MS and hearing loss/ringing in ears - Multiple Sclerosis Message Board

Jewel2 · 02-18-2004, 11:00 AM

Hi,
My daughter has progressive MS. Just recently she started having terrible ringing and fluttering in her left ear and she can barely hear out of it. She is also experiencing vertigo which has become an almost daily symptom over the last 2 years. She has seen her primary care physician, an audiologist and an ear doctor. There is nothing wrong with the mechanics of the ear or sinuses which leads us to belief it could be the MS. Her PCP suggested an MRI to look for any lesions that could be causing this so she would know if it really is the MS.

My questions are, have any of you experienced ringing or hearing loss due to MS? Did it improve? Where would the lesion be? Any info you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Julie

californiasunflower · 02-21-2004, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jewel2

Hi,
My daughter has progressive MS. Just recently she started having terrible ringing and fluttering in her left ear and she can barely hear out of it. She is also experiencing vertigo which has become an almost daily symptom over the last 2 years. She has seen her primary care physician, an audiologist and an ear doctor. There is nothing wrong with the mechanics of the ear or sinuses which leads us to belief it could be the MS. Her PCP suggested an MRI to look for any lesions that could be causing this so she would know if it really is the MS.

My questions are, have any of you experienced ringing or hearing loss due to MS? Did it improve? Where would the lesion be? Any info you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Julie

Hi Julie, So sorry that your lovely daughter is experiencing difficulties and has MS. I did some research for you and my findings are that "ringing in the ears" can be caused by MS. Most of the research indicates that "ringing in the ears", also known as tinnitus, is hard to discern why it occurs but the following list is the suspects. There are two kinds tonal and non-tonal. Also called Objective (rare) and Subjective (common type). Objective kind can be audible to other people standing near individual suffering from it. I read where Neurologists on the web responded and confirmed to MS patients inquiring if tinnitis was MS related. Your daughter's physician who is ordering an MRI to check to see if there is a lesion causing this is right on track! Here's a list of suspected conditions. This too may be helpful for you.

POSSIBLE CAUSES:
*TMJ
*Aspirin overuse
*Use of OTOTOXIC drugs
*Otosclerosis (stiffening of the middle ear bones)
*Trauma to head or neck
*Excess wax buildup
*Ear infection
*Atherosclerosis
*Hi Blood Pressure; stress; alcohol; caffeine
*Repeated exposure to loud noises
* Food -specific foods may cause tinnitus. Problem foods include red wine, grain-based spirits, cheese, and chocolate. Causes for ringing ears may also include foods rich in salicylates (the same ingredient as in aspirin, which also can cause tinnitus when taken in large amounts).

*Lyme disease
*Growths/tumors--Acoustic neuromas, glomous tumors, otosclerosis may all cause tinnitus. Surgery may be recommended.

*Vascular abnormalities--Arteries may press too closely against the inner ear structures or nerves and can be a tinnitus cause.

*Dental procedures--Strain on the temporomandibular joint during any dental work has been one of the causes for ringing ears.

*Meniere's Disease is a serious disease of the inner ear, resulting in recurrent attacks of vertigo, hearing loss, and probable causes of ringing in the ears.

*Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is pain in the the muscles, tendons, and ligaments

Hope this helps and that your daughter gets relief!

Jewel2 · 02-21-2004, 07:49 PM

Hello California Sunflower,
That was so kind of you to do some research! My daughter is lovely and she is only 23 which makes me very sad. She was diagnosed at 19 years old.

We have been exploring some of the possible causes you've listed above. Thanks for the reminder about the caffeine - she does drink a lot of coffee. But I would think that a lot of those possible causes would affect both ears and hers is only in the left?? She has seen her regular physician, an audiologist and an ear doctor and they're all stumped. I guess the MRI is the next step.

Thanks again for the information. That's why I love coming to the boards; everyone is so caring and helpful.

Best wishes,
Julie

californiasunflower · 02-22-2004, 11:06 AM

Hi Julie

Oh, you're absolutely welcomed!

I'm glad that the ear exam findings were good! Yes, I agree the Board community is a true treasure! Keep us informed about your daughter! I'm sure others will come forward with their stories about MS and ringing in the ear!

"Purple" who posts on the Board, is also young-- 19 years old-- and recently diagnosed with MS.

lowky02 · 05-26-2009, 01:32 PM

I also have MS - relapse remitting at this point. For the last 2 1/2 years have battled ringing in my right ear. It started out as just the ringing and eventually my hearing started to get worse and worse. In the beginning I brought up the ringing to my neurologist and he said "oh that has nothing to do with MS." Then when the hearing started going I brought that up to him and he said again "nothing to do with MS, MS doesn't cause hearing loss." At this point I was irritated and went to an audiologist who did various hearing tests on me, which concluded there was significant hearing loss in my right ear, and a little hearing loss in the left. She then sent me up to the ENT doctor who did a closer examination to find a cause as to why? The ENT doctor and audiologist consulted together then and came to the conclusion that MS has to be playing a role in both the tinnitus and loss of hearing because they found no other evidence of damage or anything that would be causing the ringing and hearing loss. It has been a year since I've seen the audiologist and ENT and things have stayed pretty steady. No worse and no better. I tried talking to a different neurologist, but he didn't say anything on my MRI showed anything conclusive that would affect the hearing nerves. So really I think what they are telling me it is all in my head. It's very frustrating and it angers me that the doctors all have to blame it on this or that and no one will own up to the problem or try to solve it. In the meantime, I deal with it. I opted to skip the hearing aide the audiologist suggested and just try to focus on the mouths of what people are saying and keep my head cocked to the side with my better ear. Most of the time now I don't even notice the ringing, but I always notice the hearing loss.