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Rubbing alcohol damage inner ear?
Hi all,
I have suffered with Meniere's for the last 15 years and have kept it some what under control with life style changes and vestibular rehab for the majority of this time....that is...until this summer......
I contracted good ol swimmers ear around June and started playing google Dr. Not smart I know. I read to dry the ear out with rubbing alcohol which would also kill bacteria. I applied a couple of drops and instantly felt a jolt of vertigo in eyes and body. This vertigo was different than the usual I've experienced with meneire's as it felt/feels like I'm being moved fowards and backwards rapidly. Any way after months and still experiencing this sensation I've come to the conclusion that the rubbing alcohol incident has something to with it. I've read that this could indeed cause damage to the inner ear and trying to figure out how? My eardrum seemed to be fully intact so I don't see how it could have reached my middle ear...and then inner ear. If this even is the cause for me escalating dizziness or just a coincidence that happened to fall around the same time that my meneire's was presenting a new kind of vertigo.
Any advise info on this matter would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Brad
I have suffered with Meniere's for the last 15 years and have kept it some what under control with life style changes and vestibular rehab for the majority of this time....that is...until this summer......
I contracted good ol swimmers ear around June and started playing google Dr. Not smart I know. I read to dry the ear out with rubbing alcohol which would also kill bacteria. I applied a couple of drops and instantly felt a jolt of vertigo in eyes and body. This vertigo was different than the usual I've experienced with meneire's as it felt/feels like I'm being moved fowards and backwards rapidly. Any way after months and still experiencing this sensation I've come to the conclusion that the rubbing alcohol incident has something to with it. I've read that this could indeed cause damage to the inner ear and trying to figure out how? My eardrum seemed to be fully intact so I don't see how it could have reached my middle ear...and then inner ear. If this even is the cause for me escalating dizziness or just a coincidence that happened to fall around the same time that my meneire's was presenting a new kind of vertigo.
Any advise info on this matter would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Brad
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Alcohol can be used as a rubifacient, it does help in reducing the bacterial load because of its acidic pH. It is not possible for ethyl alcohol to perforate the ear drum. Giddiness would have been because of two reasons: (i) Rubifacient action of the alcohol would have stimulated the branch of vagus nerve in the external ear inducing giddiness. (ii) In a pre-existing perforation of the ear drum the alcohol would have irritated the middle ear causing giddiness.
You require a thorough ENT evaluation from an apt ENT specialist.
Regards
OHNS2010