Hello MD sufferers. I have a gentamicin question for those of you that have received the low dose treatment: Are you glad you decided to get it? Any regrets you've had about deciding to get this treatment? I've had Menieres for approximately 5 years. I've tried just about all the other treatments with no success. I guess what I want to know is, would you go the gentamicin route if you could do it over again?
I also have the same question about Gentamicin. My doctor does not want to give me the Gentamicin injections, because he says the disease may migrate to the "healthy" ear and then I will have to deal with it anyway. He said that Gentamicin affects your hearing. I tell him that I do not hear very well in that ear anyway, but he is reluctant to give me Gentamicin. I probably would look for a second opinion. Anybody else has a successful outcome with Gentamicin?
From everything I’ve read, the chance of MD ‘migrating’ to the unaffected ear is extremely low. man’s I feel like I’m in the same boat as you…..my hearing in the affected ear is already poor. And there is about a 20% chance that your hearing will be affected by the shot. Not terrible odds when the hearing is already poor and going to get worse over time anyway. Thanks for the response.
My ENT recommended a Gentamicin injection to stop my vertigo w/ the caveat that it could destroy what little hearing I have left in my "bad" ear. Based on that I decided to skip the injection as hearing a little is better than not at all in my opinion. For some unexplained reason, my vertigo issues stopped abruptly after a horrific episode early last October. I'm very thankful but puzzled by that & slightly fearful that one day they'll be back.
I decided to have a Gentamicin injection in January ‘22 after I was told I was having drop attacks. So far I’ve been lucky and have had no more attacks, regular disabling or drop. Occasionally I feel off balance (this happens outside only mostly I’m in wide open spaces) which is a side effect of the Gent. injection. The occasional off balance feeling isn’t bad and doesn’t hold me back from doing anything. I can have an occasional alcoholic drink without any issues. My hearing in my bad ear actually slightly improved although clarity slightly diminished. I’m happy I had the Gent. Injection and would absolutely do it again.
Hi I'm new to Meniere's Talk today.... I understood from my ENT that gentamicin stops vertigo but also kills the ear nerve, so no hearing...sounds like this is not always true? Does it also stop the tinnitus? Mine is now pulsatile mostly, and always precedes vertigo and/or dizziness. I have had ELH for 2+ years, then March 1 I got my first vertigo and have had a few episodes since, plus dizzy episodes, for a total of 7 this month! Now I'm diagnosed with Meniere's.
it is my understanding that a Gentamicin injection most likely will decrease the hearing in the ear it’s injected in. I haven’t read anything that says you’ll loose all of your hearing after one injection. My tinnitus went from unilateral (bad ear) to bilateral most of the time after the injection. It also went from a 1-2 to a 3-4 on most days. I hope you checked out Marta’s suggestion..
thank you. I'm kinda afraid of increased tinnitus, and it going bi-lateral. Did you have the VNG test first?
My ENT was pressing me to have a Gentimicin injection to stop my vertigo, & he flat out told me there was a good chance it would cause my ear to become fully deaf so I opted out of having the injection. I did get increased tinnitus in my affected ear each time it was injected w/ cortisone. The increased tinnitus lasted several days then settled back into its usual state.
ok, thank you, now I understand...you had the steroid shot. I had three Dexamethasone shots within 3 weeks and after this last one Tuesday 3/21 I have been getting worse tinnitus, plus I get dizzy every day now. My tinnitus is both ringing/roaring and pulsatile, yesterday started 4PM-9PM.
My tinnitus started off w/ mind numbing roaring w/ a high pitched overtone. It was awful! Vertigo didn't show up till quite a number of months later. I never had pulsatile tinnitus, thankfully, though I have heard my heartbeat in my ears before but not since I've had MD. Over the years I've had MD, my tinnitus has settled down & is just a constant ringing. If I eat too much salt, get overly tired (i.e. lack of sleep), or push myself too hard physically, it will ramp up for awhile.
didn't read this before responding to your other post first....I guess i will start a pulsatile tinnitus thread! Yes, the tinnitus is the worst thing, roaring, loud tone...until you get vertigo! Does tinnitus go away with less and less hearing in that ear, I wonder?
I had mistakenly replied to your post about your gentamicin shot, thinking I was responding to Isaiah about steroid shots. Sorry bout that...
I’m on day four after my gentamicin shot, been pretty dizzy on and off since day two, my doctor told me to expect this and should subside after the first week, I’ve suffered from meunières since 2014, but it got worse in 2022 to the point where I was having drop attacks almost daily, once while driving, it scared the living crap out of me. I haven’t driven since and had to stop going to work. I’m hoping that the gentamicin will help and I can get my life back.