Why should aural fullness be an issue?

Yes I have also thought about "aural fullness" - such an ambiguous description. My initial thought was acoustic manipulation by hearing loss of low frequency. Now I am more inclined to attribute this to fluid in eustachian tube and/or middle ear in addition to excessive fluid in inner ear, which will probably cause the surrounding to sound like your ear is full of something.

BTW I am not a promoter of these surgeries - exercises are much safer, brighter options for me.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4smSaYBVJ9gaXN6aVJiRHRFUXM/view?usp=sharing

 

The aural fullness is what gets me the most as well. But it's not fullness only in the ear. It occurs all around my ear. From my temple down to my earlobe and back around the back of my ear. I describe it as wearing a hat that it way too tight, but only on one side. I feel like it affects my vision as well. I can see out of my left eye, but it feels like my brain isn't using my left eye. I've had my fair share of MRIs and ruled out tumors and neuromas. Several doctors have said that it isn't happening. (Aren't they swell.) But my wife confirms that during some of my worst days it appears as though my left eye is "droopy". Another unsolved MM mystery.

 

I totally agree. Debilitating vertigo episodes aside, the aural fullness is by far the worst part of this for me. Way worse than moderate hearing loss and roaring tinnitus.

 

I think it's a few things for me. When I was getting vertigo attacks (they have been at bay for a while now, thank goodness, knock wood etc), the fullness was the harbinger. The pressure would build and build and build, and then eventually there would be a release of pressure and I'd have an attack. So clearly, any sign of fullness -- or increasing fullness -- and I'm still worried vertigo is right around the corner, even though I've had it mostly under control for a year or two now.

As the vertigo slowly went away or became less frequent, the fullness would come cyclically. At first the cycles were long, like over several days or a week or two, slowly, slowly building and then there'd be a release... but instead of vertigo my tinnitus would go from baseline (not terrible at all) to absolutely roaring. Over time, my cycles shortened in length gradually, to where I'd go to full on crazy fullness (extremely uncomfortable) and it'd release and switch to roaring LOUD tinnitus just over a few hours. Maybe since the extreme tinnitus was a signal I was "in the clear" and safe from vertigo, it didn't bother me as much as the fullness. I mean, the tinnitus at full volume is still highly annoying but I don't find myself dwelling on it much, thinking about it like I do the fullness.

Also I've posted about this recently, but I got my first hearing aid a few weeks ago and it immediately helped with the tinnitus. Tinnitus is still there but such a lower volume. I literally have it super loud blasting, then I put on the aid in the morning and it's back to a whisper, maybe a bit louder. The aid has also helped the fullness sensation, for a couple weeks to the same extent as the tinnitus (I was ecstatic) but the last couple days have been harder MM days for me, for whatever reason, and I do sense the fullness with the aid in. Still not to the extreme as before though!

 

While my good ear has shown no sign of any hearing loss, for the past year or so it's showing very mild signs of *something* going on. Nothing compared to my bad ear, but a bit of tinnitus and more and more fullness. Never to the point of extreme discomfort like the bad ear, but something seems to be going on. So definitely no destructive surgery for me unless things were to really go off the deep end. Also, my oto thinks I have a dual diagnosis -- MM and vestibular migraine -- so VNS/lab wouldn't necessarily fix my problems anyway.

I'm on my second or third big bottle of fish oil pills from Costco and it hasn't showed much help with the MM. I'd have stopped it by now, but another doc suggested I keep it up for a bit, as we found recently I also have high cholesterol and am trying to stem that before having to go on those meds. This issue is most definitely a genetic one, as my dad has dealt with it for years, so not sure how much dietary/supplements can help but we'll see.

Oh due to the likely vestib migraine Dx, my oto suggested adding in Magnesium supplements and after some time, that did coincide with an improvement in symptoms. It's only been a couple months though, so hard to say if there's definitely a correlation.

 

Pupper & PND, omega-3 will be helpful when blood cholesterol level is high. It mildly cleans up arterial plaque built up there over time. It is no immediate effect. Fresh flaxseed oil is a good one. Fish oil and other omega-3 supplements generally contain not only omega-3 but other fat as well, but our purpose to take omega-3 is to increase omega-3 ratio over other fat. For that purpose, flaxseed oil contains omega-3 as the majority of ingredients over others. Flaxseed oil should be a fresh one as it is susceptible to oxidation and becomes useless.

Magnesium can be a good one if it is deficient, same with calcium and vitamin D3 - it depends on your diet.

 

If you are watching your arginine/lysine ratio in foods, flaxseed oil is high in arginine. Unfortunately, so are many nuts that are a good source of omega 3. What's good for cholesterol can be bad for the viral component of MM. It can be hard to eat a good diet when many foods good for one aspect of health can compromise another. Ugh! Can't win!

 

Yes you can win, you can manage lysine / arginine by total amount. What you eat most is more important to be rich of lysine over arginine. Arginine at one teaspoon of flaxseed oil is very negligible amount compared to your staple food counted by pounds.
lysine / arginine ratio is applicable for those who are on antiviral treatment.

 

Pupper, I know this thread is 2 years old, but did you find anything to help with the fullness? It is making me VERY ANXIOUS!! I have had it 24/7 for the last 5 months. I also have a mild Tinnitus that comes and goes. Two ENT’s suspect mild Ménière’s. My Neurotologist says no! He diagnosed me with a migraine variant and put me on Nortriptyline. I am still taking 2000mg of Valtrex because I am somewhat skeptical of that diagnosis. I was, however, getting better until 2 days ago when the fullness got a little worse. Today I am not as full, but I am having a feeling of pressure in both ears!! I am thinking this is weather related. I so wish I knew what is going on with me. My symptoms overlap with a migraine variant that manifests in the ears as well as atypical Ménière’s. I just desperately need help with the fullness. I think I am going to order the Lemon Bioflavonoids that JOH recommends since several have said it helped them with fullness. I guess my question to you is do you suffer from fullness 24/7 and have you found any help for this awful symptom?

 

'Why should aural fullness be an issue?. I mean, technically, your ear feels full. So what?', the Advocatus Diaboli asks.

 

It is like a phobia for me! I remember it used to drive me crazy if I got water in my ear as a child/ teenager/ adult. This has been constant for 5 months. It has truly made me very anxious. I certainly don’t expect everyone to understand. I realize things could be a lot worse. I do have a very subtle tinnitus and have a loss of low frequency even though my ENT said it is very mild and I wouldn’t notice. This started with a middle ear infection that I believe did damage and cause hydrops. I am hoping it won’t get worse, but I am also really needing relief for this fullness.

 

Mine started out that way. Then progressed. I hope yours doesn’t.

 

Oh Saera! I have been reading your latest journey on the gent treatments. I am so hoping this takes care of the vertigo and drop attacks for you. I know you guys must think I am crazy to whine over just fullness. I have read where several others have said their Ménière’s started out that way, and to be honest, in scares the heck out of me. I am amazed at the strength and courage that you and others on this board exhibit. How did yours start and how fast did it progress? Sending you hugs!

 

I will copy/paste my first blog post here that explains how it all started. Not everyone goes beyond “hydrops”. Some only get vertigo a couple times and then remission for the rest of their lives. Everyone is different. I can only speak on my experience.

Thank you for your kind words. It’s been an ordeal and I am determined to win. One way or another!

Here’s my first blog post with a sort of recap on how I got from normal to now....(I didn’t edit so some of it won’t relate to this thread)

It’s not a wholly interesting story, but it’s one that will let you know who I am and why I’m here.

In the late summer of 2015, I started having this full feeling in my right ear. Kept going to the doctor and they kept telling me I had fluid in my middle ear and that I was having allergies. By spring of 2016, I was having days where I was walking like I was drunk and having a hard time hearing out of that ear. People at work thought it was funny. Hell, I did too for awhile. After meeting with an ENT (ear, nose, throat doctor) they suspected I had Meniere’s disease. Which is now being labeled as a syndrome since there is no known etiology or cause for the condition. So it’s more a set of symptoms that come about for no real known reason. Fun right? I was told to give up all salt, caffeine and nicotine right away. I did and thankfully didn’t turn into a raging bitch, at least not all the time, and decided to try a whole range of treatments recommended. Which got me nowhere. Finally, after suffering with hearing loss, insane ringing in my ear and vertigo that would kill a horse that started in October 2016 I decided to have surgery in January 2017 that was supposed to relieve the fluid build up that was actually in my INNER ear and not my middle ear as I was told before. They put in a shunt that would redirect the fluid and stop the hearing loss and the vertigo. Speaking of vertigo, have you heard of it? Lots of people think it’s being dizzy. Well. No. It’s like being stuck on the nastiest spinning carnival ride that you can’t get off of. It makes you throw up everything but your memories and sweat like you’re in the Ironman and just plain wish you’d die. That’s not an exaggeration, it’s legit. Just ask someone who’s had true vertigo. Anyways, I digress. So after that surgery I healed well and had a beautiful 2 years of remission. I met a wonderful man and we decided to blend our families and do the step-family thing. We got engaged and bought a house and we were finally getting the hang of finding a correct balance in our new family and BAM! I got rear-ended one morning and all my symptoms came back with a vengeance. I spent many days on the bathroom floor, or ambulance rides to the ER for help, and finally decided on a treatment option for this asshole of a ‘syndrome’. Which leads to…..



The point of this blog versus a personal journal is to share with other Meniere’s sufferers what I’ve gone through and to say YOU ARE NOT ALONE! It is also to chronicle for myself and my friends and family about what’s going on with me and not have to repeat it over and over. If they want to know, they can come check it out, and if they are too busy, no biggie. It saves me having to talk about my good old buddy Meniere’s everywhere I go and just lets me be my best me in the moment and present with my family and friends but still lets me get it out when I need to.

I hope to connect with people who suffer with visible and invisible chronic illnesses. So many people have conditions that affect them and their loved ones and leave them feeling so many things and they don’t share even half of them with their loved ones. Guaranteed! But they can do that with me. I’d love to build a community for people who have migraines, crohn’s, POTS, cancer, immune disorders like LUPUS or MS, and a million other illnesses, where people feel safe and understood and like… yeah lady, I get you and I feel the same! Let’s spread love and compassion and a create a place where we don’t have to be ashamed for having our illness, instead we can inspire others.

I plan to blog about my journey towards finding some relief for my condition specifically. About my family and friends. I’m sure some tears and plenty of laughs. I also intend to have guest bloggers who want to share their story and offer some support and inspiration for all of us dealing with the myriad of illnesses, syndromes, diseases, and disorders.

If I’m successful with this blog, in the next year I hope to accomplish creating a safe space for people to come and share and laugh and cry together. To inspire compassion and love for myself and others to share and spread! Sprinkle that stuff everywhere!