Weird ear symptoms, please help!

[JLaRock]

I'm 36 and have had a near debilitating situation with my right hear which has been occuring for the past 3 years. I've been in the Kaiser healthcare system for 30 years and 4 Doctors over the past 3 years gave me 4 diagnosis including one that wanted to prescribe Antidepressants which I refuse to do.
Here's the symptoms:
When I wake up every morning I have fullness/deafness in my right ear only.
I'm not sure if sleep is required for the onset to occur or if it's onset do to horizontal position.
Throughout the day it dissipates and is near gone by the time I go to sleep again at night, then it onsets while asleep and is there again in the morning. This is a cycle that doesn't change for 3 years straight.
I've tried everything imaginable, uncluding vitamins, herbs, accupressure, chiropractic, dental orthotic, nasal spray, ear popper device etc etc etc etc.....I've tried mostly natural remedies to avoid taking prescriptions but at this point will take prescription if needed because this situation horrible.
I am taking a low dose diuretic that one of the Doctors at Kaiser prescribed in case I had Hydrops in the inner ear, but it doesn't seem to work on my ear.
Here's more symptoms:
When the noise/fullness is present in the ear, if I move my eyes hard-right it doubles the noise, then when I relax the eyes the noise comes back down to what it was.
If I lightly scratch my head with finger nails it feels like my eardrum is vibrating.
If I apply pressure above ear to temporal area it changes the noise.
If I get a feeling of "fight or flight" or just anxious, or nervous my ear sounds like someone is tuning it electrically (very high pitchy nervey sound for about 5 seconds then dissipates)
I do have hyper active stapedius or tensor tympani ever since my first son was born and even anticipating loud noises causes my right ear (bad ear) only to flutter.
It's important to note that somehow I ended up with Cervical arthritis and being self employed I carry a lot of tension in my neck and shoulders.
I DO NOT do caffeine, soda, fast good, smoking or drugs. I eat well, but could do more cardio.
It's important to note that my mother had her Stapes bone replaced with a prosthesis when she was younger.
The best night I've had in the past 3 years was when I did not lay down until 4am in the morning ( I was a designated driver for a bachelor party) and that night the onset DID NOT occur.
What's causing this madness? Why is it onset at night only and HAS NEVER onset during the day? It consistently dissipates as soon as I'm either awake or upright.
The fact that moving my eyes hard-right affects the noise level is very concerning and I've read about gaze induced tinnitus but not much is known. Is the onset do to REM Sleep?
I do wear glasses to see better for distance and I'm bad about removing the glasses while at the computer which causes additional strain to the eyes, not sure if there's a muscular thing going on between eyes/ears, or a vestibular situation between eyes/ears.
I've often thought about a muscle relaxant to attempt to calm nerves and muscles, but need real answers as to why this occurs? I don't want to just put a patch on the situation.
My next step may be MRI or CT at Kaiser.
I do have a deviated septum and currently taking the Flonase in case I had Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, but it hasn't alleviated the problem.
I'm very anxious for responses from Doctors or people having experienced and resolved this issue. I spend a lot of money per month on health care and it boggles my mind why the Doctors don't ask me more questions and take more time with me because this situation is ruining my life.

Thank you!

[JLaRock]

I guess there are many things you could try, but you may want to start with a chiropractor. A misaligned spine can cause havoc on the muscles, nerves and lymph system and believe it or not, your ear! Being as your symptoms radiate throughout your body perhaps you need some chiropractic care including breathing and stretching techniques? It's a shot in the dark, but at least a first step. With anything you try, you should try it for a while to see if you truly get results. No therapy will be effective on the first attempt and you shouldn't combine many therapies at the same time so that you can measure effectiveness of each individually.

[JCAXA]

For about a year now, I have suffered with ear pressure in the right ear only. It started one day when I had the flu and suddenly, in the middle of the night, I woke up and could barely hear out of my right ear. I went to the hospital and they gave me a shot. I was fine for a few hours, but eventually had to go to an ENT. Nothing major was discovered and they chalked it up to the flu. In July of this year, I began having constant pain on the right side of my throat. It felt like an oncoming flu, but a flu never developed. Now, within the past two weeks, my right ear has become "muted" again, with accompanying pain in the right side of my throat, throbbing behind my right eye, and pain on the right side of my neck and shoulder blade. I also have pain radiating through my right breast and arm at times; it comes in quick 'shocks' of pain and disappears quickly at times. Other times, I have a numb, deep pain in my breast. I have had a mammogram, nothing is wrong.  I feel like the entire right side of my head and body is just torturing me! No pain meds seem to help and I've had check-ups. They reveal nothing. Have not had an MRI, but would like to know what could be possible causes of these symptoms. In my personal life, I am REALLY stressed out and wonder if that could enhance these symptoms somewhat.

[Nancy T]

Hi there--if you are going to get a CT looking for SCD, I strongly suggest that you first read the info on Dr. Hain's page about that disorder (he is a highly respected neurologist specializing in dizziness):

http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/unilat/scd.htm

Apparently, it's essential that the scan be done a certain way, which Dr. Hain spells out. If they do it wrong, you can't repeat the scan because of the amount of radiation involved. I heard about this happening to someone. They did the scan wrong and she can't have another one, so she's out of luck with the best diagnostic test for SCD.

Your symptoms don't really sound like SCD, but who knows.

If you get an MRI (which I think you should!) make sure they do it WITH gadolinium contrast. That is how they can best rule out acoustic neuroma (benign inner-ear tumor). Not that your symptoms sound like that either, but the gaze-evoked tinnitus is pretty strange...

Don't let MRI/CT techs tell you that such specifications aren't needed. Get the orders right and insist they be followed, so you won't end up with a useless scan.

I presume you've had hearing tests--have they been normal?

Hopefully your ENT is a SPECIALIST in the ear. If not, I would seek one out, even if you have to go outside Kaiser. Look for a neuro-otologist (also spelled neurotologist), which is an ENT with extra training in the inner ear and its connections to the brain. Check the Web sites of the American Neurotology Society or the Vestibular Disorders Association to find names in your area, and make sure the doc has a certificate in "otology/neurotology" (call the office and ask). Another possibility is an otoneurologist, that is, a neurologist specializing in the inner ear. Otoneurologists are not surgeons but could refer you for surgery if needed. They are also among the best diagnosticians.

Good luck and please post back with any results or new info.

Nancy

[JLaRock]

Thanks for your comment. I am starting to get really insistent with them, although the most difficult thing has been trying to explain what is actually occuring. The MRI and CT will be done soon. Recently the ENT seems to think I may have something called Superior canal dehiscence syndrome, although when I research it on Wikipedia I only have some of the symptoms. The CT should be able to determine if I have it or not. We'll see if this another wrong way path?
I agree with you about Kaiser's primary-care system being stellar, but dealing with the specialists so far isn't impressive.

[Nancy T]

Very weird. You've had this problem for 3 years and no MRI done yet?? I've had Kaiser for 2 years, and while their primary-care system seems fabulous, I've been less than impressed with most of the specialists I've seen.

I have never heard of such a problem (though I've heard of gaze-evoked tinnitus, and had it myself). I hope you get to the bottom of it. Let us know if you find out. Sometimes you have to get really insistent with doctors by letting them know in no uncertain terms how badly something is affecting your life and how much you need help.

Good luck,

Nancy