I am new to all this, I have been reading on here for a while but just recently signed up. I have been going through this crappy inner ear thing for the past 3 months ! It firsted started out as a simple ringing in the eat that came from no where. Then there was pressure n pain the left ear. I went to my GP and he gave me a nose steriod and told me to take an allergy medicine should be gone in a week or 2. Well it did not then I got a referal to ENT and saw him about a month or so after everything started he gave me a steriod for 14 days said that this could take 3-6 months to go away that it was inner ear virus. So then the fun really begins I wake up one night n almost fall to the ground with the room spinning. Saw my GP the following monday and he classified it as an inner ear virsu lybrythitus or something. said give it 2-4 weeks should resolve. well its been almost 2 months n my ear does still full at times ringing and I feel off balance. I am getting very frustrated with all this crap I am only 22 !!! Pleasr give me some insght ! I know its not menieres disease because I havent experienced any hearing loss or vertigo that lasts for hours.
Thanks in advance for any advice !
The following user gives a hug of support to g0nzalp: sukanya (05-02-2011)
I feel your pain! The same thing happened to me in November. What started out as a cold, turned into a sinus infection, turned into me waking up 1 night with the entire world spinning. I immediately went to the ENT he diagnosed me with vestibular neuritis (same as labyrinthitis but without the ear ringing), and told me I'd be fine in a "few weeks"..
Since it's been six months I can see he is full of s***!! It took a good 4 months until I FINALLY started to feel bette and I'm still not 100%. I am 25 and it was so depressing to go through something so debilitating. For months, I had no social life and little interaction with anyone besides my (very supportive) husband.
I was extremely paranoid about Meniere's too because my ears started ringing in January and I read too much about it online... except I never experienced hearing loss and only felt fullness in my ear once or twice.. but I attribute both to eustachian tube dysfunction which I also have. To this day, my ears STILL ring and it's super annoying. I also developed a case of BPPV on top of this all so I still have days where I feel a little lightheaded.
The best advice I can give you is that it SUCKS.. a lot! But try to make an effort to move about and do things every day. A big thing for me was anxiety, and for a while there I lost the ability to do the simplest tasks like drive myself some place or grocery shop. Eventually, I stopped feeling sorry for myself and made the effort to do something small each day. I considered a car ride, or a trip to walmart a successful day! I built up from there and it has really helped restore my self-confidence. I can't begin to tell you how many nights I spent on the internet crying, feeling sorry for myself, and wondering "Why me?", but I promise you it does get better.. hang in there. I also recommend asking your doctor to send you for vestibular therapy. I only started a few weeks ago but it has helped me TREMENDOUSLY! A lot of the exercises are simple and you can do that at home. If you google, "Cawthorne-Cooksey exercises" you can find the ones you can do it at home. At first you might feel worse, but it really does help a lot of people.
I am so sorry that you are feeling this way. I wouldn't wish this crap on my worse enemy. Just know you're not alone. I know it's super hard going through this at a young age, because a lot of our friends/family don't understand what we're going through, especially because we don't look "sick" on the outside. If it's any consolation, When all of this began at the end of November, I was afraid of even going to take a shower because of how dizzy I felt. Now, I drive, workout regularly, go on vacations, go to bars, work etc. just like any other normal twenty something. This whole thing has made me realize not to take my health for granted. I promise, you will get there too!
Get yourself a good support system, eat well, make an effort to keep moving, rest when you have to, and try to get into vestibular rehab. And most importantly, don't be too hard on yourself. You will have great days, followed by quite a few crappy ones... it doesn't mean you have regressed... it's just part of the healing process.
take care!
The Following User Says Thank You to sukanya For This Useful Post: biteneck (06-14-2012)
Thank you so much for getting back to me its been a while since I have been on here. This whole thing sucks ! I have developed anxiety from all of this. I look at my friends and say to myself you know how lucky it is too have something so small to have as your balance. I went to see a specialist who said again it was the inner ear virus I still get the rinigng too which at this point is the least of my concerns. I was doing pretty good then I started to do the VRT at my local hospital and it has seemed to make my symptoms worse now. I hate it I just feel off balance 24/7. I am glad that I am not the only going through all this junk eventhough at time It feels that way. How are you feeling now any better yet or has the VRT helped even more ?
Hi sukanya,
From reading your post, it makes me think so much of how I'm feeling. I have a 5.5 month old baby girl and I am afraid to take her anywhere. I ventured out on my own in the care this past Monday and took her for a walk around a lake near us. I was fine until towards the end of the walk when I happened to look up and saw the trees in the distance look like they were moving. I felt so nervous and scared like I thought I could pass out. I get extreme anxiety about when I might feel dizzy. I haven't had that dizzy happen for about a month. Did you have these as you were getting better? Like some dizziness once in a while? I have had very bad brain fog where I feel like I'm not there or very loopy and woozy like I have lost a few seconds or minutes, but I don't actually lose them it just feels so strange. Almost like dreamy. Please let me know how you are doing and how long all this went on until you felt fully recoverd? Mine has only been 3 months and I have heard it can take 6 months at least for some people. Also, I have 25% weakness in the left ear which is why they said vestibular neuritis. Did you have weakness that made them diagnose you with VN or LABS? I appreciate your reply and answers very much! Thanks! Hope you are 100% again!
Inner ear 
