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New ear problem for the past month; Menieres or something else?
Hi everyone,
I'm hoping that someone may have some insight into a problem I've been having for the past month.
It started for me when I was prescribed Prednisone (25mg) to take to help me with a problem I have when I fly. My right ear blocks up and doesn't unblock for hours after the flight is over. An ENT gave me the Prednisone as well as a nasal spray. In preparation for a flight, I took one single Prednisone pill and started the nasal spray.
I had a bad reaction to the Prednisone. I felt a lot of pressure in my head and ears and had a kind of "hyper" feeling, but I didn't know what was wrong because I never took that drug before. By that night, I had a loud "dial tone" sound in my ear, dizziness and nausea. The symptoms subsided and the ENT told me not to take the drug again. I thought it was all over, but what followed has been a month of strange sounds in the right ear and dizzy spells. Interestingly, most of my symptoms happened at night while I was sleeping. I would wake up dizzy every couple of hours and notice a strange sound which always dissapated. I went to multiple ENT's who could find nothing wrong and said my hearing was nearly perfect; a cardiologist who did an Ecodoppler of the carotid artery and said everything was good. I had an MRI of my head which showed nothing that could explain this. Then the symptoms started to subside so I thought it was all over. But three days ago out of nowhere I heard a loud "dial tone" sound in the right ear again. This lasted about 12 hours then disappeared. Yesterday it happened again. This time it lasted even longer and there was dizziness towards the end of it. Every time my blood pressure has been taken they said it is OK and I had my cholesterol checked - also OK (I take Rosuvastatin and admittedly, it's not always under control).
As I type this, I'm basically OK. I feel a bit unsteady, but I had a crazy night with this. I have no idea what's happening. The ENT ordered more vestibular testing (an impedance analysis as well as a vestibular function test (not sure the name, we're in Italy so I know what it's called in Italian). Also I need to visit a neurologist as well as my endocrinologist (I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis). I also need to be tested for sleep apnea, as it is a concern.
Any ideas at all? I'm terrified of another attack.
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The exercises- both kinds- are empowering because you can do them yourself at home!
My friend went to a balance center. She not having vertigo but just sometimes her sense of place in space is off. They did all kinds of things.
I do tai chi for balance. Hope your testing is helpful!
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It's not been two months since my problem started. It's changed in that time, but it still persists. The dizziness while I sleep has gone away, but I still hear a low buzz in my right ear (or on the right side of my head?) usually starting at around 9 or 10 in the evening, that goes all night and stops in the morning. Sometimes it's soft, sometimes it's louder. When it's louder, it seems to radiate across the base of my skull. The ENT did not really know what to tell me. He hypothesized that there could be an accumulation of fluid in the inner ear, but he had doubts. He told me to just try not to worry about it and go about my business and see what happens. Obviously I just want this to go away but with every week that passes, I get more doubtful. I also visited with a neurosurgeon who examined my MRI in detail and said there was no accumulation of fluid evident on the MRI. My hearing seems to be OK. For the past 4 weeks, I have been on a strict low salt/low sugar diet with no caffeine or alcohol that does not seem to be having any effect at all. They gave me betahistine and a light diuretic that do not seem to be doing anything. My endocrinologist said there is no connection with my Hashimoto's problem. My dentist (as you can see, I've been to every doctor imaginable!) did say that I have an extremely tight jaw, and she is making a mouthguard for me right now. I also did a preliminary sleep test, which may have shown some sleep apnea, but a pneumologist was dubious about the result.
Any ideas at all of what I should do, or if you have experience like this?
I have ringing in my ears- tinnitus- and have told that although it can accompany hearing loss, the tinnitus itself comes from the brain. The brain sort of fills the void with the ringing, buzzing sound. There is no actual cure, I was told, but the brain gets accustomed to it.
There is a forum for tinnitus online that is helpful but a lot of people seem pretty desperate with this. Mine started in 2015 and I got used to it quickly but I foolishly went to a music performance that was in a circle around the listeners and very loud. My tinnitus got a lot louder and I did indeed feel desperate for a few weeks. After a few months it either got softer or my brain adapted. I didn't notice it until I saw this thread!
Some people mask it with ambient noise overnight but that gave me severe vertigo. I prefer silence. The key is to work on accepting it or at the very least, letting your brain adapt, much like the eye adapts to floaters I think.