A Little Scared — Anyone Feel Off Balance?

dr. google is not my friend, so i figured i would ask here:

does anyone have chronic tinnitus in just one ear as well as hearing loss in that same ear, but ALSO, from time to time, feels off balance?

not vertigo full on or anything - more like a walking on a boat sort of feeling. it isn't all the time, but sometimes it is there. sometimes light headed feeling.

 

i do feel off balance and light headed from time to time!

 

glad i am not alone - but sorry you go through it.

 

Terri
I have tinnitus in one ear (the one that has suffered substantial hearing loss); but I don't suffer vertigo. Nonetheless, my audiologist is always on the look out for signs that my balance maybe suffering. Hearing loss can cause vertigo (kind of weird); essentially, when one hear is straining (because of loss) it can result in a fluid imbalance between the ears (or fluid deprivation in one ear), which, in turn, can cause balance issues. Anyways, that's how my audiologist explained it to me (but I'm no doc, that's for sure).
Good move joining this site; a lot of experienced T-sufferers and a lot of good info

Mark

 

thank you - i am just trying to get as much input as i can. <3

 

karen, i have had T for two years now, so the off balanced thing has been going on off and on for approximately four months now, if not less.

 

There's something called Mal de debarquement syndrome that sounds similar to what you describe. It's where people go on a boat trip, and after coming back to land they still feel a rocking sensation like they're on the boat, and it never goes away. There is thought to be a connection with that and tinnitus/migraine too, since people with it often have tinnitus and suffer from migraines. Also, I think it sometimes happens without going on a boat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mal_de_debarquement

 

You need to go to a doctor. Being off balance can be due to a vestibular disorder. You have three inputs for balance. 1. sight. 2. stretch receptors (muscles in your leg tell you you're upright) and 3. vestibular. Being dizzy is different from vertigo. Often if you lie down in a dark room the only input you have left is your vestibular organ so thats when you feel off balance. I dont want to alarm you, but untilateral tinnitus and vertigo could be due to something a little more sinister. Get an MRI. (Dont freak out, i also have the same symptoms you do but im fine) but still, get an MRI done so you can rule out everything else.