This has been the longest attack I have been going through since I began this journey with Meniere's. working on week number 4 ugh....my problem now is I am no longer sleeping soundly through the night. I think I am entering a new phase of the process (scared) I am terrified I am going to wake up and not be able to hear at all. Every time I doze off I suddenly wake up and try to hear. Is this normal to be this paranoid? I guess the bigger question is am I looking at a time when I will be without hearing because of Meniere's?
Everybody has their own personal hell with MM. Unfortunately anxiety piled on top of everything else. Do you have MM in one ear, or bilateral (in both ears?)
I am so new to this board I am not sure what MM stands for. I've had a fulness in my right ear since 2014, I never had issues with my left ear until 2017. My left ear does not feel full like my right ear as it has been my work horse since the right ear began to feel full. Sometimes during an attack I hear my heart beating in my right eat. The Roaring Tinnitus is centered directly in the middle of my head and shows no favors to either ear. After each attach (Roaring Tinnitus) and everything seems normal I noticed my left ear is a little less up to the task it has been handling. I have also noticed at times (not always) when the Roaring is in remission I can either hear clearly out of my right ear or continue to hear nothing at all. During the attack I notice it is my right ear that distorts my hearing. My left ear can't over power the tinnitus so combined with the distortion I am virtually deaf. When I think back I began down this path on 23 December 2014 (I was 52). My buddy and I just pulled into a parking space and when he put his truck into park the sudden motion forward and back sent me into a spell, I felt like I was drunk and then later became sick to my stomach, I had him take me to the ER for fear my Heart Stents had failed. After keeping me over night and being through every test possible I was released with a clean bill of health (other then the explanation I may have been dehydrated). Since then I had approximately 10 bouts of vertigo each lasting for less than 10 secs but providing a wild ride. After each bout I am completely drenched in sweat, and worn out to the point I only want to head to bed. After about 4 hours of sleep and rest I am ready to go....October 2017 is when the Roaring Tinnitus struck. Along with it was the first time I really lost my hearing (or hearing comprehension), the tinnitus attack lasted for a few days after which my hearing was impaired for the next three months...February of 2018 I was able to see an ENT who determined I have Meniere's just by listening to my history. (he also did scope my sinuses along with other tests). He put me on a daily dose of nasal spray and at the time an antibiotic. Two weeks later I went back for a follow up and was able to hear perfectly as the roaring tinnitus was in remission and the right ear distortion was gone. Since then I had one 10 sec vertigo attack and minimal tinnitus episodes. As of today this roaring attack started three weeks ago. I must say Sunday I was relieved because the roaring had stopped and my hearing was clear. Sunday night however the roaring came back and the hearing became garbled. People tell me to use my hearing aids but I try to explain all it does is make the garbling louder. As I type this right now I have Roaring going on, left ear is clear, right ear is full and sounds like the noise you hear when you hold a large shell up to your ear along with the heartbeat. My nose and sinuses also feel full but I can not seem to get anything out of them. I on Wednesday of last week I had a kidney bean size boil form on my neck behind my right ear and had to get antibiotics for it. I am on day four of the drug and even with applying physical pressure the darn thing is not going away. Items to note, I fly three weeks a month for work (Monday and return Friday), while in the air I no longer have the fullness feeling in my right ear and I can actually hear almost perfectly. My symptoms while on the ground are terrible when a low pressure weather system is around. One last thing I sleep with a CPAP. I only told you about one ENT visit but over the course of the last 3 years I have seen at least 3 others. The fourth one being the one I mentioned above. I have also been to a neurologist and that too proved nothing. Next week I am going to another Doctor (Neurotologist to look for any signs of a Cholesteatoma).
Sorry, MM is internet shortcut for Meniere's Morbius. Meniere's Disease (MD) already has a meaning, as does Meniere's Syndrome (MS) and it's easier to type MM than Meniere's. Let me ask you to read a reddit post I made, and see if any of it sounds familiar to you: Long story short, the citizen-science research I've been doing the last nine years shows that a lot of these things are related. You've had stents (check), you use a cpap (check), skin problems (check), doctors can't find anything.
after reading your post I realized the tinnitus that started last year began right around the same time I began a series of appointments for a dental implant which concluded in October 2017. Thanks for your repost...I need to digest everything you mentioned. I have had at least three root canals.
btw - my hearing test shows functionally deaf in left ear. I can hear, but the quality of sound is such that hearing aids would be worthless. Direct from my otolaryngologist. For the dental issue, the best way to tell for sure is to find a good endodontist or dental radiologist, ask them for 3D images of the apical areas of your mouth. If your dentist already has 3D images of you, they probably already show the apical area, but most likely nobody has looked at that area. I'm not sure how to best proceed if 3D imaging isn't available. Using the 3D software, carefully examine the apical area round each of the teeth that had root canals, and also the area of the implant. Examine the apical area for all of the teeth, but concentrate on the areas that you've had trouble with before.
Another thing I noticed in the past two years I put 60LBs on... Digestion is very bad, I may not make a bowel movement for two or three days. Most recently I also noticed I am getting finger nail fungus on my thumb and one big toe.
That's classic leaky gut and the resulting systemic infection, IMHO How are your sinuses? I know dental infections and leaky gut can be a point of continual re-infection (it doesn't do any good to fight a systemic infection if something is continually re-infecting you) I wonder if sinuses could be another area to harbor biofilm infections?
You can't determine someone has Meniere's just by listening to someone's history. What other tests did he do? You need to have several tests done (including an MRI) to rule out other possible causes.
Admin Post I just wanted to chime in and say there is no such thing as a board hog here, so no worries. It's how we all sort out MM for each of us and find ways of coping better with it. Ray
Thanks Solari…. Zotjen, Up to Feb 2018 I had had numerous tests including MRIs CTs and hearing tests to no end. Matter of fact in addition to the history of each test he compared the audio results from 2 weeks earlier (taken at Beltone) to the results his office had just taken that day. When he saw the dramatic difference in two weeks he said he was not completely satisfied that is was meneire's but he feels it sure looked like a classic case. He wanted me to do one more thing and see an Allergist just to rule out anything else. I tired to see one but I need clearance from my heart doc before any allergy testing can be completed...well till all of that was going to happen my symptoms had gone back into remission and I got lazy about it...(my bad) Papajoe, my sinuses are normal or at least normal for me.... In the 90's I had my soft pallet removed in an attempt to clear up my sleep apnea. the surgery worked for a while but later in life I had to give in to the cpap machine. As far as my dental health right now I feel fine, no signs of infection but I am due for a checkup.. One more thing that has crept up on my in the last year is claustrophobia..this seems to be a result of a full head.