Few weeks ago I was diognosed with meniere's and Prescribed betahistine, The Ent Doctor looked in my ears asked me a few questions, made me stand on 1 foot and came to the conclusion. I was in there for about 8 mins. I have an appointment for a MRI but I thought there would lots of other tests also to rule out anything else.I had a sound test prior and that was ok. It Starts with severe itching in both ears which follows with fullness in the left ear and tinnitus and vertigo, I had this happen last year once and eventually all got better. This year it happened again in Febuary were the vertigo got very severe and I couldn't even stand up. Since then i have had constant ear fullness and dizziness/giddiness, the betahistine has helped with the giddiness but the ear fullness doesn't seem to go away. Also my left nostril always seem to be conjested and when I try to yawn or swallow I feel cracking and popping in my affected ear, it feels like something is in there and wants to get out. One thing to note, in between I had a 5 day antibiotics and everything went away for a good 6 weeks, I was so relieved to feel normal once again but then the itching started followed by everything else. I'm reading a lot about the symptoms but am confused, So my questions are 1) Is constant ear Fullness a normall symptom? Because mostly I'm reading its prior to getting an episode and then it clears. 2) Is the fullness due to fluid build up or pressure? 3) How is the itchiness connected because mine begins with that. 4) I'm getting ear ache is this normal. 5) what other tests should the doctor be doing ?, for eg shouldn't they be putting a camera in my nose to see if it's all ok. 7) Does the MRI actually give any light to the matter. 6) Is meniere's symptoms 24/7 or do they come in episodes and is there some kind of normality in between. 7) How does the antibiotics help. A lot of questions I know , My Mrs always tells me I should be an inspector. I appreciate any input, I just feel worn down and fustrated with this constant fullness and whishing sound in my ear and hoping it's something else which is the problem.
I would find a doctor that specializes in ears only. Just saying. I have periods of time where I have no symptoms and do not have the fullness feeling all the time. Tinnitus is constant and hearing loss is now permanent. I have it in both ears. I do not have the itching or ear ache which you have described. Have Menieres for 30 plus years.
Meniere is having constant tinnitus, hearing loss and an attack of vertigo with no known cause for it. For this they have to examine your ears with the "magnifying glass" and have an MRI to rule out other diseases known as a neurinoma. All the other symptoms vary according to people and are not necessary to have meneire although they are frequent: Dizziness, hearing fullness, brain fog, fatigue, etc. It is impossible to diagnose Meniere in 10 minutes, first you have to rule out a lot of things. The first thing to do is an MRI and also an audiometry to confirm hearing loss. Look for a good otoneurologist, the doctor who diagnosed Meniere in 10 minutes knows the same as a butcher.
You're correct. You should have many more tests. Hearing often fluctuates at the start of the illness, but a hearing test should still be performed. To answer your questions: 1)Ear fullness is different for each of us. For many, it does herald an attack. Sometimes it happens if you eat to much sodium, sometimes it fluctuates with changes in barometric pressure. Much of what you'll read on the net is not accurate or doesn't paint the full picture. 2)Noone knows what causes the feeling of fullness. The leading theory is that it's due to a buildup of endolymphatic fluid in the inner ear, and fluid buildup could lead to pressure. 3)Itchiness isn't typically a symptom of MD. I experience it, with fluctuating barometric pressure, and especially when I have a deep ear infection. Haven't noticed other members mentioning this, however, and I am not a doctor, but if i were you I would get an appointment with my regular doctor and discuss whether or not I could benefit from a stronger/longer course of antibiotics. Just an opinion. Deep inner ear infections, not to be confused with otitis media, mimic MD and require very strong antibiotics, fyi. I get the crackling you describe when i have an inner ear infection. 4)some people get ear pain, some don't. It's a mixed bag. *5/7)Many to choose from, but the MRI is always performed. It's to rule out other conditions that mimic MD. *6)Usually people do have periods of, "remission," but as to which symptoms go away and for how long, it varies. We're all different. 7) Those are not standard issue for MD. In my opinion, you sound more like you have labyrinthitis or ongoing inner ear infection. I think you need to see a neurotologist if your problem worsens, or if your doc doesn't explain your treatment to you.
Thank you so much for making the time and effort to reply all the questions, they were very informative much appreciated. I'm going to the another doctor and see how it goes with him, after doing a bit of more research I also found Eustachian tube dysfunction which has all the symptoms I have and it says it could be caused by an allergie which causes itching and also causes infection. We shall see, and thank you once again.