Unilateral and Bilateral M.D.

Ears, nose and throat
1

High to the Group,

I'v have M.D. in my right ear for many years but i believe it is

starting in my good ear as i have noticed tinnitus and intrucive

high and low pitched noise but none of the fullness i experience

with my bad ear..i haven't had a bad attack for ages but am still

getting dizziness and ragging tinnutis plus balance issues ..I'm interested

how M.D. started for those who suffer M.D. in both ears..

Did you have M.D. in both ears from the start or did it migrate to the

other ear after several years and when did you first notice the change

plus what were the symptoms..I'd say i have 10% of my hearing left in

my bad ear but i'm death in that ear if i'm stressed or the tinnitus is

bad..i'm worried if it has started in my good ear i'd be almost death..

I'v got 4 months to wait for my audio tests at the E.N.T....

2

My story seems similar.  I was diagnosed almost 4 years ago, my left ear hearing is now markedly decreased, I wear a hearing aide masker in that ear for 24/7 tinnitus. I was spinning free for many years, over the last 6 months I’ve been noticing ringing in my right ear but mostly high pitched, no fullness, pain or varying sounds like my left ear. My doctor suggested I go back on a diuretic to help it from spreading and because I have so much anxiety about it spreading to the right ear.

I also started back with spinning attacks for the past 6 weeks, just took a diuretic for 3 weeks which didn’t help my ears or spinning and I’m stopping it because it’s making me dehydrated, I will call doc Monday to explore betahistine.

I too am interested how people have handled or even stopped this from going bilateral.

I know stress is a huge trigger for me and even though I haven’t been out of the house, I try to do something daily that makes me feel good/productive so I’m not always concentratating on my symptoms.

I sincerely hope you get some relief and that this does not go bilateral for you.

Please keep us posted

 

3

Hello Debbie,

It seems with have a lot of symptoms in common,

I'v had meniere's for 17yrs i had an audio test at my

surgery about march last year and have an appointment 

booked for june so that should show if there is any hearing

loss also i had my good ear syringed but i think that

made it worse as a lot of the tonal quality in that ear as gone

..i noticed it  as soon has i got out the surgery i ignored it

thinking it would come back but it hasn't yet that was 3 weeks ago

i have also noticed i'm turning up my tv more than usual..

can i ask you do you pick up any tinnitus in the hearing aid ?

is it an hearing aid the device you describe or is it something else

that helps with tinnutus ..I'v read that there are 3 stages of meniere's

stage 3 being that the attacks stop but the tinnitus deathness and poor

balance also nausea remain..i think this 3 stage is where i am as the

bad attacks have started getting further apart and the odds of contracting

it in both ears 50/50 ..like you i have to deal with a lot of stress and anxiety

also i only go out if i have to you carnt make plans with meniere's it's 

about if your going to chance it or not..at christmas this year my sister

had 14 family members round i dont think i would have lasted 5mn before

feeling in over my head and having to go home so i stayed home..

sorry to hear your going through it to....

4

Hi...I was diagnosed 10 years ago with MD in my right hear. Over the years my hearing as deteriored in my right ear. Went for hearing test Nov to be told my left ear is nearly as bad as my right and now have 2 hearing aids. I'm asking my gp to refer me back to ENT because I believe I have now got MD in both ears. I have balance problems tinnitus, fortunately for me I don't suffer with sickness just nausea. My attacks are getting more frequent but vertigo not as severe, if that's make sense!!!! I now just have giddiness when moving. Constant tinnitus and fullness in right ear. GP told me that MD can burn itself out between 12 and 15 yrs....Here's hoping . Good luck to all MD is a horrible condition but stayin positive helps

5

Hello Stephen, The meniere's started in my left ear and then overtime it became bilateral and included the right ear. I begin to lose balance when the first ear started, I could walk with a cane, this would prevent me from leaning to the left. Then when the right ear started I had to use a walker because I would lean both left and right. I was able to get around for about a year using my walker and then I begin to fall back away from my walker, so it was wheelchair time for me. Have a great day 

ø¤º°`°º¤ø-:¦:-•:*'""*:•.Bertman •:*'''''*:•-:¦:-ø¤º°`°º¤ø

6

Hi Stephen,

I had unilateral md in my right ear for 20+ years, with all of the associated symptoms (vertigo, dizziness, nausea, tinnitus, fullness and balance issues.)

In December 2016, I had a Labyrinthectomy on my right ear that left me completely deaf in that ear. However, I was symptom free for 8-9 months.

In about the Oct/Nov time frame, I started having symptoms again, only on my left side. My ENT and I now believe I may be developing bilateral MD. We are early in the process so haven't done very much yet. Will keep you posted.

Barry

7

Hey Stephen,

I have MD in both ears. Started in my left, which has much worse hearing loss than my right.  Migrated to my right ear a few years ago with the same symptoms...tinnitus, fullness. My right ear still isn't as bad as my left.  I'd say it took about 10 years before I noticed that I was having symptoms in my right ear as well.  I have the bilateral hearing aids now, which are helping.  I'm the same as you...I woke up in a panic one morning, thinking what if I lose hearing in my good ear?  I'll be completely deaf.  It spurred me to look into hearing aids.

Stay on top of that diet.  Do meditation or yoga to help with stress.  If possible, cut out as many stress inducers as you can. 

 All my best wishes for you...make sure to tell your ENT all of your concerns and keep pushing for answers and relief.  Be your own best advocate!

-Mary

8

Hi,  My situation is similar.  For quite a few years I had vertigo attacks but with months apart.  Then the vertigo attacks increased about 2 years ago to a few a month.  I had a lot of ear pain in right ear off and on.  It was always just in that ear.  I always dreaded it becoming bilateral!  Then I had extensive balance testing almost a year ago and this revealed that I do have it in my left ear also.  But I wasn’t overly surprised as I get ear pain in both ears, and have for over a year.  I have lost most of my hearing in the right ear, the worst ear.  Some hearing loss in left ear.  I now have a Bicros hearing aid  which helps.  I take 48 mg Betahistine twice a day and have not had any vertigo attacks since.  However, my balance is good some days and bad on other days.    For instance, today it is snowing, overcast and low air pressure. Both ears are hurting, it’s that low level ear pressure feeling which is very uncomfortable.  Went to a grocery store and felt sick with the bright lights and al the people.  I joined Tai Chi and this can help with my balance.  But I find the weather is a big factor, in my case. I wish you the best.  My ENT says the brain can essentially adapt to a certain degree, to vestibular damage. So I am trying to do that as best I can!  But it’s a daily struggle, for sure.  Take care!

9

High Barry,

Thanks for the reply ..

I'm sorry to hear about your condition when was it you were first aware

their was something wrong with your good ear,

with me i noticed a need to turn the tv up higher and high pitched tinnitus

which i thought was tricks of the mind then i started getting high pitch and low

pitch tones the would come in quick and go just as quick this is when i decided

to get it checked out this is how it started in my bad here so i'm understandably 

worried.....

10

High Bertman,

That's interesting that your M.D started with balance probs..

I believe my Meniere's started when i was 29 as when i played

guitar i would have tinnitus for a long time after and the fact that

it was only in the left ear and not both which was wierd i dont

nos if i had balance probs because being in the building trade

i was doing a lot of drinking but my mates were always saying i was accident

prone so may be it was not the beer but the actual attacks didn't start

until i was 40 and my deathness was slow in process from there..

do you still have any hearing left...

11

High Baggiebird,

Hope your holding up..

you have my sympathy for having lost some of your hearing

in both ears..The E.N.T. did talk to me about hearing aids do

they really work as i'm under the impression that they will amplify

the tinnitus as well as improving the hearing in other words

i don't want to hear what i hear now only louder..

I no what you mean about shorter attacks with less vertigo

it happens to me mainly when im walking or sudden head movments

it's slowed me right down and now i use a stick so if i feel an attack

i use it as a prop and stop to recover my balance...

12

hello Barry

I am new to this forum but am wondering that when you said you were symptom free after you had the Labyrinthectomy for approx. 6-9 months was that also the tinnitus and has it stayed away.

I have md in my left ear it started after I washed my hair in the sink and got water in it. A year later after seeing my doc who referred me to an ENT who sent me to a audiologist who told me I was loosing my hearing (which I already knew ) 70 percent loss in that ear He suggested a hearing aid . I am trying not to get stressed out but my other ear had lost 60 percent hearing when I was told I had conductive hearing loss and a staphendectomy was performed 14 years ago and my hearing improved to 85 percent and is still holding .

now with being told I have md and loosing my hearing I am hoping this other ear will keep working

 I never had any vertigo or ringing in that right ear I was just loosing sound. With the left I have vertigo nausea vomiting and this horrendous noise in my ear.

Last week it was so bad I thought I was having a heart attack so My husband called an ambulance ( I have AFIBB and a leaky Valve)  My head felt like it was exploding with the pressure and the roaring in my ear was horrid to add to that I started vomiting so my stress level was sky high and I went in to full blown AFIBB .The attack has subsided but I am left with the horrendous screaming ear . the labyrinthectomy did it solve your problem ?

13

Stephen,

I actually did nor notice a dimunition in the hearing in my good ear. I started getting episodes of tinnitus, fullness in that ear, dizziness (where there had been none for months,) vertigo (where there had been none for months,) wooziness and nausea. It was only after meeting with my ENT to discuss the new symptoms that he suggested I have another audiogram. I just had that a week or so ago and that's when I found out about the diminished hearing in my good ear.

Barry

14

Anna-lise,

After the Labyrinthectomy, I was completely symptom free for almost 9 mos. It was only when I started developing bilateral MD that all of the symptoms returned.

Barry

15

Thanks Barry61472,

I had an audio last march at that time he told me

there was hearing loss in my good hear but it was consistent

for my age ..he went on to say there was a lot of wax buildup 

and booked me in for syringing to remove it..

i wish  he hand't now as i'v lost a lot of clarity in my good ear

due to that process..the very process you described is the same,

theres no fullness in the ear but i'v but my balance and my head feels

like an attack with no vertigo but ragein tinnitus in bad ear but not

so bad in the good ear also feeling sickly ...

i have another E.N.T. in may i no there is hearing loss so its matter

of wait and see...wishing you well ...stev

 

 

16

Hi Stephen, what I have is an AGX hearing aid. It has a toggle button on it with 4 programs.

The first is set for a regular amplifier since I have lost hearing in that ear.  The other 3 settings are varying degrees of pink noise, from soft to louder to mask my tinnitus. The audiologist set them up, you could pick any noise as a masker depending on what you hear as your tinnitus.

I never use the first setting because I always have tinnitus and sometimes just sleep with it in. Other times I will sleep with a headband that has built in flat speakers connected to my phone or iPod that plays white noise.

I also have a second device called a streamer pro that goes around my neck, if my tinnitus is louder than the 4th setting, I can connect the hearing aid through Bluetooth to my phone and the streamer to play an assortment of relief sounds, (I have been using this a lot lately since my symptoms have returned and sometime will listen to birds chirping, etc., anything that masks the sometimes maddening noise in my ear).

I hope this help, I live in New York, hearing aide was partially covered through insurance, it was several thousand and the streamer I had to buy, I believe it was several hundred but so worth it for me.

Good Luck.

Debbie

17

Thanks for the info Debbie,

Do they have blue noise for a boy...Lol..

just joking ..

I'm in england the e.n.t. has talked about hearing aids

but because i can not work i would have to rely on our

N.H.S but what they provide is pretty basic probably

your no 1 setting that you don't use..

I use an air filtrater for c.o.p.d.at night with a bit of imagination 

the fan sounds like running water and blends in with the tinnitus..

thanks again for the info..i have another e.n.t. in may ..

18

Also...just another thought. Make sure that someone who understands different types of hearing loss is looking at your audiogram. Typical MD hearing loss looks very different on an audiogram than age related hearing loss. I'm 58 and my doc told me that my audiogram does not show age related hearing loss. This is why the hearing aids are a tricky thing. Lol I hear many frequencies really well, even in my left ear which is the worst ear...the higher frequencies even better than "normal". So many MD sufferers have fluctuating hearing loss all over the map...so hearing aids can drive them crazy! My loss has become permanent (or so they tell me lol) so the aids are helping, but it's certainly a process. I was disappointed because there were reports that hearing aids diminished tinnitus in for some users but that want the case for me. I still have super loud tinnitus. At first I thought the aids made it worse but that's not the case...it was probably stress over getting the aids that did it because it has calmed now and is back to its normal roar.

Hope you're having a good day!

~Mary