I'm new to the inner ear board, I've actually spent most of my time on the allergy board trying to figure this whole thing out. Allergies seem to be my only identifiable symptom aside from the "fog" which is making me insane but which doctors don't seem to like to acknoledge. I am pretty sure at this point that my problem is inner ear, but I was wondering if anyone else sufferend from allergies or if their problems were percipitated by a sudden onslaught of allergies?
A
P.S. It is so nice to know that there are other people out there dealing with this. I am so sick of doctors brushing me off or telling me it is all psychological.
After reading this tread, I have so many of the similar symptoms that was brought up here. Its amazing there are alot of ppl out there alike mine. Especially about the driving, its very VERY tough on me because I am a self employeed interpreter who drives across 3 different states to work as interpreter. So my driving is very important part of my job. But this dizzyness, vertigo and among those others that was mentioned on this tread. But one thing I am different than most of u which I envy the most. most of you have had surgery related with ur sinus, or been labeled something. My ENT says to me that my snus isnt bad but doesnt give me anything to go with, yet I come back home feeling this way. I was so convnced it was my inner ear, cuz my symptoms matched almost aoo of the symptoms i find in here but yet, my ENT said nope its not ur inner ear. And this has been a big blow on my life and affecting my relationship. I used to be a fun outgoing person with so many creative thoughts, bowling tournaments, golfing. Now i quit my bowling league after bowling for 20 years and I quit with 210 average. Cuz i couldnt stand the feeling of driving home very lightheaded prob due to inhaling cigs smoke. But then the vertigo was just another new thing which made my life even fragile. I d go out everytime thinking ok I hope this wont happen when I m driving and i feel as if it crawled into my life and cant get it out and the dr just look at me wth a dull look on their face and say sorry this is somethign u gotta live with and walk out of the office. I just FIND that HARD to comprehend! There has to be a solution to this. This is not me imagining it. I know my body I know its something. If it wasnt for this board I d prob be going crazy nut crazy by now!
Thank god for this board to keep me sane!
I was like you I went around trying to find something related with my problems. I did go to allergy board because I ve had this fogginess problem, lightheaded dizzyness( sometimes, that was in the past but now it has gotten worse), faitque. I get allergy shots every 2 weeks, so I thought it was related to my allergies since i m alergc to several things. But after several years of tryign to find out what was wrong with me, new things apear and its just unbeilveable how those dr are so eager to get rid of their patient so fast so they could move on to their next patient. I m always going home thinking how can they live that way, making so much money, they should be doing this job with lots of heart involved and try to show some feelings rather give u the brush off attitudes. I mean we re the one who is suffering not them. We should be more cranky not them. Yes, there is sme that can be good, but I have bee yelled at by some drs and its because I was trying to explain some symptoms I was having and they got so mad yelling at me telling me things that I was just shocked to see them yelling with their faces so red. I was just completely shocked thinking what the hell?? so everytime i go there I d have to be very careful with what I say so I dont **** them off.
Are any of you that are experiencing that "foggy feeling" diet-soda drinkers? One of the common side-effects of aspertame (e.g. Nutrasweet) and/or sucralose (e.g., Splenda) sensitivity is memory-loss and/or overall "foggy head" feeling. They make me feel as if I am losing my mind.....
I think I can offer some info regarding your symtoms. I have had the same symtoms after living in an apartment for two years. Look into Candida; it's a mold infection; and very difficult to get rid up. I have been treating mine for about a year now. You can get over-the-counter treatments and/or visit a holistic doctor.
Go to stopyea....com and look at yeast symtoms (candida symtoms). Another web site that might be helpful is candidapage.com; this one has all the diet information.
Diet and treatment is extremely important; to me anyway.
I have spent thousands of dollars on this stuff.
It first started (now that I look back) when I moved into this apartment (I have since moved into a townhouse). I got sick with what I thought was the flu at the time; the sickness would put me in the bed; and I use to never get sick 9and so far since I have been treating this as a yeast infection, have not been sick with a cold or flu for almost a year now). The "flu" would return every three to four months. After two years of living in this apartment, the flu manifested itself to where I cound not remember where I lived; like yourself had difficulty drivng; extreme fatigue to the point of falling asleep after eating certain foods; memory loss; headaches; extreme ringing in the ears; skin rashes, particularly around the eyes, nose, cheeks; dry eyes, eyelids sticking to the eyeball during sleep; fullness in the head and foggy, spacy feeling.
I am new to the health boards but I am sure glad I found them! For the past 5 years I have had all of these same symptoms :
Brain fog
feeling disconnected
when someone is talking to me its hard for me to take in everything they are saying
memory problems
fullness in both ears
ringing in both ears
honestly, its just a drunkish feeling......not a good feeling at all!
And, it all started back when I had a bad sinus infection.....I had to have surgery to fix the infection, but this "off" feeling was still there. At that time I was in college and didn't have a whole lot of time to go from doctor to doctor, and it seems as everyone knows that its hard to get a doctor to listen to you with these type of symptoms cuz they think I am crazy...which I know im not. Well, these past couple months its been driving me crazy because I know this feeling is not normal at all....so I've been going doctor to doctor....and Im off to my 3rd ENT tomorrow...hopefully he will listen to me...and I also have an appt. with a neuro-otologist in a couple of weeks...im not stopping until I get this problem figured out!
I've also been to a neurologist who put me on anti-depressants (it seems like we've all been through the same thing) and she wanted me to go get counseling to "talk" about this "feeling" im having....good grief.
Its gotten bad to where its affecting my driving....does anyone else have that problem?
Anyways....does anyone have a good way to describe this feeling to a doctor without them looking at me like im crazy? I really want the doctor to listen to me and help me.......any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Sherrie
Hi there. I have similar symptoms to you. I felt rather isolated until I started reading the postings on this site! I only just posted mine today, so I hope to get some help from fellow sufferers soon!! Like you, I have fullness in both ears, I feel dizzy, off balance, and my head feels like it is being gripped in a vice. I've had this for years, and had a CT scan which revealed nothing. I was put on beta blockers as I think the doc thought I was going mad, and given antibiotics for a so called sinus infection! Other strange symptoms are cracking noises, and a feeling of fluid in my head!! This is all very strange and I'm glad I'm not alone!!
I'm right there with you guys...I wake up to a bout of horrible spinning vertigo that goes away after a few hours...but after that, I feel disconnected, off balanced, I have difficulty focusing, possibly depressed for anywhere from 2 weeks to months and months at a time.
I've always had bad sinuses - get about 1-3 sinus infections per year, but I'm not allergic to anything except histamine.
I'm getting the damn run around with these doctors. I have been dealing with this for about 4 years now. For months at a time I'll feel great, then out of nowhere, wake up with the spinning vertigo, then feel cloudy headed with disequilibrium for a few weeks to months, then back to ABSOLUTELY NORMAL again.
I can't believe that I actually found others that have experienced this foggy head feeling, I really thought I was the only one.
I've been dealing with this foggy, disconnected feeling for about 7 years now.
It first started one night I woke up around 2 am and the room was spinning, I mean really spinning. I was so scared. This went on for probably 5 minutes of super fast spinning. After it was over I was shaky and nauseated. The next morning the dizziness was gone, but I was left with this foggy, disconnected feeling. It felt like my head was inside a balloon. As someone else said, it was hard for me to talk to people because I had to really concentrate on what they were saying. It was like they were just going "blah, blah, blah"
I didn't have any other symtoms other than the foggy head. I felt a little like my balance would be off a little from time to time, but that was about it.
I went to the doctor a couple days after this foggy feeling wouldn't go away and he told me that it was probably anxiety because he couldn't find any other things wrong with me (ears etc...) he ran blood tests and they came back fine. I was put on an anti-depressant and after about 2 weeks the fog was gone.
I have believed all these years that its anxiety, maybe it is, but what if its not? If I try to cut back on the anti-depressant the fog comes back. If I don't take it and just live with this feeling, I really wouldn't want to live to be honest, its too tough to deal with. I have to focus constantly on everything I go to do. Its like I have to use every part of my brain to even read something. Driving is difficult too. I feel like I have to focus really hard on the road and it feels like everything around me is just one big fog.
I have finally decided to go to the doctor (a different one) and see what they say. From reading all these post, it doesn't sound too promising, but I will see what he says. I'm not sure I want to go do a bunch of tests seeing as how a lot of you have already been through it with no results.
I think I share the same symptoms as you and now I know that its not just me going crazy. I've had a similiar problem on and off for the past 10 years. I would find that the symptoms would last for a good few weeks and then seem to clear for a few weeks after. The symptoms would return and the pattern would be repeated.
However, in the last two or three years or so things have been getting worse and now I feel like this most of the time. In summary, the symptoms include:
- fullness in the ears;
- muzzy and foggy feeling; difficulty to concentrate and take in what people are saying;
- a feeling of physical detachment and physical entrapment;
- stuffy nose;
- swollen neck and glands; some times a sore throat;
- burning and itchy ears;
- fatigue
- generally withdrawn and not wanting to do much.
- pressure in the head.
- sore eyes and pasty complection (feeling of being washed out).
I have noticed that the symptoms worsen at night when it gets dark and also in damp humid weather. I some times get relief on a clear and sunny day.
The frustrating this is that I feel like two different people - happy, relaxed and confident when my head is clear; and withdrawn, meloncholly, introspective and nervous when the symptoms reappear.
I have very recently had ENT surgery to correct a badly deviated septum and things have improved a bit. My sense of smell has come back which has helped my memory.
Over the years, I have tried many, many things including homeopothy, Eastern medicine, acupuncture, change of diet (e.g. excluding dairy), nasal steroid sprays, salt water spays, antibiotics, antihistomene; cognitive therapy and most recently surgery.
I know there's an answer out there and let's keep trying to find it. I have been diagnosed by my ENT specialist as suffering from eustachian dysfunction and I'm sure that if I can clear my ears then they would be OK. I tried some acupuncture once and it sometimes gave temporary relief. One time after a session I could breath extroidinarily well through my nose and my ears seemed to clear - it felt like I could feel the air rushing though my ears. I felt a million dollars.
Rest assured, I will let everyone know if I find something which helps.
Hi Victrix,
I could really feel for you- so similar - etc- now they want me to have an MRI- which is Thursday- I am really scared- but the ear dr. says- have to see what is going on- doesn't believe it is from allergies, or the airplane flights I took ( 5 of them within a 2 wk span- my allergist disagrees- it is so confusing. It is true- when It happens- pressure- lightheadness, clogged ears - it is scary and anxiety provoking- I feel out of it when it happens- and once I got a dizzy thing - when I was sitting up as a passengar while driving- the rest seem to occurr after I get out of a moving vehickle- or train- but this happens mainly MAy- Oct- never in the winter- oh yes- If I fly one time in the winter- I might feel clogged- but not like this. It is hanging on too long- well at least the MRI will see if it is anything like a bengn tumor at the back of ear- that is what he said to me - the part that controls balance. Maybe we can all help each other- My 2 drs are at odds w/ each other- my husband( a Dr- is at odds w/ me and not sympathetic at all)- I may try the accupuncture- what other natural things do you do?
do you drive- My dr. said to wait to drive until after the mri- I have been housebound for a week now. So depressing-and especially the ear dr and the allergist not aggreeing- I have been to 4 other ear dr's over the last 6 years- maybe someone is missing the boat. I feel quite frustrated that I never know when this is going to hit- and the constant pressure and ear popping too is annoying. My ent who ordered the test - when I said to him- well- what if that shows nothing- he just said well- then we know it is just an inner ear thing- wow- whoppy de do- is what I felt like saying.
keep in touch- please
Hello all, I am new here too. I've dealt with this "foggy" feeling for almost 6 years now. When it first came on, out of nowhere, I had no idea what was going on. I laid in bed for over a month, lethargic, what I call loopy/foggy, just felt spent of energy, lost and stoned basically. I started the doctor visits like all of us have, MRI's, MRI's with contrast/color, ENT visits, gave up smoking, no alchohol, and even ended up with a hematologist for a year; My Hematocrit level was somewhat high and I ended up with pretty much weekly phlebotomies under the guise of possible Polycythemia Vera, which was a joy. After a year of checking, discussing possibly Bone Marrow transplants, etc. the Hematolgist called and said don't bother coming back in, it's not helping and I don't want to put you through unneeded pain or transplants. My Chiropractioner did X-rays and found a wierd problem with my C3 Vertebrae; it was not grown on one side and C2 had grown very thick to compensate apparently. I've long suspected that it was something to do with my back/neck. I am constantly sore from a TIGHT back and neck. Sometimes the neck stiffens so much that if I don't see the Chiro, I will be looking from side to side as if my entire neck was fused. About 15yrs ago (I'm 37 now) I was working out at the gym doing cable butterfly pulls and heard a poop and it felt as if someone had hit me in the head (slightly off center towards the right forhead area) with a hammer, dropping me in pain to the floor. Doc felt I pulled a muscle and advised to stop working out for a month, which I did. After the month, I returned to the gym only to have it happen again. I never went back to the gym. I should have gotten another doc, but young and dumb. Needless to say, I'm frustrated to hell with the quality of my life most times. I cannot seem to get anyone to seriously look into the back/neck correlation. They want me to see the same docs, and take the same tests I've done multiple times already. As for this Candida Overgrowth I've seen thrown around, last winter I had the bum luck of getting C-Diff and was on a nasty anti-biotic for 14days that surely would have killed off this Candida. The anti-biotic kills ALL the bacteria in the stomach/intestines, be it good or bad. At this point, today, I am more then ever convinced of the neck correlation. I started building a new fishing pole Tuesday and this requires a lot of bending over/looking down. Tuesday about an hour into the build, I got foggy to the point where I laid on the floor for fear I would pass out and end up there uncontrolled. This severe fog lasted through the night until I fell asleep and was gone Wednesday. Today I began working on this pole again and wouldn't ya know I feel like hell again, fogged again. I have children and it scares me to know it could happen anytime, day or night, driving, etc. I have blacked out for literally a micro-second while driving in the high speed lane, thank god it was for that duration only. My usual symptoms:
This foggy feeling happens at anytime, from mild to omg I can't take this anymore. Tuesdays feeling was the worst in 6yrs. It's a feeling of being more or less in my own world, at least in my mind, and feeling disconnected even though I am aware of my surroundings. It is like being dizzy, but not fall down dizzy or spin dizzy. I wish I could describe it better.
I notice I can become agitated quickly when it happens.
I feel almost like a hot flash at times.
My head feels "swollen".
As mentioned I have once blacked out and many times felt as if I was going to pass out.
Sometimes feel like I have water in the ear.
Definite issues remembering or having deep conversations.
Stoned or drunk feeling.
I'm glad and sad to know I'm not the only sufferer. Do any doctors ever give feedback on here or is this just a sharing of sufferings site? I pray that some angel of a doctor figures out what we are all going through.
One thing I want to add is that I took Zoloft and Effexor over the course of 8yrs, but stopped them about 2yrs prior to my first foggy episode. Just for full disclosure. I even resumed Effexor (was the last one I was one) for a month and a half to see if it changed things and it didn't.
Roger (in Rhode Island working, USA)
Last edited by FoggedOutRog; 07-17-2008 at 11:40 AM.
Reason: update
Re: Foggy feeling.... 
