Has anyone heard of anxiety/ deafness disorder ? Maybe not mm?

I haven't heard of that specifically but do know that my doctor told me that feeling off balance and having bad coordination between attacks is anxiety and has nothing to do with Meniere's. I personally don't believe that to be the case.

 

I don't believe that either. This condition causes anxiety and depression--and also causes imbalance in many of us. To write it off as due to anxiety is really not understanding the patient and what they are dealing with!

 

I firmly agree.

 

Same here, I had a very stressful time before all this started, still not sure wether I have MAV or Meniere's and working on it.
From what I've gathered so far from others who have mentioned this here, is that IF it is Meniere's after such stressful times, it' could be the herpes virus getting activated as it does during stress and spreading to the balance nerve where it causes the inflammation and so that's why antivirals work well for most.

But it can be due to another thing as I've spoken to a friend who is a nurse and he had a problem of being dizzy all the time, with intense head pressure, depression and this was during very stressful times. After seeing ENT's, neuro's etc he saw a psychiatrist who said that he was having a chemical imbalance in his brain, he got lexapro and clonazepam and his dizziness went away after a while. He still takes the pills. I asked him if he had ringing and he said he didn't but I always wonder about this as I had stress and anxiety before all this started.

 

Some people do have anxiety disorders so bad that they get dizzy, have vertigo, and even pass out.

This is not to say that it leads to MM, which i believe is a completely different illness.

 

I agree with scott anxiety can definitely cause dizziness and off balance.

I know from first hand experience unfortunately. Because I have Meniere's for most of my life I developed anxiety and panic attacks in my twenties right after I got married. I guess moving out of my parent's home and having my own home and being married made me feel unsafe due to MM. It was a drastic change for me and the security that I built up for years how to deal with vertigo and my parents as a support system seemed to be ripped away from me.
My husband was supportive but it was all new and scary to me.

Between bouts of vertigo while having anxiety attacks I was off balance and dizzy much of the time. When my anxiety was less so was my dizziness and off balance. when I conquered the anxiety and panic attacks I went back to my "normal" MM way of life. Very little if any off balance and my normal dizzy feelings now and then between attacks.

But anxiety dizziness and off balance is not Meniere's. But if you were developing MM a lot of stress may cause it to bring it to the surface so to speak.

Years later I developed MAV with MM and the off balance and dizziness I feel from MAV is different than from anxiety produced dizziness and off balance.

But I am happy to say no more anxiety or panic attacks for abut 35 years, and my MAV and MM symptoms are under control for over 3 years. Its been a long road to get to this place in my life but better late than never.

 

Thanks for that Vicky. If it is not too personal a.question, how did you overcome your anxiety attacks, Vicky? If you feel it is too personal, I understand.

 

You're welcome imback, no I don't mind at all. I did it the hard way, no medication because that is one of my fears since I am so medication sensitive. I had a social worker come to house who dealt with panic disorder. It was basically desensitization and getting me to change my way of thinking about panic attacks and anxiety. Its a simple solution but difficult to obtain. It takes a lot of practice.

These were the notes I carried with me to say them over and over until I believed them and once I did I never had a panic attack again.
1. Stay in the present..don't want if
2. It cant hurt you, it's just a feeling
3. Don't fight the anxiety/panic feeling..accept it and kind of walk along side it
if you fight it your anxiety level goes up and you give the anxiety power and then it becomes a panic attack.

I remember the day I had my last panic attack. I was online waiting to pay for some groceries and as my turn got closer and closer my anxiety went through the roof, I was trembling, sweating, my legs felt like jelly, my head all light headed/dizzy..and then something happened that never happened before, my fear stopped and I got angry that I had to deal with this crap, on top of everything else (MM etc) I just did not care anymore if I felt that way, it didn't frighten me at that point.

I got to the cashier paid my groceries walked out of the store and never had another panic attack again. But mind you it took me quite awhile to get to that point and saying those 3 points over and over until I finally believed it and accepted it.

I hope this helps someone it did the trick for me, but its difficult to achieve but it can be done with persistence.

 

I definitely believe that stress can aggravate Meniere's. When things get really crazy at work the symptoms in my ear get worse. Lately, I've been suffering from insomnia and anxiety not related to MM and my ear has been really acting up. I've also gotten a few dizzy spells but thankfully not full blown vertigo. I spoke to my ENT about stress and she said that it is a trigger for many of her patients.

 

stress is a big trigger of Meniere's symptoms, anything that weakens the immune system can trigger MM symptoms and stress certainly weakens it, but anxiety/stress can make someone feel off balance and dizzy by itself w/o Meniere's being involved.

 

My doctor explained anxiety and panic attacks as overstimulation of the nervous system. It's like when you flood a computer with too many task, what happens? It slows down and it doesn't function optimally, in our case it's the same thing happening, too many signals are being sent out due to an overly stimulated nervous system and our balance becomes poor as a result. This is also why coffee is not recommended for Menieres, MAV and anxiety patients.

 

It would be really nice if we could have "Edit" a post but I wanted to say stress also causes over stimulation of the nervous system too of course so again why we have to watch it. If anyone has anxiety etc, seeing a psychologist or therapist like Vicki mentioned really helps. I've had one for 3-4 years on and off and I'm better at dealing with stress and difficult situations. One big thing mentioned by Vicki that really helps and make a difference is, DO NOT try to fight the anxiety, panic, or fear, let it flow through you, feel it and let it do it's thing, when its allowed to do its thing it just flows and passes like a current.

 

I've dealt with anxiety and incapacitating depression for most of my life. I know your mental health can have a huge affect on your health. At the same time, MM has sent me spiraling into depression and anxiety attacks like never before. I can't tell what feeling goes with which issue at this point but I do believe that the MM has brought me down to my knees with anxiety and depression now.

 

Do you see someone for the anxiety/depression?
Don't do what I did and wait hoping getting what you need for Menieres will help those issues.
Get help now.

 

Thanks again Vicky. Good to know. My therapist constantly reminds me "John, the mind and body are one." One affects the other. The other things she says and I firmly believe it is "if you do not express your emotions, your body will."

 

Yes, I see a psychiatrist and a therapist and have off and on my entire life. As much as I hate taking meds, I know that I absolutely have to if I want to function. The anxiety seems to be more prevent lately. The MM surely didn't help, that's for sure. Depression and anxiety run rampant in my family. Unfortunately I drew the short straw on that one. Now that my job is gone until the mm is under control and I have pretty much quit driving, I pretty much expect the emotions to be out of whack. Since I am on meds for it the first thing I checked is if any of them could be causing my symptoms. Nothing I could find on that and was told by my doctor that he doesn't believe it is medication related. I've been through some really crappy stuff over my 42 years so I know I can make it though this as well. I just want the MM to stop, go away, leave me alone, etc. I want to drive again, go back to work, and not depend on someone else to help me. It's not my children's job to take care of me but that's what they have been doing especially while my husband is at work. During a really nasty attack a few months ago I threw up so violently that I actually wet my pants. And I was too weak to change. My daughter and husband did it for me while I was still on the sofa throwing up. Talk about embarrassing. That was the day I was so weak that my husband had to come home from work and literally carry me to the truck and take me to the ER. What I don't understand is how the attacks worsened in such a short span of time. Anyway, I suppose you could say the MM has had a negative effect on my emotions when I certainly didn't need any help with that.

 

You're welcome and I agree with both statements, both are very accurate.

 

Bump-moody