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Shape of Inner Ear

Discussion in 'Your Living Room' started by Hispoiema, Nov 18, 2019.

  1. Hispoiema

    Hispoiema New Member

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    I do recall that the ENT I saw about 10 years ago told me that the reason I was dizzy was that my right inner ear is shaped differently from my left inner ear.
    Has anyone been told that before?

    I have no idea if this is what accounts for all the other symptoms such as brain fog, ear fullness in both ears, random pain in the ears, ringing in both ears, feeling movement when still, pulling to the left when walking etc
    Also, throughout my life I have had water randomly flow out my ears - only a very few times but it must account for something. It was never after being in the water via swimming or a shower etc and seems like it was usually while I was lying in bed.
     
  2. zotjen

    zotjen Member

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    I never heard of such a thing. How was the ENT even able to determine that the shapes of your inner ears are different? Was he referring to the cochlea which is spiral shaped? As far as water flowing out of your ear, that I not normal. How much came out? Is it possible it was discharge from an infection?
     
  3. Hispoiema

    Hispoiema New Member

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    He did not explain in detail and I did not ask questions as I should have.
    Water flowing out in the past was maybe half a teaspoon. Just guessing. And very warm.
    To my knowledge, I have never had an ear infection. Never gone to the doc for one or been on meds for one.
    I do get frequent ear pain that comes and goes. Some could be muscles in head due to stress - but it is always on one side and often feels tender inside. (always been addicted to cotton swabs) Then goes away at random.

    I wonder if any of this could be allergy related. My ears have itched inside since young but not as much these days. (roof of my mouth used to also) Obviously not Meniere's related.

    Doc never used the term Meniere's. He did not use any term. Only said it was progressive, incurable and would bring some hearing loss. (I have not been able to hear crickets for at least 10 years - does that count??)
    Suggested tai chi. Sometimes I feel people are slurring their words and I can't understand them. Not sure how much of that might simply be age. (?) I'm 55
     
  4. Cheryl

    Cheryl Active Member

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    Your inner ear is encased in bone. I don't believe there is any way a doctor could tell that one inner ear is shaped differently than the other one.

    As for water flowing out of your ears, if you don't have an ear infection or perforated eardrum, there's really not a place it could be coming from. Half a teaspoon is a lot of fluid to be coming out of your ear for no reason.
     
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  5. James

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

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  6. Hispoiema

    Hispoiema New Member

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    Wow, interesting points. Have not had the water come out for years and maybe 5 times total.
    I can't help wondering if the doc meant the labyrinth due to fluid and that was his way of explaining it. I live in Hawaii and people speak and relate differently here which confuses me at times.
    To give an example. The library has a sign inside which reads: "No food, drink and gum". To me, it should read "No food, drink or gum". Other wise you could have food and/or drink in any form as long as you don't have gum along with that. And, you could have gum alone. That's the way I see it.
    I have also seen the same wording on street signs (I forget the exact wording and missed taking a photo) and I was told to speak that way on the phone when I worked at a call center. To me it is bad grammar but to them it is serious business.
    So, it is possible that the doc thought I would not understand a "large" word such as labyrinth and explained it that way to me.
    There are parts of Hawaii where the people think others are being arrogant by the way they speak and do not understand all the words being used. My 14 year old (now 29) had that problem when her friends could not understand her and told her she was using big words. I forget the word they were speaking of but it was not a "big" word to us. So it's hard to say.
     
  7. Bonlyn

    Bonlyn Active Member

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    Just came from the ENT the other day and it is interesting you mentioned the shape of the ear. He had told me my menieres ear was narrower and shaped like an S, whereas my right, normal ear was more averaged shape.

    He said though the S shape was less common,.it was not uncommon and he said it was not the reason I had menieres. I do not have water dripping from my ear, but I do get excessive earwax in the menieres ear and none in the other. The ENT dr also said that was common and not related to menieres.

    So who knows, he is a specialist for menieres and vestibular issues, and though he is open to betahistamine he totally does not buy in to other theories I have shared with him from forum...JOH regime and anti virals.
     
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  8. Hispoiema

    Hispoiema New Member

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    Interesting. My right ear is definitely more narrow than my left because ear plugs fit very differently in that one from the left one and don't stay in as well. I was never told I have Meniere's (and I did not ask for clarification as to whether what I had had a name or not) but I seem to have pretty much all the symptoms... I guess time will tell in terms of trying JOH
    Not been to the doc for dizziness since that time which I think was about 2009
     
  9. Hispoiema

    Hispoiema New Member

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    Are you saying that he was telling you that the "S" shape of your ear is not the reason you feel dizzy?
    Just wanted to clarify.
    Thanks
     
  10. Bonlyn

    Bonlyn Active Member

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    He said it is not uncommon for people to have different shapes in their ears. He said my left, meniere's ear was S shaped, which is a less common shape, but not a problem. I asked him " is that why I have vertigo and menieres in that ear " he said "No, it is not related. "

    So not sure why he shared the info with me, if it is not a problem, but he did. If I had seen your post before he told me, I might have questioned him more. Sorry not to be more helpful.
     
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  11. Hispoiema

    Hispoiema New Member

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    You are helpful. :) I appreciate your reply
     
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  12. Hispoiema

    Hispoiema New Member

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    By the Way
    What I keep forgetting to mention is that when I went to the ENT (10 years ago) his office was riddled with pamphlets about dizziness. The quick-read comic book type.
    The purpose of this pamphlet was to gently inform the waiting patient that if the doctor did not find any physical cause for your dizziness, that he would recommend therapy for anxiety, stress etc.
    That was never mentioned to me while I was there, and I was sent to a physical therapist.

    To me that means he believed that there was a physical cause for my dizziness.
    I can't help wondering if there was anything that was said that I do not recall.

    Well, when I get insurance (hubby says I should get it thru his work soon) I will try again and this time will bring a list of questions! Last time I went with echoes of me being stressed out and I just need to relax, and there's nothing wrong with [your] ears resonating through my mind and I had no idea what to expect.

    Granted, it could be some of both as my marriage of 35 years has caused me tons on stress. My hubby's therapist urged me to go to al anon. Hubby stopped going to therapy after trying it a few times and being urged to take meds for mood disorder etc He says it is demons which began in 1979.
    So there's that... :confused:
     
  13. wendy

    wendy Member

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    I have found that stress is a big trigger for my symptoms.
     
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  14. Hispoiema

    Hispoiema New Member

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    Yes, that makes sense. It’s quite possible that I have MDDS and not Ménière’s as I have been told by people with Ménière’s of my symptoms being different.
    I remember when I first heard about MDDS back in around 2005 or so I cried when I saw the article because it described me to a T. It was in some newspaper that I was reading. I don’t recall what paper it was and we didn’t buy the paper So it was sort of a fluke which was what made it so amazing. i’m going to read about that again as I know they have a website.
    I’ve never wanted to go the med route so I’ve never really done a lot of research on these things and always felt that there was nothing I could do. But I am curious again.
    Thanks for the reply
    Mal de Débarquement, Debarkation Syndrome | MdDS Foundation
     

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