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Does this sound like Ménière's to you?

Posted , 6 users are following.

chelsea15874
chelsea15874

Hi, I am really desperate for opinions from you guys that have had this and how it started for you. I've never had any hearing or ear problems- no ear infections even as a child. I know that might not mean anything but I'm very scared as this is the first time dealing with this..

2 months ago I noticed my ear felt full/like it needed to pop but it wouldn't. All three docs (primary, ENT, and teaching hospital ENT) have said there is no fluid that they can see and I have taken two hearing tests and pressure tests which came back as better than average. About 10 days ago I noticed I was feeling mildly dizzy but definitely not severely. Still able to walk around and testing my own balance by standing on each foot while it's occurring.

These are my only 2 symptoms. So far no tinnitus, no hearing loss, and no severe vertigo. I'm 25 years old and the mother to a 2 year old. I'm feeling very sad and unlucky if I get this diagnosis at my age. Not that I would be any happier if I get this in 10 years but I just feel like I'm being robbed of my life if I have it. I realize it's manageable but I guess I am just grieving my life 2 months ago.

I see my doc in 2 weeks but am feeling anxious in the meantime and hoping for any opinion of those of you who have been diagnosed/ or any expert/or anyone really.

Thank you so much for reading my whiney post and I appreciate any input!!

0 likes, 23 replies

23 Replies

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  • miranda72220
    miranda72220 chelsea15874

    Posted

    Hi Chelsea i wouldnt panic just yet if i were you. There are other things it could be. It was the vertigo that made me go in because i was having awful attacks. I will tell you that i am 26 with a 2 year old and yes it does suck having been diagnosed with meneirs but it is manageable...i take betahistine 48mg twice daily and it helps ...although it does take away some life not all so evenif u are diaganosed you can still enjoy your busy toddler and there are many options for management but again dont lose faith bc you habent exhibited major symptoms please keep us posted!
    • chelsea15874
      chelsea15874 miranda72220

      Posted

      Miranda, thank you so much!! That has really made me think more positively about it. Even these light dizzy spells are making it tough to enjoy my son. so I am not mentally prepared to have severe attacks at all. Very scary. Does the betahistine prevent you from getting attacks or does it only help if you already are having them? Thank you SO much for your input.
    • miranda72220
      miranda72220 chelsea15874

      Posted

      The betahistine seems to prevent the attacks for me i sometimes get a mild attack where im just very unbalanced...i used to get world spinning vomit inducing attacks but the medicine has stopped those...i understand about it making it difficult to enjoy your son...i was at the park with my son and bf on saturday and had a mild attack and it was very uncomfortable but i hope that in your case that it is not meneires but if it is than hopefully the betahistine with stop all the dizzy for you since you are experiencing just mild attacks
    • chelsea15874
      chelsea15874 miranda72220

      Posted

      Oh this has given me more hope!! I didn't realize the medicine was that effective. I have read things like doing a low salt diet and cutting caffeine so I wonder if that would take care of our mild attacks? Do you have tinnitus and hearing loss? Or a full ear? Or just the vertigo?

    • Bluesmann
      Bluesmann miranda72220

      Posted

      WhTdose are u on if the betahistine. I just started 8mg 2 per day and how long did it take to kick in
    • miranda72220
      miranda72220 chelsea15874

      Posted

      I do have rather loud tinnitus and hearing loss in my right ear...i have 40% hearing loss and wear a hearing aid the betahistine helped the pressure in the beginning but it has come back so i may ask my ent for the steroid shots again bc they seemed to help with the tinnitus and pressure
    • miranda72220
      miranda72220 Bluesmann

      Posted

      Hey im on 48mg twice a day i started on 24mg once a day but my attacks had gotten more violent and more frequent so we changed tje dose i think it took like 48 hours to work i atill get like one mild attack every 2 weeks or so but nothing like what it was like before
    • chelsea15874
      chelsea15874 miranda72220

      Posted

      I have read a lot about how the steroid shots help a ton. How long have you had this? Did you have it when you were pregnant? I'm curious if it's worse with pregnancy

    • miranda72220
      miranda72220 chelsea15874

      Posted

      I was diagnosed back in november...i had symptoms when i was pregnant like the fullness in the ear and feeling off balanced but my family doctor had thought it was just wax build up. I had my first episode of severe vertigo after my son was born but i was breast feeding so i had just thought i was dehydrated. I had 3 attacks all together while i was breastfeeding (i breast fed up until 8months) bu when it happened again afterwards i went to emrergency room amd was diavnosed about 4 months later...the injections initially helped but then i started getting like 2 attacks a week so my doctor increased my dose of betahistine which seemz much more effective in controlling the vertigo than tje shots
  • Bluesmann
    Bluesmann chelsea15874

    Posted

    Mine started on a ski trip with noise in my left ear like whooshing Kept up st different levels went to ent no fluid and I never had anything as a kid other than bad sinus noise stayed but came and went st different levels I had sinus surgery which certainly helped my breathing and sinsis as they said I had bad anatomy bike too close etc. sinuses felt and feel great noise stayed and low frequency hearing loss started then after a week of jogging in the Florida heat and coming back home one day after A morning run I went to work and at noon exams raskky dizzy sweating and vertigo I was soaking wet and someone on my building called the ambulance they thought I was having a heart attack after two bags of fluid at the ER. and some anti nausea medicine I walked the mile back to my nikdig and felt fine. Noise aka tinnitus has never really left in on duazide and for most part was ok until last six mintjs have had some dizzies d a couple vertigo son netahistije now o we shall see

    Good luck to you could be something small so don't worry too much

    • chelsea15874
      chelsea15874 Bluesmann

      Posted

      Bluesmann, yea I guess I have had bad sinuses my whole life too. That sounds very traumatic I'm sorry to hear you went through all of that... I am hoping and praying with all of me that I don't go through a severe attack. Thank you for your response!!

  • frances101
    frances101 chelsea15874

    Posted

    Hi Chelsea. I wouldn't put the cart before the horse quite yet. Mine simply happened after I flew. My ear wouldn't clear up. I took antihistamines and steroids before I was referred to ENT. Luckily for me, the guy I was sent to was the head of the department and diagnosed me right away. My hearing didn't start going for another 2 years and it took quite a while for the "episodes" go bad.

    My husband's uncle has the disease too but his is completely controlled by diet. He has totally cut out all sodium and he hasn't had an episode in years. I'm not so lucky but we're all different.

    As my doctor always says: the one thing about Menieres is that it's predictably unpredictable.

    Good luck. I pray that yours is simply something else.

    • chelsea15874
      chelsea15874 frances101

      Posted

      Hi Frances, thank you for your reply! I'm curious if you experienced any other symptoms or just the ear fullness after you flew? I also have taken prednisone and it did not work for me as well as Flonase. How long did it take for your episodes to get bad? Did you have tinnitus at first? Thank you so so much for your reply !!

    • frances101
      frances101 chelsea15874

      Posted

      Hi Chelsea. My ears were the one main factor that bothered me the most. Also I never had tinnitus at all. My hearing started to suffer about 2-3 years later and then it stopped at about 60% loss. Because the loss was gradual my other ear more than compensated for it. Also my episodes got bad at the 3 year mark then got worse. But that's me. Don't worry yet. If the Flonase works, stick with it! Also see if you can figure out any "triggers". Stress, salt, certain smells, or certain places can make things worse. Try to solve your own mystery that way when you get in with the specialist, you can present them with a list of items you've identified. They'll appreciate it and it might help to diagnose you quicker. Good luck!

  • tanney
    tanney chelsea15874

    Posted

    Hi Chelsea.  Sorry to hear that you are struggling so much with concern and that you are so sad about your current symptoms.  It's way too early to think the worst.  You had good reports on hearing and pressure and you have no tinnitus and no hearing loss.  That's wonderful news.  You may only have a seasonal allergy attack that is settling in your ears and/or Eustachian tube (ear fullness).  Almost any ear pressure can cause dizziness.  May I suggest that you try to think positive for the next two weeks.  In the meantime you may want to try a decongestant to see if that helps with the ear pressure.  I'm optimistic that with your good tests you will be fine.  Let us know what happens over the next two weeks and what the doctor says at that time.  We're all be thinking about you and wishing for the best.  Let us know.

    Please try your best to be calm.

    • chelsea15874
      chelsea15874 tanney

      Posted

      Tanner, thank you so much for this positivity!! It means a lot!!! I have to say hearing this has made me so hopeful! I will definitely keep you updated. I appreciate your support so much ❤
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