O'k, so this morning (actually middle of night) i woke up to incessant humming in my head and my bad ear is "full", hearing reduced. This is the first really impactful difference in well over a year since I got relief thru a/v. What I am wondering: Is this "just because"? Is it because i drove all day with the sunroof open and windows down? (weather typically doesn't coorperate) but certainly it is much louder in the car? Storm that is hitting the VA area today? Thoughts? Really wondering of the noise and the wind play a part? If so, that is an easy one to avoid in the future! i felt fine yesterday. Am going to stick close to home today and rest to try to shake this thing. And I will, of course, take extra a/v throughout the day today.
Going to follow this thread, having a small setback myself. I hope you feel better/normal by this evening!
So sorry to hear you are both having setbacks, but my belief is when a setback happens there is a definite cause for it, we just need to put on our detective hats and figure out with it was that wake that sucker up in our inner ear. Wind blowing on/in my bad ear usually brings on some symptoms, not vertigo but it can clog my ear make it feel full and louder tinnitus You may be coming down with a cold or something. A dental issue. Being in the fresh air all day with windows open might have been an overload of allergens in the air. Maybe you ate foods that were over abundant in arginine. These are my thoughts and I agree increase the av until you are back to normal. But I am leaning towards the prolonged exposure to wind.
Vicki, don't think it is dental since I get my teeth cleaned/checked every 3 months - but due to go in on Tues so will know for sure. (I do know that i have a tendancy to grind my teeth) Technically according to tests I am not allergic to anything so theory should be that allergens would not be a cause. I too am leaning towards the wind. Sad because it felt great to drive around in nice weather with the wind flowing. Oh well, if it is the wind I can easily control that! Hopefully with the extra a/v and rest today I can get rid of this again.
By opening the cars sunroof only you may be inducing helmholtz resonance within the cabin. Particularly if your car is modern & of greater aerodynamics. Helmholtz resonance has everything to do with pressure oscillations. Many individuals suffering Meniere's experience an increase of symptoms, or symptom severity, during atmospheric pressure change. Likewise, helmholtz resonance significantly alters the cars cabin pressure, only this pressure osculates many times per second & may occur at frequencies inaudible to the human ear. This may not be what caused your symptoms to flare, however it's worth noting. If for any reason you would like to open the sunroof again, I recommend opening all windows 6 or so inches, or open all windows completely. Mutatis mutandis if you choose to roll down a single window only, particularly one of either two rear windows. This will increase the ability air has to flow through your car while you drive, rather than osculate within the cabin.
One thing to keep in mind is that anxiety attacks have many of the same symptoms, including dizziness, vertigo, etc. It is only natural that MM would bring with it a level of anxiety and worry about the future, almost to the point of PTSD. You can have these symptoms without the traditional anxiety symptoms (e.g. Shortness of breath, etc.). Not saying this is what it is, but it's worth considering. I found that once I addressed the anxiety and learned to separate it from the MM, I was able to move forward much more rapidly.
I highly doubt an anxiety attack causes tinnitus or vertigo, dizziness yes imbalance yes. Stress can trigger MM symptoms but an anxiety attack itself apart from MM does not have MM symptoms.
nicmger how are you feeling today? This may sound funny but I always carry back of the head ear muffs with me in case of a lot of wind. Ear plugs as Sharon uses sounds like a good idea too when getting hit with wind and or noise.
Nathan - that is interesting. i had the sunroof and both back windows open about 1/2 way. So perhaps that is the cause.
Today is better. Ear is not 100% but so much better. I do have ear plugs that I will put in if at a noisy restaurant but didn't think about it with the wind. Lesson learned.
So they were! How, after having read your post & all comments, I had the metal image of a car with its sunroof open & all windows closed I do not know. Weird. Glitch on my behalf. Sorry 'bout that.
Normally I drive with either the sunroof open or the two back windows about 1/2 way down when it is nice. I splurged and had it all going on Friday. Since my ear does react significantly to loud sounds that is probably what was going on. I do have issues if I have one side of windows open only as there is a lot of pressure, which is why if the sunroof is open it helps or I open windows on both sides.
Actually, panic attacks can cause vertigo and even passing out. Tinnitus is also a common side effect in some people. Think about fear of heights and vertigo. That is pure anxiety sans MM. I'm a skydiver and I've seen noobs have classic vertigo attacks right when it's time to jump. All based on fear.
Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that anxiety is normal when one has a MM attack. It can definitely exacerbate the symptoms. Personally, once I learned what symptoms were being caused by MM and what was supplemental due to anxiety, I was able to greatly reduce the overall suffering during attacks.
Wind definately does it for me. When I ride on the back of my bf's bike even though I have a full helmet I still need to wear an ear plug in my right ear.... only took one time for me to realize that.... I don't need my custom made one - i just use hereos when riding. Try that.
I wonder if it's because of a reduction in your AVs. I just got over a set back myself and have had several in the last few years. I cannot really attribute mine to anything other than I either stopped my AV or reduced it and it's likely the maintenance dose was too low to keep a flare up at bay. Every time this has happened I increase my Valtrex back to the original higher dose, get off caffeine and salt for a while and gradually taper off until things clear, usually around a month. This time I have done the same but have begun the JOH regimen and will include this as part of my maintenance reginmen. Maybe for you it is the sunroof is open, maybe not. Who knows with this very weird disease. Hope things subside for you quickly.