Hello all. Long time lurker. Signed up to post on this article. Started with the tinnitus over 10 years ago and then the hearing loss followed shortly thereafter. the vertigo started 5 years ago and my regular doctor sent me to an ENT. I was diagnosed with Meniere’s. I quit smoking, alcohol, caffeine and salt. It didn’t work. The meclizine and valium didn’t work. I had intratympanic dexamethazone shots for months. They worked for a few weeks and the vertigo returned with a vengeance. I used to get a warning but now they come with no warning and are extremely violent. The nausea and vomiting last for hours. I had to stop driving over a year ago. I was terrified of having an attack and hurting someone. The anxiety of wondering when the next attack will come is debilitating. Thank God I can work from home and my supervisors have been wonderful about me having to lay down when an attack comes.
My ENT referred me to Dr. Tawfik at Vanderbilt and he is wonderful. I go back late September for a cochlear implant assessment, another MRI and a final vestibular function test. If all goes well, I am having a labyrinthectomy and a cochlear implant. I’m nearly deaf in my affected ear and have no speech recognition. If it goes bilateral, I will have the same for the right ear. I would rather be completely deaf than have this vertigo any longer. I’ve also started having what they call drop attacks. It’s like someone is pushing me to the ground. I’m afraid I’m going to get a face full of concrete if something isn’t done.
Anyway, that’s my story and I am praying for all the sufferers on this forum. My husband drivers a truck and has had to start driving local so he can get me to my appointments and run me around to do my errands.
Best of luck to all of you. I know how you all feel.
and thanks for listening to my long windedness. :)
Antibiotic can be used to treat rare inner-ear condition, treat vertigo
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-07-antibiotic-rare-inner-ear-condition-vertigo.html
Also, this looks pretty interesting, and likely harmless:
Study shows loud noises cause fluid buildup in the ear and suggests simple cure for noise-induced hearing loss
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-11-loud-noises-fluid-buildup-ear.html