Hold onto your seats! This is a bit of a long one, still haven't figured out what happened, but I thought sharing might help.
December 2009 - Laying in bed one night watching TV I begin to feel dizzy, felt like I had been drugged. Tried to "walk it off" thinking it was light headedness, after 20-30 mins it wouldn't go away so just fell asleep and felt ok the next day.
A Couple Days Later - Tinnitus begins, low ringing nothing too noticeable.
Couple days later while at work I begin to feel dizzy, left work and went home. Got home and instantly felt the spinning, couldn't lay down, couldn't stand up, began vomiting. This lasted for 1-2 hours before falling asleep for several hours. Upon waking up I felt exhausted.
January 2010 - Doctor's appointment - doctor said I probably have ear inflammation, prescribed Prednisone and to return in 1 month.
February 2010 - New symptoms, TMJ pain, clicking in the ear etc.
Doctor schedules MRI and an ENT appointment.
Spring 2010 - MRI, ENT appointment and hearing test. Could not hear higher pitch sounds on hearing test in my left ear, right ear was fine. Was told to return once MRI results were in. The rest of the Spring/Summer I felt fine, some tinnitus but no vertigo.
Fall 2010 - ENT specialist tells me I have Meniere's Disease. Asked what can be done. I was told nothing can be done and to not eat Chinese food. After 9+months of waiting and all I get was don't eat Chinese food!?
2010-2019 - Tinnitus on and off weekly, jaw clicking, ear crunching etc. No episodes of vertigo. Basically learned to live with it.
Fast forward...
November 2019 - first vertigo episode in 10 years, extreme spinning, vomiting, ear ringing etc. Lasted for a couple hours before falling asleep.
December 2020 - vertigo while working from home, spinning, vomiting etc. I went to bed, woke up 2 hours later back to "normal".
Throughout the last 10+ years I've researched Meniere's and tinnitus for hours on end. Thought about who, what, where, when and why.
I believe this problem is caused by me or my lifestyle.
My mother is the biggest health nut you can imagine so I've taken everything from Vitamin C, Ginkgo, B12, D3 with some results. Chiropractor, Osteopath TMJ Dentist etc.
Nothing provided much relief, but in all fairness, I never gave it much of an effort. A couple appointments here and there, vitamins and supplements for a week or two and just gave up.
Like I said, I believe something caused this to happen.
2008 - was in a major car accident, t-boned while in the passenger seat, walked away with only some neck pain. Never thought about it until years later.
Summer 2009 - had really bad allergies and decided to use a Neti Pot with mixed results, never thought about it until years later.
Summer 2009 - began wearing glasses for distance. Never thought about it until years later.
Background - was in my 20s when this happened. Now in my 30s - work a desk job 8 hours a day, smoke cigarettes and drink coffee - both of which I have cut back on but need to change that going forward.
Is this just poor circulation from years of smoking and working at a desk for 8 hours a day? Could the car accident have caused a shift in my neck which then led to TMJD and tinnitus? Can wearing glasses cause tinnitus and vertigo? Did the Neti Pot I used a couple months prior cause an ear issue? Why does this seem to always happen in November/December? Is this seasonal?
These are the questions I ask everyday haha. My tinnitus is constantly at a 4-5/10. Which I consider "manageable". Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks in advance.
December 2009 - Laying in bed one night watching TV I begin to feel dizzy, felt like I had been drugged. Tried to "walk it off" thinking it was light headedness, after 20-30 mins it wouldn't go away so just fell asleep and felt ok the next day.
A Couple Days Later - Tinnitus begins, low ringing nothing too noticeable.
Couple days later while at work I begin to feel dizzy, left work and went home. Got home and instantly felt the spinning, couldn't lay down, couldn't stand up, began vomiting. This lasted for 1-2 hours before falling asleep for several hours. Upon waking up I felt exhausted.
January 2010 - Doctor's appointment - doctor said I probably have ear inflammation, prescribed Prednisone and to return in 1 month.
February 2010 - New symptoms, TMJ pain, clicking in the ear etc.
Doctor schedules MRI and an ENT appointment.
Spring 2010 - MRI, ENT appointment and hearing test. Could not hear higher pitch sounds on hearing test in my left ear, right ear was fine. Was told to return once MRI results were in. The rest of the Spring/Summer I felt fine, some tinnitus but no vertigo.
Fall 2010 - ENT specialist tells me I have Meniere's Disease. Asked what can be done. I was told nothing can be done and to not eat Chinese food. After 9+months of waiting and all I get was don't eat Chinese food!?
2010-2019 - Tinnitus on and off weekly, jaw clicking, ear crunching etc. No episodes of vertigo. Basically learned to live with it.
Fast forward...
November 2019 - first vertigo episode in 10 years, extreme spinning, vomiting, ear ringing etc. Lasted for a couple hours before falling asleep.
December 2020 - vertigo while working from home, spinning, vomiting etc. I went to bed, woke up 2 hours later back to "normal".
Throughout the last 10+ years I've researched Meniere's and tinnitus for hours on end. Thought about who, what, where, when and why.
I believe this problem is caused by me or my lifestyle.
My mother is the biggest health nut you can imagine so I've taken everything from Vitamin C, Ginkgo, B12, D3 with some results. Chiropractor, Osteopath TMJ Dentist etc.
Nothing provided much relief, but in all fairness, I never gave it much of an effort. A couple appointments here and there, vitamins and supplements for a week or two and just gave up.
Like I said, I believe something caused this to happen.
2008 - was in a major car accident, t-boned while in the passenger seat, walked away with only some neck pain. Never thought about it until years later.
Summer 2009 - had really bad allergies and decided to use a Neti Pot with mixed results, never thought about it until years later.
Summer 2009 - began wearing glasses for distance. Never thought about it until years later.
Background - was in my 20s when this happened. Now in my 30s - work a desk job 8 hours a day, smoke cigarettes and drink coffee - both of which I have cut back on but need to change that going forward.
Is this just poor circulation from years of smoking and working at a desk for 8 hours a day? Could the car accident have caused a shift in my neck which then led to TMJD and tinnitus? Can wearing glasses cause tinnitus and vertigo? Did the Neti Pot I used a couple months prior cause an ear issue? Why does this seem to always happen in November/December? Is this seasonal?
These are the questions I ask everyday haha. My tinnitus is constantly at a 4-5/10. Which I consider "manageable". Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks in advance.
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