Best Vertigo / Dizziness Clinics in USA

Thank you Terry. I will check out clinics in Atlanta and aslo ask for recommendation from my ENT. I am just worried that it will take best part of the year before getting an appointment. 

I don't think that the wait will be that long.  When I made my appointment with Dr. Pappas I had to wait for 6 weeks but, I had them put me on a cancellation list and I got in in 4 weeks.  The problem with Otologist is that there are so few of them but, for an inner ear issue they are who you want to see.  An ENT is a waste of time from my experience.  I would have gone to Dr. Torino had she accepted my insurance.  I just really thought that listening to her on the Youtube videos that she was a very caring person and looked for answers for her patients.

Best of luck in your search.  I have been dealing with this issue for 2 years and am finally seeing that there may be an end in sight for me.  Some people recover from this stuff in 2 or 3 months and then it takes others of us longer.  My Otologist told me that you get over it when you get over it.  There are no miracle cures.  When you look at the anatomy of the inner ear, it is so small that the least amount of fluid can upset the function and cause inner ear issues.  Then you compund that with any nerve damage that has to be overcome and it can become a slow process.  I was originally told by my ENT that I had a peripheral issue and a central issue.  The ENG that I had done was not performed very professionally.  Dr. Pappas told me that if I did not begin to see progress that they would rerun their own tests to confirm the issues.  The testing is very improtant in diagnosing the issue so that you are treated effectively and for the right disorder.

Best of luck in finding the right doctor for your needs. 

Yes I have reservations about the VNG test done on me too. I read online that caloric test should be done with water to be more accurate but it was done with hot and cold air for me.  What kind of issues are you having? Was it Vestibular Neuratis?

Hey Terry

Havent seen you on here in a while. Jow are you doing these days? Sounds like you are finally seeing the light. I am much better too. I still have a plugged ear but i can live with that. I have moved on to bigger and better things...a knee replacement on April 25. Aside from that, i am good.

Please let me know how you're doing.

Debbie

Hate to hear about the knee replacement but, maybe that will get you on the road to recovering from the ailments that it has caused.  I am doing well.  I had three or four bad days last week due to several storm fronts that we had that came through the south.  We had 7 or 8 tornados in Alabama.  I am finally making what appears to be the last push toward 100% recovery.  I still have some head sensations but, before the storm fronts I had 3 or 4 days where I felt fully recovered.  I would say that I am now around 97% or 98%.  It is certainly interesting how we make such small incremental improvements from something that for me happened over the course of 2 or 3 hours.  I read an interesting article on PPPD, Persistent Postural Perceptual Dizziness, and found that so many of the symptoms mirror what I have experienced over the past 24 months.  I think that your doctor was wise when he/she prescribed the SSRI for you for both of your occurrences.  I think that I may have recovered sooner if I had gotten an SSRI to help to alleviate the anxiety piece.  From reading the article it related that after 3 months of dealing with VN the mind shifts focus on the movements felt by the inner ear and cannot completely ignore what should be normal feelings.  It made so much sense to me.  I think had I been able to break that barrier earlier I would not have focused on things that were probably there before I was hit with this stuff.

Let me know how the knee replacement goes.  Hopefully, your recovery will be swift and uneventful from that.  I have a friend that had a hip repalcement a couple of years ago and after 8 weeks or so he was as good as new.

Best to you

Terry 

Thanks Terry. Glad you are doing well. Storm fronts affect me as well. Guess we'll have to learn to live with that!

I'll be in touch after my surgery.

Take care

Debbie

I originally had an ENG versus a VNG.  THe VNG is supposed to be more accurate.  My caloric test was done with air as well.  My Otologist diagnosed me with VN and early stage Menieres.  I doubt the Menieres piece, though.  I had all of the symptoms that you mentioned but, they were never cyclical.  I had dizziness, imbalance, foggy head, anxiety, bouncing vision, fullness in my left ear, neck aches, GI issues, fatigue, problems in large stores with high ceilings and busy shelves, problems in large open spaces ( you name it and I believe that I had it)  Most doctors will tell you that recovery is 6 to 8 weeks and then when that doesn't occur they will tell you 8 to 12 weeks.  Most people do recover in 12 weeks time but, don't lose hope because you haven't.  We are all different and the damage inflicted on the inner ear is different for each of us.  Also, there are so many illnesses that have many of the same symptoms that it is hard to compare sometimes.  There are people on here that I have read posts that have recovered in 3 months and there are some like myself and Debbie(82116) that it took 2 years.  There are some on here that have been struggling for several years and they are looking for answers just like the rest of us.  Some of it is because we have to research so much on our own because the medical community is so unfamiliar with the condition taking over 3 months to resolve.  Debbie has gone through it twice but, her last occurrence resolved in a much shorter period.  I will tell you, and I know that she will too, don't lose hope and don't let anyone tell you that you cannot overcome this.

Get a good Otologist, get a good regimine in place and stick to it.  I don't believe in trying everything that someone may throw out there.  Time is the biggest component.  The body will try to heal itself but, there are things that we can do to help it along.

I hope your search for a good Otologist proves fruitful.  As I said, but I have no way of knowing, I really like what I have read about Dr. Jennifer Torino.  Emory I am sure has some good credentialed Otologists as well.

Keep us updated on how you progress.  

Good for you, Terry, I feel like there will never be any improvement for me at this point. I have bever been treated, just tested. I do/did the vestibular exercises for exactly a year now (April 2015). The otoneurologist has at least determined that it is central and has to do with my poor eye-brain (VOR) speed. Everything is delayed, which makes me off balance.

Do you know if there is such a thing as an ocularneurologist, one that specializes in eye neurology? I hate having to do this research on my own! I have diagnosed myself with PPPD, precipitated by BPPV (which is thankfully finally goneafter my last Epley); as good as any other diagnosis I've "not" had! TIA.

Thank you for such a detailed reply Terri. I feel like your and my diagnosis is prob very close. I feel like I have symptoms like Menearie but my dizziness is constant without true spnning and without any relief inbetween. So something like Hydrops. I am due for VNG test results in couple of days but the lady had said it did not look like I had peripheral issue. I am waiting to see the ENT. After reading so many stories and opinions I feel like I want to make an appt with otologist soon. I was going to wait until I saw a Neurologist, but I am thinking otherwise now. I also came down with pretty bad sinus infection 4 days ago and I am still nursing myself back to health. But I noticed the dizziness got significantly worse before the infection started and is still pretty bad. My doctor says it should subside as I get better but I am now really worried.  I will update you guys once I get VNG results. Hope you get 100 % better very soon. This condition is not life threatning but incapacitating in so many ways. 

Look up Neuro-Ophthamalogist.  Several of them in New York.  Maybe they can help.  Seems like I remember you saying that you were experiencing oscillopsia.  Is that correct?

I always get worse with sinus issues.  I usually take a steroid to help me get over the effects of the added fluid that sinus issues cause.  Decadron helps me tremendously.  I live in south Alabama and we have plenty of sinus issue contributers here.

I am not sure what I have. ENT is trying to eliminate things. You can take look at my thread for detailed symtoms, it is called "Persistebt dizziness for 3 months"...but I think symtoms mimic Maniere, VN or central vertigo. Hopefully it will either go away on its own or they diagnose it soon. The sinus infection has made dizziness a lot worse. I REALLY hope it is only temporary.

Yes, oscillopsia (retinal slip) and now palinopsia, where the lghts leave a trail of lights behind them. Also called after-images, but not like a flashbulb after-image. More like  0))))))))))0  when I look to the rt or left.

                                                    ------------>

                                                    0((((((((((0

                                                    <----------->

Oh, I did. and one of the centers listed is the one where I go. Hmm, I had read somewhere he was a Neurootologist, but on this page it says he specializes in Neurotology and Neuroophthalmology. So I guess I'm in the right place. Will just have to continue what I'm doing and hope that someday it improves. Frustrating, because he says there is no medication for it.

Hi Deb, did you even have VNG or ENG done on you? How did your doctor figure out you have central originating vertigo?  My VNG came back with big CENTRAL written on it. I am super worried what might be the root cause. My MRI was supposedly normal. I am going nuts thinking about MS and other diseases I do not know about.

Yes, I had ENG where they put warm air and then cold air and look for your response (calorics test). If you have a normal vestibular-eye (VOR) system, your eyes will have nystagmus and they will "jump" towards the ear that's being worked on. I didn't have ANY response. I thought that was good, until I found out later, that it wasn't. I'm not sure how the ENT determined that it was "central" (not ears, but brain), maybe because I no had response with either ear. Since then, I've had more symptoms that indicate an eye-brain miscommunication, which proves it's central. There are blood tests that can be done to show if you have an autoimmune disease such as MS. Mine were negative. Could also be a B6 vitamin deficiency. Keep us posted! My vision is 20/20, so it's some problem with my brain that is misfiring. They say it will get better with time(?),

Thanks Deb. I just went to neurologist today and he seems to think there might be brain stem involvement. He has ordered blood tests now. I am utterly worried and in a place where I feel alone. It looks like I most likely have soomething with central nervous system. I feel like my old life is over and now I have to adjust.

Don't rush into diagnosing yourself. It may be something very easily fixed. Glad that your MRI came back normal... be patient (I know it's hard) and they will figure it out. You're not alone. Many of us here have similar symptoms, and many success stories.