A woman wearing perfune walked into my house and my ears went crazy in July. All the other people in her orbit did not go deaf though, so i would say allergy this time around.
I am currently exploring a little known or talked about angle of possible cause for Meniere's Disease - vascular outflow obstruction (VOO) i.e. internal jugular vein (IJV) compression high up in the neck often caused by the C-1 cervical vertebra &/or the styloid process & C-1. I had testing done earlier this year (MRV & CTA) that noted I had no IJV compression, however, I just got a second opinion on my scans & found I do have significant VOO in my left IJV which is the side on which I have MD symptoms. This is a problem correctable by surgery but there are very few surgeons in the US & Europe (UK mostly) who are experienced w/ this surgery. Here are links to two peer reviewed research papers that discuss this. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/692844 Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in Ménière’s disease: diagnosis and treatment | Veins and Lymphatics Link to a webinar re: VOO
Addendum to my previous post: Other possible causes for IJV occlusion are scar tissue, nerve, muscle or other vascular tissue impingement on the vein.
I remember when I first got the first symptoms, tinnitus and hearing loss, back in October 2017 it was after I flew back from Budapest after having a hair transplant. It's probably just coincidence as I can't think of anything about the hair transplant that could have caused it. Maybe on the flight back I picked up a virus. I'm just guessing.
Interesting. It could also have been something that's been brewing for awhile. I had my first symptoms several years before the actual MD onset, but no one recognized them as such. For me, there was a long asymptomatic gap between early symptoms & the more serious ones which were diagnosed as MD
There's something else I just thought of. Stupidly as a kid I didn't go to the dentist that often, and a baby tooth was growing inside the upper set of my molars on the right side well into my early twenties. I had it removed in my early 20's, but it caused the upper right set to grow outward so my face is a bit asymmetrical. Well it's the right ear that's affected, I wonder if there could be a connection.
Good question, @Grizzler. There's a chance it could be related. My styloid process (grows from the mastoid process of the temporal bone of the skull) on the left has elongated at an angle that's compressing my internal jugular vein against the transverse process of my C-1 vertebra. I believe that's what's causing my symptoms. I think this is all the result of both a whiplash injury in my twenties & a cycling accident in 2015. Any sort of asymmetry in the skull/jaw/cervical vertebrae could be a culprit for nerve compression & MD symptoms though that angle isn't often addressed.
I've also got an asymmetry in my cervical spine which I know is part of my problem, and I work to keep the muscles from pulling it into worse asymmetry by doing daily stretches. That helps. But I don't know if the ear fullness/deafness comes from that problem, or from something else, like a virus that damaged the ear, or food sensitivity creating inflammation. Changes in barometric pressure (when there is a storm brewing) bring on flashing lights and dizziness and exhaustion, suggestive of vestibular migraine. Anyone else get that problem with weather changes?
Mine has ALWAYS happened between October and December. In fact 90% of my worst ear fullness happens in fall as well. As soon as temperatures go down near 10 degrees Celsius (50F) I begin to feel head fullness on certain days and increased Tinnitus that could last for weeks. Add in greasy/salty foods during the fall and it gets ever worse.
Unfortunately not, fall is usually when my allergies finally stop. However I do believe that they could have caused some of my issues. I have wild nose allergies to ragweed and pollen June thru August. On "slow days" I go through 10+ tissues, on a bad day (usually 1-2 days a month) it can be 50+ tissues with extreme sneezing (30+a day) and can barely function. I can ONLY assume that isn't good for my euthacian tubes/ middle ear, drainage etc. And could be a major part of how this started.
I still think it’s a virus (like herpes) in the ear. Virus is in the ear and from time to time you get vertigo (outbreaks) just like a herpes virus does. Last for awhile then goes away like a simplex virus. Finally, American doctors are starting to look in this direction like Eastern European doctors have been. The virus is in the ear..thus hearing loss and tinnitus at all times. The herpes virus is in your body, just flares up from time to time with a herpes outbreak. John of Ohios information really talks about this. His multi prong regimen is a (not a single approach, but multiple, not one thing will help but multiple things will)
Hi everyone, I'm new here and just had a thought as I was reading through some of these replies... As a bit of a background, I was diagnosed about 2 months ago and have been having symptoms for a bit more than 5 years. When they started, I thought (having never heard of Meniere's) my symptoms were caused by a combination of stress/new motherhood/being pregnant/delivering babies/breastfeeding/bad posture/not enough rest/possible TMJD/hypervigilance/exhaustion/etc/etc... -- and to some extent, I still do. But as I'm reading through these threads, I can't help but notice how many people are musicians, either recreationally or professionally. 5 years ago (before I had any symptoms), I went to see the loudest show ever. A lot of people walked out holding their ears. When I left that night I had the normal buzzing in my left ear (speaker side) that you would feel leaving a loud concert. Annoying, but you'd know that typically it would be gone in the morning. The buzzing in that one ear lasted 10 days and then I had 1/2 day with nothing before my first vertigo attack happened. Can't walk, can't talk, sweating profusely, nystagmus, can only lay in darkness for 10-12 hours rotational vertigo. And now it's been 5 years and I have some good weeks, some bad weeks. I've lost 80% of the low range hearing in my left ear. Fullness, tinnitus, vertigo, instability, tremors, super brain fog and unbelievable exhaustion. The whole shebang. Now, I realize that not everyone in the audience that night developed Meniere's. But if it's lurking there for other reasons (virus/mould/autoimmune/misalignment/impingement/whatever), would very loud noise exposure kick it into high gear? I just think it's interesting that it shows up in so many people who are exposed to loud music regularly... Have there been any discussions about this?
I have just been diagnosed with Meniere's disease, and have read a few studies which investigate links with autoimmune diseases, including Coeliac disease, which I have. But I also had a lot of ENT problems as a child, including perforated eardrums.
Mine started at the same time as I was getting vertigo from a neck misalignment. I also have had had intermittent general inflammatory problems, probably from not taking care of my gut microbiome-- eating too much sugar, dairy and starch, which was probably letting toxins get through my gut lining.
My aunt had Menieres my mother has suffered with vestibular migraines her whole life. Guess it was my turn it all came and hit me at the age of 48. Had chicken pox as a kid and always afflicted with cold sores since child hood. Lucky genetics, plus a shitty western diet may have aided greatly in its blossoming.