Question:
Im writing on this newsgroup in utter despair. i have suffered from
tinnitus for approximately 7 years. At first i found it hard to come to
terms with and got very depressed but in time i came to terms with it. Then
one day i felt dizzy and sick and from thereon i felt permanently dizzy.
There wasn't even any break in my dizziness and this went on for a good 18
months. I would feel "out of it all the time" and had general dizziness. I
became very depressed about it and sucicidal but everyone began to say i was
just depressed and the dizziness was a symptom of that not a cause of the
depression. It would anger me because i knew my family and friends thought
the dizziness was imagined. Furthermore when i had gone to ENT they had no
answers and so this seemed to reinforce my family's beliefs that i was just
depressed. I thought it could be menieres but on my understanding that is
still something which comes in spells whereas this dizziness i had was all
day and night and for nearly 2 years. However, it started to abate after
the 18 months and i felt great ( the tinnitus was still there but i was fine
with that). However, 2 weeks ago the same dizziness has started agian and
for me it is like a recurring nightmare. I can't beleive it is back and now
i feel like this time i cannot cope with it. I am off work and i just sit
round all day apart from going out for the odd jog. I found last time that
jogging could have been the reason the dizziness went but i have been doing
that since so it does not seem related. something feels strange in my ears
again ( the pressure doesn't seem right) but i just wish i could understand
what has caused this continous dizziness and knew of other people who had
suffered the same type of dizziness. it is so awful and this time round i
am finding it bad. help !
Answer:
You need to go see a specialist in Autoimmune/Menieres Disease. That may or
may not be an ENT. I swear, and it was true in my case, the general,
everyday ENT does not know one iota about autoimmune or other inner ear
disease such as Menieres or Congan's Syndrome. You really need to see one
that is known as a specialist in the field. Sometimes you need to go to a
major hospital or university hospital to find one, but it is worth it. If
necessary, contact your organization for Tinnitus, ours is the ATA, I think
you may have one in the UK, not sure. Do a WEB search and find a group
that can help refer you to a knowledgeable doc on Menieres. You sure sound
like you have the classic symtoms. Even if it is not Menieres, he will get
to the root of the problem because he has the knowledge and skill to dig
deeper and if he is on a University Team, all the better.
When you have a chronic vertigo / balance problem, often the best thing to
do is to see a neurotologist or otologist, an ENT doc with additional
training in the ear and its connections to the brain, who subspecializes in
the ear. The average ENT DOES NOT have this advancd training... these are
the doctors for dizziness. These subspecialities are often not listed in the
phone book. To find one near you, ask for recommendations from the kind
folks on this list (make sure you tell them where you live...), ask your ENT
for a referral, or see incomplete lists at:
I have Meniere's and have gone through long dizzy spells. What my ENT
did was to send me to physical therapy. There are several exercises
meant to stimulate the vestibular system and force you not to use only
your eyes for balance. When I was tested by the physical therapist,
that's what he said I was doing. So he gave me some exercises -- very
simple -- to do with my eyes shut. This helped me tremendously in
overcoming the constant dizziness I was experiencing. There are also
some sites on the web -- wish I had the addresses -- that list these
exercises. An example would be to sit in a chair, close your eyes,
and turn your head from side to side. Or you might stand up with
your eyes closed and then sit down again. Standing up, bend over
and touch the floor with your eyes closed. As you walk along, turn
your head from side to side so you force your ears to take over some
of the balancing and not have your eyes operating as your only balance
system. Gosh, I hope this isn't too long and that you can find some
of these exercises on the web. They are amazingly simple, but they
help tremendously. I was dizzy for a long time until I started
doing these exercises. I was off the charts when the PT tested me.
I have also taken medication for dizziness, but it made me feel like
a zombie.
