Ear fullness, dizzy spells - need opinions and advice
I know there is a lot of info on this board in regards to vertigo and Meniere's Disease. However, I still wanted to post this to get some more opinions. I have been diagnosed with Meniere's Disease, but I am not convinced.
Run down of my symptoms: main symptom is ear fullness (or feeling that ear is clogged or needs to pop). Mainly in the left ear, but also occurs at times on the right. I do have dizzy spells when my ears are feeling this clogged, but they usually only last for a few minutes...not the classic "vertigo" that is described with Meniere's. I have never vomitting or felt so dizzy that I was disoriented or confused. The longest dizzy spell I've had did last a few hours, but I believe was exaggerated by my stress/anxiety of wanting my ears to feel normal. This has been going on for about a year now.
I started last year with my regular doctor. She had no idea and sent me to an ENT. Before the ENT, I decided to see a dentist with the idea that maybe my incoming wisdom teeth were causing problems, or the possibly of TMJ. Everything was fine. The ENT did a hearing test and confirmed that I had significant hearing loss in my left ear. Right ear tested normal. He also did an MRI to rule out anything life threatening and everything was fine with that. He did allergy testing which came back normal. He did blood work (not sure what he was looking for) but everything was fine with that as well. He referred me to a Nuero-otologist. He spent all of 5 or 10 minutes with me and told me I had either Meniere's Disease or Migraine Disease, but was leaning more toward Meniere's. Like a lot of others on this board, he prescribed a diuretic and low salt diet. I already had a low salt diet in place, and started taking the water pills today. I really don't like the idea of taking something that depletes your body of water.
Other symptom to note that may or may not be related: I do have a strange feeling in my throat since this all began...kind of like my muscles are weak or something. It is hard to describe. This has not interferred with my swallowing or breathing, but just a feeling of general weakness on the left side of my throat. The ENT also had me do a barrium swallow test for this symptom, and everything was fine with that as well.
Does anyone have any advice or opinions whether agreeing with the diagnosis or otherwise that you could share? What about the idea of chiropractic care to alleviate these symptoms? I have done extensive research and found a lot of information, but hearing from others with the same symptoms would be very helpful in my journey back to feeling normal again.
Re: Ear fullness, dizzy spells - need opinions and advice
I think your ear specialist is on the right track. I dont think Meneires patients experience prolonged ear pressure, but it is worth a try with the diuretic pills. If it doesnt work, then see your specialist again and try the migraine treatment, that is a more likely diagnosis in my unprofessional opinion.
Re: Ear fullness, dizzy spells - need opinions and advice
Quote:
Originally Posted by 8itude
I know there is a lot of info on this board in regards to vertigo and Meniere's Disease. However, I still wanted to post this to get some more opinions. I have been diagnosed with Meniere's Disease, but I am not convinced.
Run down of my symptoms: main symptom is ear fullness (or feeling that ear is clogged or needs to pop). Mainly in the left ear, but also occurs at times on the right. I do have dizzy spells when my ears are feeling this clogged, but they usually only last for a few minutes...not the classic "vertigo" that is described with Meniere's. I have never vomitting or felt so dizzy that I was disoriented or confused. The longest dizzy spell I've had did last a few hours, but I believe was exaggerated by my stress/anxiety of wanting my ears to feel normal. This has been going on for about a year now.
I started last year with my regular doctor. She had no idea and sent me to an ENT. Before the ENT, I decided to see a dentist with the idea that maybe my incoming wisdom teeth were causing problems, or the possibly of TMJ. Everything was fine. The ENT did a hearing test and confirmed that I had significant hearing loss in my left ear. Right ear tested normal. He also did an MRI to rule out anything life threatening and everything was fine with that. He did allergy testing which came back normal. He did blood work (not sure what he was looking for) but everything was fine with that as well. He referred me to a Nuero-otologist. He spent all of 5 or 10 minutes with me and told me I had either Meniere's Disease or Migraine Disease, but was leaning more toward Meniere's. Like a lot of others on this board, he prescribed a diuretic and low salt diet. I already had a low salt diet in place, and started taking the water pills today. I really don't like the idea of taking something that depletes your body of water.
Other symptom to note that may or may not be related: I do have a strange feeling in my throat since this all began...kind of like my muscles are weak or something. It is hard to describe. This has not interferred with my swallowing or breathing, but just a feeling of general weakness on the left side of my throat. The ENT also had me do a barrium swallow test for this symptom, and everything was fine with that as well.
Does anyone have any advice or opinions whether agreeing with the diagnosis or otherwise that you could share? What about the idea of chiropractic care to alleviate these symptoms? I have done extensive research and found a lot of information, but hearing from others with the same symptoms would be very helpful in my journey back to feeling normal again.
Thanks!
8itude, was wondering if you found anything out about your illness. I feel like im in the same boat as you.
