lespring

Let me first say, I know too much. LOL My background is working with students who are deaf/hard of hearing, with a wide variety of ear disorders. I also have a 10 year old with a moderate bilateral SN hearing loss, and wears bilateral BTE aids. Sometimes knowlege is a bad thing! LOL

About 10 years ago my mom (who has right sided meniers) and I diagnosed me with it as well. I have only an occasional episode, and they don't usually last more than several hours, as compared to my mom's which last days at a time. I don't want to get tested...as just the thought of inducing the symptoms makes me nautious! LOL As long as it's not dibilitating and interfering with my life, I choose to kind of ignore the issues. Years ago I learned to NEVER EVER EVER try to plug my nose and pop my ear drums. This sends me into a HORENDOUS vertigo episode really no different than a meniers episode! I cannot stand up, cannot open my eyes for the spinning and whirling, etc. The vomitting from the spinning starts almost immediately.

About 2 months ago I became very ill with an upper respiratory infection that quickly turned into pneumonia. About 3 weeks later (so a month and a half ago???) my ears plugged up. I assumed with fluid, as I have a long history of Eustachian tube dysfunction. (Flying is a miserable experience!)

After 2 weeks I went in to the doctor, who said he could see NO fluid in my ears. This was interesting to me, since to me I sound like my head is full of fluid. I was put on a course of antibiotics for a sinus infection (though I wasn't symptomatic of one) and the pneumonia.

I finished that course of meds with NO effecs to either the pneumonia or my ears. I went back and was put on Levequin, finished that course, again with no effects to any of my problems. For the last 2 weeks my ears have been quite noisy. My right ear, which feels like the fuller of the 2, is buzzing. My left ear is making a noise which reminds me of locusts in the distance. LOL That odd, high pitched kind of buzzing noise. With what I know of hearing loss, and what I've figured out I'm missing, (things I've noticed I'm no longer hearing, like my pc hard drive, my cell phone if it's in another room, my daughter's whispered speech, our new puppies crying if I'm in another room) I estimate I'm at about 50 db in my right ear in the high frequencey ranges, and about 40 or so in my left.

There is still no fluid seen in either ear. My tympanogram is normal. (I haven't yet had a hearing test done as I didn't have time that day, saving that for next week) What concerns me most is that there doesn't seem to be a cause for the hearing loss, unless it's attributed to Meneirs. I have been avoiding going to an ENT because I don't want bad news. Shees...I sound just like my dad!

What else, besides fluid, causes that "full/underwater" feeling? Can you get that feeling from a blocked eustachian tube without having fluid in your ears? What causes the all the noise? (cuz really, the noise is driving me crazy, and I wonder if I could hear better if I wasn't trying hear through the noise? )

I know, I know. I need to get into the ENT. I promise I will do that this week.