Just curious if anyone (or heard of anyone) ever had something else misdiagnosed as Meniere's? Except MAV/BPPV.
Unless the proper tests are done to rule out anything else, as Menieres symptoms do mimic other diseases/disorders, and the proper tests are done to make that diagnosis, I believe many with Menieres are misdiagnosed, and many Dr.s do not do the proper tests and just diagnose Menieres. I'm sure there are many who come to this site that will have experiences to share on this topic.
Otosclerosis--calcium deposits on inner ear bones Acoustic neuroma--benign tumor on the 8th cranial nerve Labyrinthitis, neuronitis, vestibular neuritis--all infections of the inner ear Lyme disease
Bubbagump - good to "see" you here again...or not if that means you are not doing well again ;D I am sure that there are many misdiagnosis. Although I had the testing to rule out other causes, my primary doctor at the time still did not agree with the OTO diagnosis...even though he had no other thoughts on what it might be or how to fix it! And I think most doctors assume based on the primary symptoms, example is that for years sinus infections/headache were ruled out by the doctors for me because I did not have significant pain when tapping my cheekbone area and over the eye. YET when they ran the CT to rule out other things for Meniere's (can't have a MRI due to previous brain surgery/metal implant) they found 3 stages of sinus infection for me acute, chronic and whatever the other. So go figure...I suffered with darn sinus issues for years because they "knew" it wasn't that!
When my ENT first suggested that I might have Meniere's, one of the first things he told me was that it is over diagnosed which I gathered he meant that doctors often assume their patients have it without having enough testing done to rule out other causes.
When you guys talk about "tests" what are you referring to specifically? hearing tests? VNG? Because none of those things can conclude whether you have Meniere's or not, there is NO test for Meniere's. A standard diagnosis would be if you have low-toned hearing loss, fullness, tinnitus, and multiple vertigo attacks within a certain time. That's it. Like if you had 1 vertigo attack instead of 2, you would not get a Meniere's diagnosis. This seems very subjective and arbitrary to me, that's why I am wondering how accurate this is. Basically, after I put in the ear tube / grommet, *POOF* all symptoms gone. I have felt completely normal for more than a year now, of course I know it can come back at any time, and my OTO is adamant that I have MM etc etc. But I certain don't "feel' like I have MM at the moment.
Just wondering- how did you and your doctor decide on a grommet? And, assuming you had hearing loss, did you regain hearing in your mm ear when the tube went in? There are some days I wish someone would poke a hole in my ear drum...it often feels like there is something in there.
Bubbagump, for me I was told that all of the testing is to rule out everything else; not necessarily to confirm/prove Meniere's.
bubbagump, I am also curious how your dr decided to try the tubes? My dr has never mentioned them to me. My biggest problem is really bad fullness/pressure and sometimes I wonder if tubes would help me.
There is no particular "decision" to be made. You try things, they don't work, and then you try something a bit more invasive. Standard MM treatment ladder. For me I tried all the medications and low-salt diet , etc, zero effect on me. Then the next thing to try is the tube. If that doesn't work by itself then it would be tube+dex injections. And so on. My doc said tubes alone might help some people a little bit, but probably not much. She was quite happy/surprised I responded so well to it, but of course told me it probably won't last and I am fine with it...enjoying life in the meantime. My tube have been in the whole time, I wonder what I will do when it falls out (should I get another one put it? try live without the tube and see what happens? don't know.) You guys should go get a tube put in ASAP. Sometimes I wonder why this is not the very first option after every MM diagnosis.
I've seen treatment plans for cochlear hydrops that recommend just such a thing. http://www.fauquierent.net/cochlearhydrops.htm BTW - Lots of good MD info on that site as well.
This is very interesting because the the suspicion of hydrops only comes AFTER the ear tube makes ZERO difference whatsoever. Why is Meniere's a different diagnosis process is beyond me, it should be the exact same except for vertigo right?
You'd think so but I've gone through three different ENTs and they all had different test and diagnosis they used ... and still haven't run them all.