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Would appreciate your opinion

Posted , 10 users are following.

Essexgirlinpain
Essexgirlinpain

I'm still waiting to see an ent. I've had bouts of vertigo and being off balance for over two years now.

I had a drop attack with really loud ringing in my ears want deaf and spun out into the floor. It lasted half an hour then I fell asleep. A month later I had another attack of severe dizziness but no drop attack.

I was originally told it was labrynthitus with nystygmus. And told to go back to my gp if it hadnt gone around the 8 week mark. I did this and couldn't see the same gp and ended up being told it was anxiety and to take antidepressants. I did but it didn't stop till a total of 8 months. So no specialist help.

Dizziness/vertigo stayed away till five months later another go made a referral to get checked for ms. Had the check with Neuro in January but by this time the dizziness had gone. No sign of ms in mri.

No dizziness etc again till July this year. Had another 24 hours ish of severe spinning ear ringing hardly being able to sit up never mind stand. This calmed down but has left me constantly off balance now. Going in supermarkets and other large well lit shops is a nightmare. The dark sets it off too. Sounds that are high pitched hurt my ears sometimes. Im off balance all the time but had another bout of severe vertigo last night which ladted a few hours till my anti dizziness pills help settle it a little. Ive had on off ear fullness and tinnitus is getting more frequent.

I've had my hearing checked and my left has lost some lower tones and my right is ok but I mainly get tinnitus in my right ear but sometimes both especially with a severe attack.

My gp says bppv.

Any opinion would be great ?

0 likes, 16 replies

16 Replies

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  • angela84522
    angela84522 Essexgirlinpain

    Posted

    Do you have ear fullness? Mine took 2 years to fully progress it would come and go. I was diagnosed with Mineares Disease 6 weeks ago. I am eating low Salt diet and am on Horse Tail natural supplement that is a diuretic. Also ginkgo that helps with circulation.
    • Essexgirlinpain
      Essexgirlinpain angela84522

      Posted

      I have had ear fullness and at the same time sometimes it feels like pressure in my head too. My ear fulness can be inside the ear or around the back like the ear support of my glasses has extended and is pressing into my head. But its not all the time or anything and it's on the ear with ok hearing too. That's why I'm so confused really. I've no hearing loss at all that side

    • Essexgirlinpain
      Essexgirlinpain angela84522

      Posted

      Did you have other diagnosis during the two years? I've had to beg and plead for an ent appointment. It will be two and a half years by the time I get seen the first time. I'm just worried I'll be in remission again and it will drag on again or I'll not get refered again

    • angela84522
      angela84522 Essexgirlinpain

      Posted

      Yes they kept telling me it was allergies. So make sure you tell them you have fullness in your inner ear. I would start on a low salt diet. 1000 to 1200 MG a day. Let them know that you think it's MD

  • donna16710
    donna16710 Essexgirlinpain

    Posted

    I have had both bppv and menieres. BPPV does not give you sensitive hearing, ear fullness nor does it have an association with hearing loss(at least according to what I know about it). You can get MD involving one ear, some times I think I will never understand why some docs are so reluctant to refer someone to a specialist. It is almost like they feel it is a failure on their part if they can't make a diagnosis.In the meantime, the patient struggles and suffers. I am sorry that you are having to go through this. You may need to be a bit of a pain to get the follow up you need but do not hesitate to do so. You are your own best advocate because no one else knows better than you what you are going through. Hang in there.

    • JMJ
      JMJ donna16710

      Posted

      Donna,

      I don't understand the reluctance to refer people to specialists,either.  Once the usual tests are done, and there's no response to conservative measures, it just seems like a common sense move.  It breaks my heart when I read so many stories of people suffering for so long...getting so many different diagnoses!  It doesn't seem fair that while you're feeling so sick that you ALSO have to do so much research on your own problems, but there it is.  We have to try and be as clear about our symptoms as possible, and as educated as we possibly can be.

      Take good care,

      J-

  • mistibluey
    mistibluey Essexgirlinpain

    Posted

    Essexgirl,  Hi.  You have a right to be seen at the hospital of your choice under the NHS constitution. If you are in Essex and can get to up to town fairly easily, Guy's Hospital has one of the best ENT departments in the country and also a balance clinic which is going to be better for you than just a normal ENT.

    I hope you get some help soon.  All the best M.

  • jane51474
    jane51474 Essexgirlinpain

    Posted

    I hope you get to the ENT clinic 2mistibluey told you about .has anyone done a brain MRI yet?i feel it's most important first step to rule out anything else with unilateral hearing loss(acoustic neuroma for one ) but since its low frequency loss that's very indicative of menieres and with the other ear having tinnitus .in the meantime limit your sodium as people have days also try and limit caffeine (sometimes make tinnitus worse ) limit sugar and alcohol for dizziness also

    And have Meclizine/Bonine for dizziness until you can see this ENT

    I do all this and have had MRI and have been able to control vertigo the tinnitus is harder to control but there are specialists to help with that also and hearing aides/devices to help hearing loss.i am 61 and was diagnosed almost 12 years ago

  • jane51474
    jane51474 Essexgirlinpain

    Posted

    Sorry just read u had MRI that's good

    • Essexgirlinpain
      Essexgirlinpain jane51474

      Posted

      Yep had an mri.

      I also have prochloraprazine (I think it's called ) for the vertigo. It's not great but takes the edge off a little.

  • NeddyO
    NeddyO Essexgirlinpain

    Posted

    You must see ENT and/or Auralphysiologist. The loss of lower tone hearing is consistent with Meniere's as is the sensitivity to loud discordant sound and the drop attack. The problem with Meniere's is that damage to your hearing is likely to get worse with each bad attack and will not recover. Press for Consultant appointment and meanwhile ask to be given Betahistine 16mg three times daily which over time should reduce the fullness and tinnitus. If the diagnosis is confirmed you are likely to be put on a higher dose. this is waht happened to me and it worked.

    good luck.

  • eleftherio33095
    eleftherio33095 Essexgirlinpain

    Posted

    Hearing loss in the low frequencies is compatible with Meniere's Disease.

    Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN

    Clinica Neurophysiologist

    Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology

    • Essexgirlinpain
      Essexgirlinpain eleftherio33095

      Posted

      But its only a slight loss and it's in the ear that I don't having tinnitus in most of the time. It's my left ear that has the loss and my right that has the fullness

    • donna16710
      donna16710 Essexgirlinpain

      Posted

      This would probably make me suspicious that it was affecting both ears. I have hearing loss in my left ear that is worse than my right.
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