Re: seizure disorder-ears ringing

Posted By CCF Neuro MD* on January 06, 1999 at 13:02:54:

In Reply to: seizure disorder-ears ringing posted by Kat on January 06, 1999 at 07:14:44:






A few months ago I was diagnosed with a seizure disorder and I have a couple of questions. The first one may sound trival and kinda silly but is there any differece between a seizure disorder and epilepsy? I've head different things from different sources. My EEG was negative but my neurologist said this wasn't surprizing because but can I be diagnosed with epilepsy without an abnormal EEG? My second question has too do with ringing/tone in my ears that I've noticed in the past couple of weeks. Could this be a medication side effect? Thank-you. Kat
Dear Kat,
The cumulative chance of a person having a seizure in their lifetime is 9%.  Epilepsy, by defintion, is a condition in which an individual is predisposed to recurrent seizures because of a central nervous system disorder.  The way that you are using seizure disorder and epilepsy mean the same thing.  Yes, a person with epilepsy can have a normal routine EEG; with subsequent EEG's the chance of finding an abnormality increases from about 50% after one eeg to about 80% after 3 EEG's.  Of course, if a person has a true seizure during an EEG recording then changes should be evident.  Yes, certain medications can cause ringing in the ears, however, you did not state which medications you were taking.
Good Luck.