Advice

Ears, nose and throat
1

Hi All

so had MD for round 10 years, currently in a very active phase with massive fluctuations in levels of hearing both volume and clarity, balance is worse than i have know it be, since surgery for superior canal dehisicence the extreme vertigo and eye nsytigmus has become few and far between but they still pop up now and again.

my question is has anyone seen a therapist for both balance and psycological help, my life has changed in the fact im now 100% rely on my hearing aids and generally they dont do alot as they cant cope with the hearing changes.

life is very challenging at the moment, 

2

Hi Mark.  I'm sorry to hear that you are having such struggles.  I have had MD for 40 years and recently developed it in my good ear.  I've been seeing a Psychiatrist for the last 7 years trying to overcome my anticipatory anxiety associated with MD.  I highly recommend that you do see someone who can help you cope with the current crisis you experience.  There are affective meds that are very helpful in getting you through this period.,  At a very minimum you probably would benefit from a sedative like Ativan which calms your anxiety and calms down the "bad" signals from your ears to your brain that causes vertigo.  Also, if you are not currently on a diuretic you might ask your ENT or  regular doctor to prescribe one.  Usually the diuretic will pull the fluid from your inner ears and help minimize the fullness and some of the tinnitus you're experiencing.  The dosage of the diuretic usually starts at 25mg but you may need more.  I take 75mg/day to control symptoms. 

Let us know how all of this works for you and if you need more support we are here!

3

Mark,

I had MD for two decades. After a number of tried and failed interventions, I had a Labyrinthectomy on 12/13/16. Since that time, the vertigo which was several times a week now occurs about once every two months. At my 6 mo. checkup last week we determined that I had an underlying condition known as vestibular migraines. This causes me dizziness several times a week (although never as severe as the vertigo and lasting significantly less duration.) Having said that, because of the vestibular migraines, I was attending PT to learn how to balance. I have since graduated from PT (my therapist was very happy with my progress) and I do not see a psychologist. However, I only wear my hearing aids periodically because I, too, Do not find much benefit to them. You are headed in the right direction. Keep at it!

4

This is very interesting. Could you elaborate on the episodes. I have a provisional Meniere/migraine diagnosis and the pattern of MD "attacks" really does not quite seem to describe what I experience. What you describe seems more like it.

Would you be prepared to PM me ?

Regards

Rich ( NHS SW UK )

5

Would be willing to PM. Let me know how. I do not have access to skype.

Barry

6

Thanks. I have just discovered how to myself! There's a little greyed out envelope symbol to the left of the message.Hit that and good to go I think.

Rich.