1. Get our daily digest email where we email the latest new topics from our Strictly Health forum to keep up with the latest developments! Click here to subscribe.

Do you think I have Meniere's disease?

Discussion in 'Your Living Room' started by Lucio, Nov 1, 2019.

  1. PhDAngie

    PhDAngie New Member

    3
    0
    1
    Nov 2, 2019
    Clogged ear (aural pressure), tinnitus, hearing loss= Cochlear hydrops
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Fistbump/thanks Fistbump/thanks x 1
  2. Lucio

    Lucio Member

    33
    3
    8
    Nov 1, 2019
    Your condition it's chronic too?
     
  3. California Sun

    California Sun Active Member

    369
    71
    28
    May 23, 2019

    Shunt surgery doesn't cut the nerve. It's a surgery in which a tiny tube is inserted into the inner ear in order to drain the excess fluid. It's the least invasive of the surgeries for Meniere's, and generally does not affect hearing. I don't think it's done all that much anymore because it hasn't seemed to work for many people but it did help me.

    As I have already said several times before, I have not had vertigo in probably 20+ years since I had the surgeries. I occasionally still have a low grade dizziness, maybe once or twice a year. At this point, my symptoms are pressure, tinnitus, and fliuctuating hearing loss, but I don't have that all the time either. Sometimes it's just a bit of tinnitus and nothing more.

    I don't know what it is you want to know because you ask me the same thing over and over and I continue to give you the same answers. My suggestion is that you look up my previous posts. Sorry, but there is really nothing else I can tell you.
     
  4. wendy

    wendy Member

    168
    19
    18
    May 18, 2019
    I have always had no problem with ear wax in my affected ear.
     
  5. Lucio

    Lucio Member

    33
    3
    8
    Nov 1, 2019
    Meaning that your affected ear kept producing earwax as it is normal? It's been 3 months now for me and the ear is completely dry, zero earwax.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    I went to the ear doctor number 1, the initial one. He said that he doesn't think it's Meniere's disease since I have no vertigo.
    He checked my hearing and he noticed the hearing loss exactly like the one in my original post.

    He told me to take no pills for now and told me to take an MRI. When I asked what could it be he seemed perplex, as if he has no idea what it could be, and in fact he said that it's strange.
     
  6. Lucio

    Lucio Member

    33
    3
    8
    Nov 1, 2019
    So it's either Meniere's or it could be the tumor Schwannoma... the symptoms match. And it looks like it's a tumor with which it's hard to deal with, it must be removed surgically and it can cause complete hear loss and facial paralysis.
     
  7. Jimii

    Jimii Member

    111
    8
    18
    Apr 10, 2019
    I think I have a pretty good life. Charmed in fact. It is all perspective. I have an electrical cardiac condition in which I could drop dead any day at any time. I was lucky to have found it, so maybe I will live a good long life, but there are no guarantees.
    If the vertigo comes more frequently, I will certainly try and get a labyrinthectomy. No on the JoH. I did try the B5/B6 thing for a few months. Did nothing for me. I have some Serc incoming, but right now I am feeling normal and am reluctant to take it unless I need it.

    Jim
     
    • Winner Winner x 2
  8. Philip valenti

    Philip valenti New Member

    4
    0
    3
    Nov 10, 2019
    New York
    You may want to buckle down and try a low sodium 1500mg per day diet along with the JOH. It costs a couple bucks every once in a while but it worth every cent. Better than being totally dibilitated in bed. I merged the JOH in to two doses a day to make it easier. good luck bro!
     
  9. James

    James ''Everywhere I go there I am'' GS

    166
    13
    18
    May 12, 2014
    Wow you are getting answers all over the place. I would trust what the first doctor said about the hooves and zebras. Menieres is a rare illness it can be difficult to diagnose. A lot of doctors who actually don't know much about it diagnose people with it when you usually have to have a certain set of symptoms,mainly vertigo to get a diagnosis. Many other things can cause the problems that you talk about. You have the history of the problems in the summertime with water and the pimple thing. Don't panic yet. I personally don't think it sounds like Menieres at this point.
     
  10. KaSchu

    KaSchu New Member

    27
    9
    3
    Oct 25, 2019
    I also questioned for Meniere's diagnosis for years my only complaint when I was initially diagnosed was a "clogged" ear.

    (Looking back, I can see now that I did, in fact, have a couple of episodes of vertigo before I was diagnosed that I wrote off as something else. Once, I thought I got food/alcohol poisoning because I was on spring break in college and another time, I was on a ferry and thought it was just a really bad case of being seasick.)

    I didn't start having episodes of dizziness (not vertigo, just dizziness) for at least 5 years after diagnosis. And it took another few years before I got tinnitus for the 1st time.

    Not a doctor, but... it sounds like you have what I have. Which I've finally (after 27 years) accepted as Meniere's. Or at least endolymphatic hydrops.

    My advice - find a doctor who specializes in hearing & balance. Good luck.
     
  11. Holly29

    Holly29 New Member

    7
    0
    1
    Nov 11, 2019
    Hi.

    I was just recently diagnosed with md and like you my symptoms are mainly full plugged ears and pressure. They always fee like they need to “pop”. And the dizziness like being on a boat. This has been constant for 3 months now. What have you done/tried for relief? Does yours come and go or is it constant?
     
  12. June-

    June- Well-Known Member

    1,788
    58
    48
    May 12, 2014
    Lucio, yes. That audiogram was what tipped the scale for the dr. What helped me was antivirals such as acyclovir, valtrex, or famvir and allergy shots. They both take a long time but for many they work miracles and keep it from getting worse. Often it does not start with vertigo but progresses to it. Also in my case, i regained normal hearing in the low ranges. It will progress til you have hearing losses at both high and low ranges and sometimes causes permanent deafness. I too tried to explain to my doctors that they were wring but they were right in their diagnosis. Do you best to stop it in its tracks. Try antiviral meds and allergy treatments.
     
  13. June-

    June- Well-Known Member

    1,788
    58
    48
    May 12, 2014
    Also, to take exception to the remark above that it is almost nothing until vertigo. That is not always the case. I had 24/7 horrendous distortion, 24/7 extremely loud jet engine tinnitus, hearing loss in my only hearing ear which could not be correct with an aide because it only amplified the distortion, inability to understand voices on television, crazy hypercussis with voices bouncing off glass, strange noises that were only in my head and waiting for it to get bad enough for a cochlear implant. I also had the beginnings of balance issues and tulios which is sound induced nausea. It can be life spoiling with out the vertigo when these symptoms are all day every day. But happily the allergy shots and antivirals pretty much cured it. I had it non stop for nine months. That was 11 years ago and i am good to go(knock on wood).
     
  14. Lucio

    Lucio Member

    33
    3
    8
    Nov 1, 2019

    Yeah, I have no idea...

    In the past days it's been an up and down. Right now I have pretty much zero tinnitus but the ear still feels "full" a bit. It's not normal like the left one.

    I just went to the doctor again and my hearing is perfect now, 100% normal. The doctor told me I was lucky. He checked my MRI results which say that I have no tumor and also told me I'm fine and I should be happy. I told him I am not happy and that I hoped it was a tumor, so that at least I would have known what it would have been and I could have acted on it, whereas now I am left with doubts and fears. Will I hear properly tomorrow or not? Will I have tinnitus tomorrow or not?
    When will this pressure from my ear go away?

    I have no answers, zero. The doctor once again told me to exclude Meniere's disease since I have no vertigo.

    This is the result I got one hour ago.

    [​IMG]
     
  15. Lucio

    Lucio Member

    33
    3
    8
    Nov 1, 2019
    I forgot to say, the doctor who measured my hearing said that it could have been an case of embolism, but I don't believe it much.

    Now it's the next morning, the tinnitus is present, nothing major but it's present, as a quiet buzz, and the ear is full.
     
  16. redwing1951

    redwing1951 Well-Known Member

    1,477
    193
    63
    May 13, 2014
    New Hampshire/Florida
    Maybe it is time to seek another opinion. A good friend of mine who has migraines often complains about her ears being plugged. Also it is very common to have tinnitus without having menieres. Try to stay calm and look for a neuro-otologist. Good luck.
     
  17. James

    James ''Everywhere I go there I am'' GS

    166
    13
    18
    May 12, 2014
    Your hearing is fantastic.I would love to be anywhere near what you have. You have some tinnitus and some ear pressure which is not too bad. These are also pluses as you used the word ''some'' You don't want a tumor--that analogy of wanting one to know what you are dealing with just doesn't fly. If you had a tumor that affected the ear it would be an incredibly awful experience to put it very very mildly,much much worse than the things you are experiencing now. My advice which wasn't asked for but--things are going mostly ok for you.Don't look for problems when there may not be any. You mentioned wondering if you will have tinnitus tomorrow or if your hearing will be bad tomorrow.None of us knows or can predict the future.We just have to live life with the hand we have been dealt and work on being the healthiest unstressed person that we can be.One of my friends is always saying worries and stress are what kills you. He has a point.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  18. Lucio

    Lucio Member

    33
    3
    8
    Nov 1, 2019
    Thanks. It seems like there are no neuro-otologists where I live though.

    My hearing was normal that day, when there was no tinnitus. Now I have it again and my hearing obviously decreased since there is the noise and the clogged ear.

    I understand that compared to some of you my condition is nothing, but to know that there are people suffering more than me doesn't change my perception unfortunately. In the last months I have done nothing, I can't think, I can't read, I don't want to stay with people because all I perceive is the noise in my ear and the pressure.

    I wished it was that tumor only because even though the surgery is risky, most people fix the problem right away, instead I am left with no diagnosis and no solution. I don't know what's wrong with my ear and the doctor gave me no solution to fix it, so apparently I should just live my life like this, which sounds impossible to me.
    I just get home from work and get in bed, that's my life in the last months. There is no point in doing anything if I am constantly bothered in my ear 24/7, it's like having a mosquito that you can't get rid of.
     
  19. James

    James ''Everywhere I go there I am'' GS

    166
    13
    18
    May 12, 2014
    Lucio,
    I was just on my way to write you as I thought maybe I was a bit to harsh sounding on my last post to you. I am very sorry that you are suffering and you are right we can't compare ourselves to others.It is all very individual.That really sucks that this has affected your life so much that you just go home and go to bed. There are other possible causes that could cause the ear fullness,unfortunately with the tinnitus.it is becoming more and more common for so many people with all the noise we live with. Take it easy with any earbuds as loud noises can also set the tinnitus off.

    I am guessing that you are in Italy? If so there are lots of good ear doctors there.At least it seems a lot of research is being done. Perhaps you could get another opinion? Here is a link to some other issues that can cause ear fullness. Eustachian tube dysfunction and TMJ issues with the jaw are things that come to mind. These can both be remedied. The tiny muscles that are in our ear connect to the bigger ones in our neck and when we are stressed the first thing that happens is we contract our neck and shoulders to protect our head.Any stress is possibly also going to affect these tiny muscles as well. I would ask the doc about both of these things.

    On another note it's possible to live with the tinniutus. Some days it sounds like a have jet plane engines which are are with hissing radiators and to make it more fun helicopters thrown in.If I stress about it only gets louder. Weather changes are my biggest triggers.It' not fun but it does go away for me.

    I wish you the best. Keep posting if you are having problems.

    I don't know if this link will work but here is another one.

    Ask the doctor: Nothing works for fullness in ears. Any suggestions? - Harvard Health

    https://www.tinnitusformula.com/library/10-causes-of-ear-fullness-what-you-should-know/
     
  20. Lucio

    Lucio Member

    33
    3
    8
    Nov 1, 2019
    Thank you for your time and I am sorry for sounding like a whiny weakling, which I guess I am. But this problem has completely taken over my life.
     

Share This Page