problems often cause anxiety.

I'm right there with you. My anxiety kicks in, I start to feel the dizzies a little more or vice versa.

They seem to play off of each other, unfortunately.

thanks everyone for their replies. does anyone know any way to make the dizziness go away or lessen? i mean, obviously, relax, but that is so hard to do when you are dizzy.

i was feeling so much better last week then a bunch of stressful things happened and i feel worse and i'm SO SCARED it is getting worse or coming back even. could this happen?

You should probably see a Dr. If you're still getting dizzy sometimes, you're not 100% and if it's gone on for so long, it doesn't sound like you will be unless you do something to make it happen. I'm guessing you'll need to do some VRTs to get there. A Dr should be able to refer you to someone who's experienced with this.

From what I remember, your original diagnosis was quite a while ago, right? I don't remember if you've been back since then, but if not, it's definitely worth a shot to have them look at it again, and see if they still think it's labyrinthitis.

To treat the anxiety... if you can find something on your own that works for you, do that. Someone here (forgot who, sorry!) does yoga, I believe, and it helps her. Otherwise, more Dr visits! There are non-medication ways of dealing with anxiety (cognitive behavioral therapy, I believe). Otherwise, I have xanax to take as needed, for example. When I start feeling extremely anxious, I take one and it helps. But if you suffer from it on a daily basis, then that's not a good way to go and you'd need something else.

what are VRTs? and i was dizzy for months after the first bout of labrynthitis that i had 8 years ago. this time i'm progressing much better since i just didn't do anything at all for 3 weeks and let it get better on its own.
they didn't do anything to me at all last time except look at me and ask what happened.
i have this phobia of vomiting so i think they were hesistant to do anything test or procedure wise.....lest it make me much much worse.
i won't let them do anything that will make me feel sick. that will make everything worse.

It really sounds like you need to talk to your Dr about your anxiety.

Check with the Dr who's working on your ear stuff if there's something you can take beforehand so that you don't feel quite as anxious and let them test you. Not diagnosing this properly and treating you for it isn't going to make things better in the long run.

VRT is vestibular rehabilitation therapy. It helps your brain compensate. You sort of relearn "balance." The goal is to eventually not feel any dizziness anymore at all.

Hang in there!

i've been talking to my psychiatrist about all of this and we've increased my meds. but no amount of meds can make the phobia go away. i'm going to see the psychiatrist tomorrow, and maybe he can refer me to an ENT since i haven't seen one yet. i just talked with one on the phone a few weeks ago and she said i didn't really need to do anything about this.