Help please, possible Meniere's disease
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Hello,
This, is my first message here, I am happy to have found this forum.
I am looking for advice from someone with the same or similar symptoms.
My story started I believe over 15 years ago with mild low frequency hearing loss in right ear and no other symptoms. My ENT at that time determined it was a staph infection and gave me clarythromicin. Hearing went back to normal but after a while I noticed sharp clicking noise once in a while in that ear, not a big problem.
A bit over 2 years ago I had low freq hearing loss again in the same ear, but doctors in Canada ridiculed me when I mentioned infection. I recovered in 2 weeks by myself but then it started again, in episodes, accompanied by tightness in the ear and right side of the face which can be quite severe. I don't have vertigo at all. I keep having such episodes since then, sometimes with weeks of peace, sometimes only 1 day. The tightness + hearing loss is quite debilitating, especially when episodes are longer and frequent.
I was taking ibuprofen at some point because it seemed to help but after about a month I developed hissing tinnitus in both ears so I stopped. So now the hissing actually serves me as an indicator of the other symptoms as it gets louder during attacks, but it doesn't bother me too much.
One doctor reluctantly gave me clarithromycin, which it didn't work this time. MRI, CT scan shows nothing, but were taken when I was feeling well. Another doctor tried amythriptiline, no luck.
No doctor could give me a diagnosis. Recently I am trying betahistine, but I can't tell if it works yet, while I was also offered steroid injections under the suspicion of Meniere's disease.
Other observations: my episodes are starting slowly, it can take 6-12 hr to reach maximum, and end the same or slower. All episodes are at least 2 days long, worst case 5 days.
Heat from Sun or warm pack makes thins worse while ice pack applied for at least 30min appears to help a little.
It's a long post, I know, but maybe someone reads it and can give me some ideas.
I would really appreciate anything. Thanks!
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