inner ear problem

[matildabep]

I am under 35, healthy, not overweight and take regular light exercise and have never been ill... until about 3 years ago.  I was in a very stressful professional job and developed a sudden ear problem (I still have the same job, but I like it!). I woke up one morning very dizzy... I had to crawl to the loo and vomit because it seemed like my ear was all blocked up and I was too dizzy to stand up.  It was and is only my right ear. I never go to the doctor - I get a bit nervous and always feel a bit awkward there. Having said that, I went to the doctor because it was not getting better and they said it was nothing - he looked in my ear with that flashlight thing... so I just kept on with my daily things.  I went to the doctor again a few times, once told to take the anti-histamine (sp?) which made no difference - but my right nose is always blocked - and in the end I was referred to an ENT - see below.

It has been going on for the past 2 years and is very bad lately. My right ear is sort of heavy and thick, thumping sounds, feels clogged (and my right sinus is clogged), and sometimes has ringing - very debilitating re my concentration at work and more than merely annoying. I have had the MRI and the CT scan within the last 3 months which did not show anything too abnormal the ENT specialist said. One thing that happened when I saw the ENT was that, again, I didn't explain it... it's hard to explain such a long time with it with any clarity. However, truth is, I cannot blame the ENT because I should have explained it better. And, if nothing comes up on the scans, there is nothing else can he do.

The ENT did, though, confirm that I had lost a lot of my hearing in that ear, mainly the lower tones. The symptoms gets worse when I'm a bit tired. If I swing my head around fast, I sort of lose my balance for about 30 seconds or so - so I just don't do that unless it's an accident. I thought I'd try lipoflavonoid? Any other thoughts, please?

[k8knox]

you know... I didnt look to see how old these posts are that you both put up... but i thought what the heck ill leave a comment. about a year ago... i was at work... kind of stressed and all of a sudden my vision got blurry and i couldnt stand up straight... i felt like i was moving when i wasnt. I took a nap thinking it would go away but it didnt... i went to the doctor and had a bunch of tests done... an mri, hearing and eye tests... one ear test where they squirt water into your ear...found that i had an inner ear injury. now... they didnt want to tell me for sure i had miener's disease for some reason... but im pretty sure it's what i have. I found this blog because i still dont feel right and i want to know if there are any other options than what ive done so far. my doctor has given me water pills... which i guess keeps the water out of my inner ear.. and i havent been dizzy since... but my vision still bothers me... especially with certain lights... i get stressed very easily now and im not sure why... i saw on the previous blog that someone had surgery of some kind... if you see my message please give me some more info on that if you dont mind... good luck to anyone who is dealing with this... it's not fun... at least not for me...

katie

[Caltexsota]

Hi Matilda,

Ask your doctor about Meniere's disease. The symptoms you are describing sound an awful lot like mine. Are you ultra sensitive to sound, lights? You do not have to have ringing in your ears for it to be Meniere's. There are some tests that they can do, which I will be honest and say are not fun but worth it in the long run. I finally had surgery last year after 2 years of being misdiagnosed. Good luck.