Glad I found this website-because nobody really gets/cares what MD is like. I have been diagnosed with MD about 15 years ago. My first few years I would get vertigo attacks about a half dozen times a year. They were bad and made me so tired. I could tell a vertigo attack was coming because my tinnitus would ramp up. After the attack was over my tinnitus would disappear, and I would feel totally fine again. Then the vertigo attacks eventually went away. But my MD never did. My main symptoms now are fluctuations in hearing over the course of the day, and severe tinnitus, and permanent loss of hearing. Hearing goes in and out as my tinnitus is an indicator of how bad my hearing is. The louder the tin. the worse my hearing is. Now my "attacks" consist of total loss of hearing, pressure, tin. that last for weeks. I woke up xmas morning with deafening tin. and I could not hear any of my family members. Hearing was so muffled I could not make anything out. No conversations, TV, music etc. It really drives me into isolation, which is a problem with a wife and 2 kids. I don't talk bc I cant hear their response. I sit at the dinner table and just look at them wondering what they are saying, or laughing at. It a mind fuck. I avoid people and situations where I might have to interact. Its been 2 weeks and seem to be on the "mend" until the next time. When I say "mend" i mean I can get by and interact a little. I still cant hear very well though. And the tin. is ever present. One thing about my symptoms is, its relentless. There is no "calm" days, or normal days. I am on diurets for the hell of it but doesn't seem to do much. I have tried steroid shots($350) to the inner ear (tried just one ear), it helped with the tin. for about a day, then back to same as it ever was. I cant put my finger on what will trigger an attack. I have noticed my tin. is often worse if Im hungry and havent eaten, and seem to get better after food. But thats just a guess. My wife thinks weather might have something to do with it, but i dont think so. Does anyone else have extreme muffled hearing? does anyone else have hearing aids? I want to try some but they are expensive, and not sure if they will help to clarify sounds for me. Having MD is a lonely world. I am glad I finally got involved in something like this. It feels good to type and know there are people out there like me. I could go on and on, but will save some for another day. Thanks for reading. Ill be happy if someone responds to me. But regardless, Ill be back to vent, or help anyone I possible can.
Hi - well, there are lots of things on this website that have helped many people. For me, changing my diet as per the "Heal Your Headache" book and antivirals are the main things I do. I also take a lot of supplements but I'm never really sure what effect they have. I too noticed my T ramps up when I'm hungry. It also is worse first thing in the morning. Stress of ANY kind is a trigger. I also avoid almost all non-home cooked food as even Chick-Fil-A has MSG in it.
My hearing is always worse in the morning too! Seems to get better the more I move around. I go to the gym before work. That seems to help. But The Tin seems to ramp up an hour or so after exercise again. Always thought blood flow or lack of to the ear always was an issue. Thanks
Does anyone ever notice that when you swallow sometimes it clogs your ear? Like the air has no place to go? Also if I try the ol plug your nose and blow (valvesa manuver?) makes me dizzy, and deafens me for a short while. I big no no manuver for me.
I guess what I wanted to find out, is if anyone who sufferes from muffled hearing during an attack, has hearing aids that help. I have earbuds bluetooth devise that connects to my TV, that amplifies sound. But when my hearing is all muffled it only makes the it louder, not better.
It's a slightly more complicated equation. Some may, some may not. I can heavily relate to you. I have mixed hearing loss, though I have a significantly greater degree of sensorineural hearing loss (muffled hearing) than I do conductive hearing loss (difficulty hearing the overall loudness of sounds). My hearing has improved over time, however when I wore my hearing aids, many years ago, they offered little no sensorineural relief, hence the difficulty I experienced during conversations remained. That said, a) some people who have sensorineural hearing loss, or mixed hearing loss, do receive significant assistance from their hearing aids, I'm just not one of those individuals, & b) hearing aids are much more advanced than your bluetooth earbuds, as good hearing aids can be tuned to isolate sounds, tones, & frequencies in ways that headphones can not; hence it's possible to utilise your earbuds to determine what type of hearing loss you have, however utilising your earbuds to determining whether hearing aids will assist you may lead to false assumptions. Please excuse any possible typos or grammatical errors, I didn't sleep last night. I'm super tired at the moment, though hopefully my comment has been helpful.
Thanks for your reply. Im glad I found this site after all these years. I have never met anyone, knew of anyone, or talked with anyone who has MD. I always felt alone with my symptoms until now. Thank you - peace