Four and a half weeks ago in a one day period I had three very brief episodes of dizziness. That night I was getting ready for bed and the room started spinning, I had to vomit, I was pale and clammy and my ear was ringing loudly. That lasted for about 5 minutes then I was fine, for three days.....
I went to bed and was feeling fine. In the middle of the night I awoke to the room spinning wildly and the ringing in my ears was tremendous. I again was vomiting quite a lot, my blood pressure dropped,I was clammy, confused, and had a general feeling of being 'tipsy'.I have lost the hearing in my ear. This all scared me so badly I went to the hospital that night and they diagnosed tinnitus. My family doctor said it was probably one of the hairs in my ear broke off. An ENT diagnosed labrynthitis and 100% hearing loss in my ear. He wasn't very encouraging about me ever getting my hearing back. I have had no pain. I still get dizzy when I move too quickly or if I breathe too fast.
What in the world can make you lose your hearing all of a sudden? I was fine one minute and then BAM...can't hear. This has been very stressful for me if for no other reason then I have no clue what caused it and I'm afraid that my remaining ear will stop functioning.
I have no one I feel I can talk to about this and it's starting to get me down. Those of you that took the time to read this-thank you.
Has anyone had the same experience?
I suffer from vertigo - benign positional vertigo. It comes and goes. Sometimes it will stay away for a year or more, then it comes back. Everything spins badly, as you experienced. Also sometimes I vomit a little. Last summer, I was dizzy for more than a month. My ENT sent me for a hearing test and luckily, it was normal. Did you have a hearing test? Also, I would go see another ENT - there are tests for vertigo, hearing, etc. Don't give up.
Have you been tested for autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED)? I had similar attacks of vertigo and my dr. thought I had meniere's disease; however, lots of lab work and audiological testing and now he says AIED. I just found this out 3 days ago so I don't have much info; however, what I have read indicates many reports of sudden hearing loss. I would ask if the blood work had been run to test for this and if not, demand it! Good Luck!!
Poor you - I had labrynthitis ten years ago - i remember thinking after about a month - will I ever be normal again? Well, it took me around three months to get better and to feel like my head was my own again, but I made a complete recovery and ten years on have no had a recurrence. So I wish you well my friend - it truly is one of the most debilitating and distressing illnesses you can suffer.
