Is this anxiety or an ENT problem?

[avasnana]

HI,

I just wanted to know what people thought?

My main symptom is fuzzy head and a kind of dizziness, not like room spinning more like the kind listed in this link http://www.labyrinthitis.org.uk/page3.htm (http://www.labyrinthitis.org.uk/page3.htm)

I am not sure if this is anxiety or an ear problem, although I do suffer with ibs and indegestion - so am I just trying to find it to be anything other than anxiety?

Any thoughts anyone?

thanks

Claire

[Sit2Know]

Very common with anxiety = I had severe vertigo for 6 weeks = all anxiety

[avasnana]

Good morning all,

The dreaded dizziness has reared it's head again. I have had a sinus infection that has lasted 5 weeks and the last week have had dizziness and lightheadedness. A couple of times I have had sudden dizziness which causes tingling in my arms, only last 10 seconds and I have had it before so am not worried it is anything serious, it is just annoying.

I've had loads of neck tension and suffer with tmj so don't know if this is what is causing the dizziness?

I'm going to the docs tomorrow to see if there is something I can take for the dizziness as it is getting me down.

I just wondered how others cope with sinus / ear/ dizziness problems?

Thanks

[blueangel]

From my own experiences, it could be either or both of them causing this. Years ago I remember getting a lot of dizziness with anxiety, and it used to come on at about the same time every day, which was odd.

If it's sinusitis causing it, it should clear slowly as the infection goes, but they can take a long time to subside.

Hope this helps.

[HoneyLove]

Hi avasnana,

I've been having trouble with dizziness too, so I really feel for you. Even though you're an anxiety sufferer it's important to rule out other causes of the dizziness first, unless you've noticed that it's directly related to periods of anxiety which doesn't seem to be the case.

Since your sinus problems made the dizziness come back it seems that it's probably not your anxiety but maybe an issue with your ear? TMJ may also be a culprit as I have read that it can affect your balance too through several different means. It's possible that you just have a weakness in your balance system that triggers the dizziness when your TMJ or sinuses flare up? You could ask your doc about it.

To help me cope with the dizziness I'm going through Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy to retrain my balance. It's very challenging, but it's definitely working. My VRT physio explained that because of a bout of viral labyrinthitis I had a couple of years ago, now when I get a cold or get sick my brain forgets how to balance again and the dizziness kicks in. He says that the exercises will help to stop this from happening, or if it does happen it will help me to recover much faster from it.

Your doc might offer you medication that can help with dizziness, but if it's a problem affecting your daily life it might be a good idea to have it investigated further and maybe look into VRT too?

[avasnana]

Honey love not sure if you will see this but I wondered how you were getting on with the VRT? I'm having bother with dizziness again and fluid in my ear so back at the docs Friday :-( so miserable isn't it.

[HoneyLove]

Hi avasnana, I'm sorry to hear that you're having dizziness trouble again. If it's fluid in your ear again I'd definitely ask your doctor for a referal to an ENT at this stage. It could be a sinus issue or TMJ, and I think the ENT will be able to help you out. Do you ever get jaw pain, tinnitus or ear pain? Or do you do things like grinding or clenching your teeth?

I'm still working away at the VRT, and yes it's definitely helping me. He thinks that I have something called Migraine Associated Vertigo, so I've been learning about how to manage that. We've also realised that some of the dizziness seems to be coming from my neck, so I've been given exercises to help with that.

I actually think that I may have a TMJ issue too, and that a lot of the dizziness may be coming from the tension it causes in my face, ears and neck. I have a funny feeling that my eustachian tubes are getting blocked, keeping fluid in my ear and adding to the dizziness. I am waiting to see an ENT and I hope they will be able to shed some light on it.

In the meantime I continue to work on the VRT and it helps me handle the dizziness a lot better. I feel much more stable these days and some of the vision problems I've been having are decreasing. As for the neck/TMJ stuff, I'm following the self help type stuff for the moment and doing a lot of stress relief, relaxation, yoga and self massage to try and release some of the tension - as well as looking at bad posture habits and bad sleeping habits. I think in time it will all unwind, but it's good to have made some improvements in the last few months :)