Questions

I have had 14 episodes of ear fullness followed by a period of vertigo lasting for several hours, over the past 7 years. I will have months of no symptoms, then I will start to notice my ear getting full (endolymphatic hydrops) with hearing worsening and becoming very sensitive to loud sounds, then in a matter of a few days I will have a violent vertigo attack where i lose all balance and throw up repeatedly if i try to sit up or stand. these vary in intensity and length, from 4-18 hours, takes several more hours to get back to normal, but the event is always followed by relief of ear fullness, and hearing returns to normal.

I have never been to a doctor. called emergency the first time it happened, but after i realized i could simply lay down and it would eventually pass, i just do that.

Reading about what is happening to me, I surmised I have Meniere's disease. After a couple of years I ascertained my condition to be more precisely Lermoyez Syndrome, since my hearing and ear fullness improved after the vertigo attack. I think now that i may have had cochlear hydrops as a predecssor to this possibly as long as 25 years ago, but the vertigo episodes developed 7 years ago when i was just shy of 50 years old.

These happen in clusters- i may go almost two years without one and then one day i notice my ear getting full feeling and distorted/sensitive hearing, deteriorating until the vertigo attack and it may repeat that sequence one or two more times, re-developing ear fullness and other symptoms again in two or three weeks, ending in vertigo, and then it will disappear again for many months with no symptoms.

I quit drinking any alcohol 7 years ago when this started and have also been on low sodium diet since then. I have serious doubts that my condition is caused or affected by diet, but still, I am afraid to eat anything considered bad for Meniere's people. i have eaten sweets and experienced no effects. I rarely have headaches. i don't think migraines or triggers have anything to do with the onset of hydrops in my case. i do know that if i eliminate hydrops, i won't have a problem. hydrops always is present, and has been present- and worsening, each time before i have an episode.

The reason i am here is i am curious what other people with Endolymphatic hydrops experience. If you eat a high sodium meal, do you feel your ear fullness increase fairly quickly after the meal? Do you notice your hydrops pressure going up and down on a daily basis?

If you are on a diuretic, do you notice ear pressure going up and down? And also, how effective has a diuretic been in eliminating your hydrops?

These may be dumb questions, I don't know. In my case, i notice my ear getting full seemingly for no reason one day, out of the blue, and then there is no fluctuation involved- it begins, worsens, and ends with an episode of vertigo. it may then repeat the process in a matter of weeks or years.

In my own case, i know that if i could eliminate simply eliminate the hydrops i would be free of this. i have reservations about taking a diuretic, unless it works lol. from what i gather though a diuretic may not help and it may cause more harm than good.

One theory for Lermoyez syndrome is that the ductus reuniens valve is clogging for some reason, and when enough pressure builds up it shoots fluid into the labyrinth causing the vertiginous chaos. One burst may not be enough to clear the obstruction (which may be otoconia), and this is why these episodes are often grouped or clustered with the ear creating fluid to clear the obstruction as needed. I don't know. There are many different, unrelated reasons why people may have inner ear trouble.

So , to conclude, i am asking if your ear hydrops fluctuates on a daily or hourly basis- is it something you really notice based on meals you've eaten, or from taking precription diuretics?

this will help me to understand what is going on in my own ear, which seems to be "one way" hydrops.

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