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Not sure what is wrong needing advice dizziness?

Posted , 3 users are following.

carrie26501
carrie26501

Hello everyone!

Since I was around 20 I started with dizzy spells, they would come and go but not bother me much , I'd mainly notice the sensation when i was on an escalator , or if i was high up. I'd only get them once every few month. But I'm now 29 and have been suffering badly for 7 months of constant attacks is what i can describe them as. I can be fast asleep and in the middle of the night will wake feeling like the rooms spinning , i have to sit up and sometimes go to the bathroom as i start trying to be sick but never are. I feel as though my body is being pulled to the floor while my head feels like it's under water , is the best way i can describe it. I get very disorienated while the attack happens which lasts around 20 mins but then left with side effects from that such as ear ache , severe tiredness and not able to cope with motion I can get over 6 of these attacks in a day for either just 1 day or for more than 7 consecutive days. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm doing , i can be asleep , sat on the sofa watching tv , or out and about. I'm a single parent with 2 children so the fact this keeps happening is making it hard, I have been to the doctors and I'm waiting for an appointment with the ENT but they keep messing up my appointments and I keep having to wait. I just wondered if there's anyone else who has these symptoms that could give any advice , it would be greatly appreciated. I also grew up with my dad being in a band and he'd practice at home and it would be very loud. I don't know if that has anything to do with it? 

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • lisa215
    lisa215 carrie26501

    Posted

    Hello

    My Mum suffered symptoms such as yours and she was diagnosed with menieres disease.

    Its an inner ear condition, she was diagnosed about 10 years ago after suffering for 22 years with vertigo. She was treated with high dose betahistine tablets which worked well. Over time the vertigo attacks do lessen but hearing loss often happens.

    This may or may not be what you have but the symptoms sound very familiar.

    • carrie26501
      carrie26501 lisa215

      Posted

      Thank you very much for your response , I will look into that and read on it. smile
  • aveline
    aveline carrie26501

    Posted

    Hi Carrie - That sounds just awful! sad

    Maybe you should also see a neurologist?  Or, start there while waiting on the ENT appointment?

    Noise can cause hearing impairment due to nerve damage, which you hinted at, but do you think your hearing is affected? If your hearing is in tact, then loud music probably didn't contribute to this...but you probably do have nerve damage if your hearing is impaired, especially if you don't hear well at a certain volume and then just above it feels too loud.  This can even happen due to age, but you're not even close to that, yet.

    I was in my 20s when I first had REAL trouble with vertigo (looking back, it affected me at times even as a child, I just didn't know it). After seeing a neurologist, an ENT and a special audiologist, BPPV was confirmed. It was hypothesized that extra fluid (congestion like allergies) was contributing and taking decongestants does help, in my case. (The medicine itself makes me dizzy, but it's more lightheaded and not as bad as the vertigo symptoms)  Motion sickness medication can help, too (meclazine, dramamine - even over-the-counter strength).  So, you may be able to make your own symptoms a little more tolerable that way.

    Your attacks almost sound like migraines, too. I feel for you, as you battle this and try to keep it together for yourself and your children!!  HUGS to you - I hope you have answers and solutions, soon!!

    • carrie26501
      carrie26501 aveline

      Posted

      Thank you for you response, I do have hearing aids , I have fluctuating hearing loss, it seems to come and go which is weird, I can never hear my children from another room , people have to be in the same room as me for me to be able to understand what they have said, If im outside i cant hear well either, it's not so much that i can't hear the sounds , it's more i can't interpret what has been said it comes in as one long muffled sound as if my ears dont seperate each sound in peoples speach. It's hard to explain ! I really do appriciate your reply thank you smile
  • aveline
    aveline carrie26501

    Posted

    Carrie, I have a degree in speech-language pathology/audiology and although I'm not an audiologist, it does sound like you have a neurological hearing loss. Your inner ear is where the breakdown is, in other words. In addition to conducting sound to the brain, the inner ear is also responsible for balance - in the vestibular system. (Other parts of your body contribute to your balance, too)

     With your hearing loss, I have to agree with Lisa and suggest that you see a doctor to test for Meniere's Disease.  Perhaps your hearing loss is noise-induced, perhaps it's something else (or a combination).  In any event, the ENT probably can't do as much to help you as a neurologist based on what you've told us (ENTs can diagnose, but I'm not so sure about treatment???).

    You can read up on this site, and there's a Meniere's society, which has a website you may find helpful, too. 

    Here's an internal link: https://patient.info/health/menieres-disease-leaflet

    Best Wishes!!

    p.s. - children's voices are higher frequency, which is probably where your hearing loss is - plus the nerve damage scrambles the signals and your brain can't pick out the "important" sounds over background noise - I'll bet you get ringing or buzzing or other noises too. Hang in there!!

    • carrie26501
      carrie26501 aveline

      Posted

      Thank you for replying , Yes I get fluttering alot and ringing in my ears also. your posts have been very helpful for me. I'm back to the doctors tomorrow so hopefully they will fast track something to help me more. 
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