Anybody had lightheaded kinda dizziness confirmed by doctor as ear trouble???

[it's_just_a_phase]

Hi

This is my first post, I'd just like to say what a wonderful forum this is, I've been looking-in and getting some comfort as a guest for the past few weeks, unfortunately I only came across it by scaring myself "you-know-whatless" by Googling! Never Again!:scared15:

I've been dizzy for two and a half months. It's somewhere between lightheaded and dizzy although the room never spins. I feel off balance and sometimes get a feeling of being pulled backwards.


Two GPs have told me that it can't be an ear problem because I don't get spinning vertigo but after looking at several posts on here, I beg to differ.


In short, has anyone on here ever had a doctor confirm an ear problem when they've never experienced true spinning vertigo, more a lightheaded off balance kind of dizziness?

X

[Corinne]

Yes. My GP kept saying it was my nerves. So I went to Pittsburgh Eye and Ear Hospital and it was confirmed that I have Meniere's Disease. I was -- still am mostly light headed, off balance. However, the big attacks present themselves as horrible spinning, vertigo where it feels like a thousand bumble bees are in my head. I have to lay flat down and find a bearable position until it relieves. I can't even move my eyes. Thank God I haven't had one in a while.

[Lou 1]

Hi i suffer from this too - i went to my gp last week as it seems to be getting worse and i was told i have labrynthitis (inner ear problem) also the membrane inside my ear is swollen, they think this was related to the sinusisits i had just before xmas.

[it's_just_a_phase]

Corinne

I am so glad that I don't get the terrible spinning vertigo (touch wood), it must be so unbearable.

Glad to hear it hasn't happened to you for a while! Must be hard to deal with when it just hits you out of the blue.

x

[NeverRelaxed]

i have also been lightheaded/dizzy/somewhere inbetween for two months. Its rly strange.. Like, Its not constant..more like quick jolts where Ill feel woozy/dizzy..and my vision will sorta shake or wobble...I did have a sort of mystagmus..where I couldnt keep my eyes still but thats gone now..And guess what...my earsd have been bad..praticulary my right ear..and today and last night, every time I go to swallow, they pop.

[it's_just_a_phase]

Lou 1

So have you never had the spinning sensation?

I haven't unless it happened when I was asleep!?!?

I've just been lightheaded 24/7 no head movements in particular make it worse, just general sort of moving and looking about, I'm not too bad when I get up in the morning but then it starts when I'm moving about.

It's got worse and at times I feel I'm being pulled and sometimes veer around corners.

GPs make out that it has to be spinning sensation to be ear problem and one of those GPs was meant to be particularly good with ears. He told me it was all anxiety and prescribed me antidepressants!!!!!:shrug:

I haven't taken any, the dizziness makes me anxious but def isn't the cause of it!

The last few days I've been slightly congested in the mornings with stabbing pains in head and get a terrible "cotton wool" head when I'm tired. Oh and my right nostril has been rather bloody when I've blown my nose (sorry). All of this comes and goes though.

It makes complete sense to me that I have a virus that's affecting my ear(s) and is now giving me a bit of sinus trouble, it's all very drawn out but viruses can be persistent can't they?

I was mega stressed when it all started, we all know that stress leaves the door wide open to catching bugs/viruses but doctor saw this stress as being the start of anxiety which is causing the dizziness where as I think I was run down and allowed a virus to take hold. Makes sense, no?

x

[ann01]

I have the same feeling every day, without the spinning thank goodness, i feel the same somewhere between lightheaded and dizzy and off balance, i have been to ent had mri scan but nothing was found, i think mine must just be anxiety as my shoulders are always tense and i cant relax. its a horrible feeling it has stopped me doing so much
Good Luck
Ann x

[pussy cat]

hi,i would bet that you have got labrynthitis - i have suffered the exact same symptoms that you are describing for many years (on & off) & my doc diagnosed labrynthitis - it,s a viral infection of the inner ear & no you don,t exactly go dizzy,room spinning etc it,s just like momentarily going off balance or a quick jolt-hard to describe but i,m sure you can relate to what i am saying - it does go but unfortunatly as far as i know the only meds that are given are tabs to take away any sick feeling you may have.attacks can last various amounts of time but anxiety makes them worse (as it does all things)- however it is not life threatening just very unpleasant-mine as it turned out was due to damage done to the inner ear by an allergy to a course of strong antibiotics given to me for a tummy bug !!!! hard to believe i know - anyway won,t bore you anymore & i do feel for you-hope you feel better soon :flowers:

[it's_just_a_phase]

Thank you Pussy Cat! I hope you're doing OK with your ears now!

Have you ever looked at labyrinthitis.org.uk? Great site, the sufferers on there say that some people never experience the spinning sensation and that lightheadedness rather than spinning vertigo can be a symptom.

So disappointed by the docs so far, I wasn't anxious when it first started but now that they reckon it can't be ear trouble the anxiety/frustration is setting in.

I just have a feeling that it is my ears and I just don't think that anxiety has caused it.

Oh and like you, I had strong antibiotics- I had an earache just over a year ago, was given one weeks course of amoxicillin, woke up on 5th day of taking them with really nasty reaction somewhere else (I won't go into details!):blush: so didn't finish the course, earache cleared up eventually. Have never reacted to antibiotics before. Had a lot or ear infections as a kid too.

Plus with last GP I saw (the supposed ear expert), got me to do the marching on the spot with eyes closed. I turned 45 degrees to the right (I think the problem is with my right ear) but he mumbled something about me not turning 90 degrees!? I though this would be considered a positive result!?

x

[sezios]

I've had dizzy spells for 20 years, usually lasting only a second or 2 but 3 years ago had a prolonged period of dizzyness and was diagnosed with labrynthitis. I felt like I was walking on sponge. Stemitil was prescribed and after about 5 weeks returned to 'normal' intermittant dizzyness and premanant 'fuzzy' head. Since then I have also experienced positional vertigo, which in my case was 5 minutes of room spinning dizzyness everytime I lay down. I'm convinced it is an 'ear' thing. The Labrynitis website mentioned in a previous post above is very useful.

[andrea thompson]

hiya hon
about ten years ago i was really dizzy and when went to the dr she said it was labrynthitus... shortly after this i was told my problems were due to being depressed... i never had spinning as you say but thats what the dr said i had... also though... i have been to drs on numerous occasions with lots of different symptoms and they kept telling me i had an ear infection... this was traeted with antibiotics each time... then eventually one dr sent me to the hospital for a specialist to check my ears... she investigated and confirmed that there were no signs what so ever tha i had ever had an ear infection yet i had been treated for them maybe ten times... i had excema in my ears and a build up of wax.... it doesnt help that each time you visit the dr you see a different one and they hardly give you time to explain your symptoms before they send you off to fight the virus on your own...lol.... they not all bad though... some are really supportive!!!!!

take care - i hope you feeling better soon!!!

andrea x x

[pussy cat]

hi,will have a look at that site you mentioned - nothing ventured nothing gained.i agree with you about the doctors,could you not see another one?although unless they have now got some meds for it they didn,t have some time ago-we all know that antibiotics don,t work on viral infections it,s just a case of grin & bear it until it passessome years ago when i first had it i read somewhere that an eminent cricket player & also an actress (i think it may have been julie walters but can,t be sure) had for many years on & off suffered with the symptoms & had loads of tests,seen loads of doctors to the point that they thought they were imagining their symptoms-all of a sudden they were diagnosed with labryinthintitis - anyway i hope you are feeling a little better & hopefully it won,t re-occur.funnily enough i have been clear of it for poss 18 months & then all of a sudden last week it was back,i,ve got that used to it now but i just keep telling myself it will pass,it lasted about 4 days this time so not to bad.strange that you had an adverse reaction to antibiotics as well - i,d had 7days of ethremycin & i felt so ill i thought i was dying,then because i stil had my problem the stupid doctor gave me another 4 days & told me it was quite common for them to upset your stomach !! 2 months later i was in hospital awaiting a small op & they found out that my iron count was to low to operate & that the antibiotics had stripped the lining off my stomach - 18 months later i had labryinthititus - makes you wonder doesn,t it - need less to say i never went to see that doctor again - i,ve bored you enough now so good luck & take care xx:winks:.

[Corinne]

Corinne

I am so glad that I don't get the terrible spinning vertigo (touch wood), it must be so unbearable.

Glad to hear it hasn't happened to you for a while! Must be hard to deal with when it just hits you out of the blue.

x
It isn't pleasant! LOL

But since I have this, when anxiety hits me for any resason, the dizziness is the first anxiety symptom to appear. The doctor said it's because I only have balance mechanism in one ear that the anxiety knocks that out. As a result, because I am anxious most of the time, I am light headed most of the time! Anxiety really knows where to hit me! Also, when I'm anxious, I don't breathe right. My breathing is very shallow and that doesn't help. So I force myself to do Yoga breathing which settles the light headedness some.

I'm glad you aren't suffering the horrible vertigo. The lightheadedness is enough to cope with!

Because I'm blonde, my friends always call me the dizzy blonde!:D

[SleeplessFog]

I am bumping this thread because I have been gone for awhile from the board.

I have labyrinthitis, I have had it since 2/2009 and I have only had a spinning episode once, and it happened in October. There are many types of dizziness...it doesn't just have to be spinning. Don't let anyone tell you that dizzy = spinning all the time.

In the beginning they gave me amoxicillin, all it did was give me massive discomfort in my "nether regions" let's just say that.

I also was given meclizine and Valium. Neither did anything for me except made me want to sleep all the time.

The only thing that has made a difference is going to see a Vestibular specialist who gave me exercises to do.

I got this after having a crazy cold for almost a month. I woke up one morning feeling floaty and in a fog, and extremely off balance. I couldn't even stand on one leg at all, and I can't ride a bicycle yet. I hope you recover soon!

[it's_just_a_phase]

I am bumping this thread because I have been gone for awhile from the board.

I have labyrinthitis, I have had it since 2/2009 and I have only had a spinning episode once, and it happened in October. There are many types of dizziness...it doesn't just have to be spinning. Don't let anyone tell you that dizzy = spinning all the time.

In the beginning they gave me amoxicillin, all it did was give me massive discomfort in my "nether regions" let's just say that.

I also was given meclizine and Valium. Neither did anything for me except made me want to sleep all the time.

The only thing that has made a difference is going to see a Vestibular specialist who gave me exercises to do.

I got this after having a crazy cold for almost a month. I woke up one morning feeling floaty and in a fog, and extremely off balance. I couldn't even stand on one leg at all, and I can't ride a bicycle yet. I hope you recover soon!

I'm sure that it's something to do with my ears, I reckon I've got a nasty virus which is hanging about. Will go and see another doctor if there's no improvement by next week and won't leave without a referral to ENT, will pay for private referral to speed things up as this is stopping me getting on with my life!:)

The reaction you had to amoxicillin is exactly what happened to me when I was given that last year for an earache-HORRENDOUS skin irritation "down there", don't wanna go there again! Ha ha!

Thanks for the advice, especially the backing-up on the fact that you don't have to have spinning vertigo, that's exactly my take on it, the hard part is convincing the GPs but I'm up for the challenge!

You might find it interesting to take a look at this website www.labyrinthitis.org.uk, written by two sufferers (I find it interesting that they mention that some people may experience the spinning episode whilst asleep and never know about it).

I hope it's not affecting you too much now and that you make a complete recovery, as I intend doing. Hope you're back on two wheels soon!

I don't think I'll be using this forum anymore cos I'm not feeling anxious and you've played a part in that so, THANKYOU! :flowers:

And a big thank you to everybody who's shared their "ear stories" with me, such a miserable and frustrating condition, hope everyone recovers fully, I'll make the effort to report back when I'm feeling myself once again!

Take care everybody! Wooooooooooooo! :winks:

x

[Zee]

I get this as well. I had Labrynthitis many years ago and remember the "feeling of being pulled sidewards". This time it began with an early morning couple of minutes of vertigo and the following couple of days the occassional dizzy feeling. It settled down after roughly 3 weeks.. Today I realised that my sinus's were playing up again and then I got that echoey feeling in the ears followed by that horrible jolt kind of woozy feeling for a few seconds.

[Redrainbow]

Hello,
I had all that for a couple of years,,,you might find thats depression or anxiety,,or both. It's not very nice is it? Don't worry it will all get sorted,,,
Regards redrainbow