I am very new to your site, and am asking for some help and direction. In February of 2014 I got a sinus infection and lost my hearing. took antibiotics, hearing did not return. Family doctor thought allergies, took two allergy shots, nothing. Sent to ENT, took hearing test already had 75% hearing loss in left ear. He diagnosed as Menier's in my left ear. He put me on a round of prednisone, (heavy, 6 pills per day for 9 days then taper off) I was very Ill during that time. He then put me on Methazolamide X2 per day. Dizziness got worse, he changed to a different one, way worse, dizzy, could not function, brain fog, you name it. I went off all of it myself until my next appointment, felt better immediately, still more hearing loss. Next appointment he diagnosed me with Menier's in both ears and sent me to give blood to send to Mayo Clinic to test for Infection. Came back negative. Decided to get 2nd opinion, never got to see Dr. met with his PA, he said not Menier's, was a tumor or bad infection. Scheduled MRI which I had yesterday. Met with DR after MRI... Nothing has to wait for radiologist to read results, but no obvious Tumor (although he admitted he could not read an MRI) he is diagnosing me with Meniere's and wants me to do 3 Steroid injections in my ear. My Father had Meniere's in both ears, and was very Ill for a long time, my sister has it in one ear and was very ill until she had the nerve between her ear and brain cut. I do not have the symptoms anywhere near as bad as the 2 of them did, one Dr. will say that I do not have it, the other will say I di just not as severe, and that it could get worse.....
Hi Diana, I'd find a Neurotologist in your area. They're much more knowledgeable than an ENT about the workings of the inner ear and Meniere's Disease. You don't want to start considering invasive procedures before you know for sure whether or not you have MM. My experience has been they're much more thorough with their testing to get a proper diagnosis as well. All my best to you, Lulu
Welcome Diana, So sorry you are going through this. Sounds very difficult in both ears at once. You have found a good place here. If you do have Meniere's there is a lot of hope. Many people are helped by taking anti-viral medication and/or vitamins and supplements described in the John of Ohio Regimen. A lot of us, especially ones that are newer to this get a lot of hearing back. To help you get by as you learn--when I'm feeling dizzy I find that these sea bands really take the edge off. http://www.sea-band.com/ Good wishes!
I will say that early on I had quite a few doctors that each had an opinion on whether or not I had Menieres. Even after all the vestibular testing and scans ruled out everything else, I still had my primary doctor disagree because he believed Menieres is too "rare" for that to be the issue. Even though he had no solutions. Anti virals have seemed to help me. The challenge was finding a doctor that would give it a try. Again, so many seem to rule out options saying "they won't work" but those same people don't have any options to offer out. I couldn't tell if aside from the hearing if yo were constantly dizzy - or if you were experiencing the full room spinning for hours vertigo attacks. If dizzy or off balance, I would try meclizine. For full vertigo that did not help me, but my doctor prescribed ativan that I place under my tongue when an attack hits and it shortens the vertigo episodes significantly. The first time I was given the steriods my doctor agreed to extend it after the first two weeks before full taper because I was getting "some" relief. The extra time definitely helped. If I can keep my sinus issues in check, that seems to go a long way towards helping me feel better. My sinus definitely is a trigger for me. Good luck
Oh my Diana I get the distress this thing causes..not just the symptoms but the opinions and treatments that are so very hard on the body. Been through most of what you are saying and the JOH regimen and antivirals seem to have had the most healing benefit by far and for me much less negative impact than prednisone or the ear shots. The former take 60 days to begin to feel significant impact and I get the desire for quick results but I personaly prefer lower impact treatments. Now my life is back on track where the other stuff was putting me out of commission. Hang in.
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts with me. Have a sinus infection and that really brings everything on, so I have been out of commission for a few days. Still waiting for the results of the MRI, I am seeing my family DR. Next week and I am going to ask him to refer me to a neurologist. I have found so many answers to questions I had here and quite enjoy having people to talk to that have been through all of this.