Heairing loss and headaches

[lacemaker]

I've had headaches,eye pain and facial pain for some time now which was diagnosed as migraine, cluster headache and now trigeminal neuralgia.  I am taking Gabapentin for this pain and it does work and relieves the pain until it wears off.  Apart from the above, I get tingling in my cheek and sometimes temporary numbness and odd sensations spreading over my cheek.

I have been worried about other problems I've noticed that I thought were perhaps related to the headaches and drugs taken: difficulty writing neatly, very poor short-term memory, forgetting people's names and what they've told me recently.

Now I've started to lose my hearing on the same side as the facial pain.  I get a hissing sounds mixed with other noises in that ear, a feeling of fullness as if it is full of ear wax (I've been to have them syringed several times this past couple of years and it does seem to help for a while then the problem recurs.  Now my hearing is getting muffled and I'm worried. My mother has had considerable hearing loss (she's 78) and has hearing aids in both ears.  I'm concerned I'm going the same way.  I'm finding it increasingly difficult to hear in a public setting, what people say sounds muffled and as if bits of words are missing.  It's really becoming noticeable that I'm having to ask them to repeat things.  This doesn't seem too bad in a quiet setting so background noise creates problems for me.

My GP has referred me to an ENT specialist because I'm over 50 (53), is this usual?  I seem to be afflicted with problems already without hearing loss.  I'm feeling very down about all this.  Has anyone any helpful advice?  Thanks in advance.

[lacemaker]

Oh, and I forgot, I'll be seeing an ENT in December.  It takes a while to get an appointment.

[lacemaker]

Thank you for your response.  I haven't had an MRI.  I did have a CT scan about a year ago because I was referred to the hospital to see a migraine specialist for what now appears to have been trigeminal neuralgia.  I should think a CT scan would have shown up any problems?

[edsdev1]

Have you had an MRI?  That is the highest priority to get done.  See an ENT or otolyrangologist (I prob spelled that wrong).

As an aside look into Vestibular migraines and AIED (auto immune ear disease).