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Q-Tip, Eardrum, Fx & Dislocated Ossicles, Vertigo, Imbalance
On 12/24 I perforated my eardrum with a q-tip and fractured the incus in half, dislocated the distal portion of incus which was still attached to the stapes and stapes footplate was pushed into the vestibule. (Hearing bones) Immediate vertigo and imbalance. Fell to the ground from immediate loss of balance. Immediate tinnitus, vertigo & imbalance which lasted 9 days. On January 2, 2024 I had surgery to repair above injury. The Stapes footplate was pulled out of the vestibule and oval window, a graft from the tragus was placed over the oval window to prevent perilymph fluid leaking, incus was rotated back up to place to place of fracture and was wrapped with a graft, graft was placed over the tympanic membrane (eardrum). Woke up in recovery with severe vertigo and imbalance. Any head movement or body movement caused severe vertigo. I also had to be admitted to the hospital for 2 nights because of post op nausea & vomiting x12 hours. I am now just over 4 weeks post op and I am still having vertigo with head movements, which has improved, imbalance with walking, hearing loss and tinnitus. I had pulsatile tinnitus for about a week. Now the tinnitus is constant ringing. My hearing is so sensitive as well. Especially to fans, cupboard doors closing, tires on the roadway, eating a potato chip. I haven’t driven a car or been able to return to my job as a nurse, because of the persistent vertigo and imbalance. On January 19th, my ENT Surgeon ordered Vestibular Therapy and said he would see me back in 1 month. On January 25, 2024 I saw a Neurotologist for a second opinion. He ordered a CT scan. I am currently waiting to get a CT of the IAC to rule out a subluxation of the stapes footplate and a perilymph fistula (inner ear fluid leak). I was using a walker to get around our house for a couple of weeks because I was so unsteady. My imbalance in the home is better, but I can tell you where every unlevel surface in the floor is. I haven’t been in public except for doctors apts as walking on unlevel surfaces causes more imbalance and I fear I am going to fall. I’m only 53 and healthy prior to this with no physical limitations. Has anyone heard of such an injury or had an injury involving the ossicles (hearing bones) with lasting vertigo and imbalance. I have searched the internet high and low and have only been able to find a handful of cases of this nature. I also had moderate conductive hearing loss prior to surgery and now I have moderate to severe mixed hearing loss. (Conductive plus sensorinural) I started vestibular therapy on 1/29 to help retrain my brain. I’m not sure what the next step will be if the CT scan is negative. I live in a rural area so specialist are limited and a couple of hours away. I can live with the tinnitus and hearing loss but not a lifetime of vertigo with head movement and imbalance. My brain feels like is swooshing around in there when I’m walking or moving it. I’m hopeful vestibular therapy helps. Who knew a tiny little Q-tip could cause such a debilitating injury. Just trying to find the right doctor or find a case similar to mine seems almost impossible. Thank you in advance for any advice.
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Everything that happened and is happening to you just happened to me. I hope I regain my hearing.
I wonder if @tmragain can tell you what worked for them?
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2 ReactionsOh no! I’m so sorry someone else is having to go through such a terrible ordeal. Can you share your injury and what tests and procedures have been done so far? 🙏
Sorry for your pain. I also have had vertigo This year I had a problem with vertigo by getting up and down from bed. This lasted for months. I then contacted a severe sinus infection. The clinic gave me Doxycycline . It not only took care of my infection but this drug cured my vertigo. Please talk to your doctors to see if this miracle drug will help you, too. 🙏
I wish it were that simple however, mine is from an injury and a Persistent Perilymph Fistula. Thank you for the suggestion though.
I had just gotten out of the shower and I was cleaning/drying my left ear with a Qtip. I don’t remember if I slipped or tripped,, slamming the left side of my head against the wall. The Qtip violently jammed deeply into my ear. I instantly felt like I was being swung in circles. My world was spinning , I was sooooo scared. My kids even refused to call 911 because the believed it was minor. They finally called 20long mins. later , after I begged. When the ambulance arrived they took even longer leaving my home. They stayed outside my home writing a report for about 10-15mins. That afternoon I had surgery to try to put parts of my inner ear back where they belonged. I had skin drafted from behind my ear to hold up the organs in my inner ear and repair the ear drum. The dr said that I had knocked everything off inside my ear. (You actually explained it better in your post) I needed to stay in the hospital for 4-5 days. I no longer have hearing in my left ear. I recently went to therapy to move some crystals back into place in my ear to minimize my vertigo. I’m still losing my balance at times. The nonstop high pitch ringing in my ear is annoying at times. It’s especially louder at night. I also hear my voice in my head when I speak. I feel like I have cotton balls packed in my left ears. This really really sucks. I’m becoming depressed even.
Angiee,
I sent you a private message. Sending many 🙏
How long have you had your prosthetic hearing bones? Which ones did they replace? All of them? Where did you go for your surgeries? Thank you 😊
How are you doing?