Cochlear Hydrops — Need Relief

My dad was diagnosed with Cochlear Hydrops after over a year of getting the run around. He's 71 years old, had quadruple bypass surgery in March.

He has tried allergy medicine, saline rinses, betahistine, low sodium diet, and is now on week 2 of diuretics - nothing helps. He has the fullness in both ears, hears at different pitches between the ears, and has a "swooshing" or "whirring" sound all the time. Bass from cars or concerts becomes painful for him.

I've searched high and low for treatments, solutions....anything really. He's open to try anything. I'm curious about chiropractic care since I see one weekly for back and neck issues.

Has anyone had luck with that? Even temporary relief would be welcome.

Other ideas to try besides what's listed above?

 

Betahistine can be taken with Proclorperazine or Cinnarazine or buccastem and diuretics and low salt diet.
If it's the tinnitus that's problematic ask his doctor about Nortryptaline.
I have Menieres and take Betahistine and Cinnarazine and nortryptaline for tinnitus and help me sleep..lots of love glynis

 

Thanks for your reply Glynis!
My dad doesn't have any vertigo or nausea. It's just the hearing issues that are bothering him. Hearing loss - part of which is due to age and being around loud machinery. But this sudden loss as well as the tinnitus are really reducing his quality of life.
I'll have him ask about nortryptaline. I believe I took that a few years ago for anxiety but it knocked me out for a few days so I wasn't able to take it. He still works (more than he should) 12+ hours per day so he can't take anything that would make him too sleepy.

 

Should be fine on a low dose.
Has he had a recent hearing test ?...lots of love glynis

 

Yes - he gets hearing tests for work annually so when this started, he had a good baseline to compare it to. He has been seen by an otolaryngologist for the past 4 months - they have done hearing tests, ECoG, as well as others. They're the ones that have had him try everything I listed. They're at the point where they don't know what to try next so my dad is feeling a little hopeless in the matter.

We used to go to concerts twice a year together - our special time for just the two of us - and now we aren't able to go. I just want to give him a better quality of life. He deserves it so much.

 

Has he been checked for eustation tube dysfunction?
Sudafed can help shift mucous in his tubes and may help fullness.
Pinching your nose and blowing to make ears pop can help release pressure in your ears also....
Hope he gets some answers ....lots of love glynis

 

I'm not sure about eustation tube dysfunction but I'll ask him. They've run several tests but he's not sure what they all are. I believe the ENT he saw had him on sudafed or another prescription decongestant when this all first started with no relief but I'll confirm that too. He's somewhat limited in what he can take due to his heart.
I know he's tried pinching his nose and blowing but the pressure is so bad he feels like it will rupture the eardrums so he stops. I'm going to see my chiropractor in a few hours and I plan to ask him if he thinks he might be able to help.

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

 

How did they specifically confirm cochlear hydrops?

 

They did a series of tests but the one that was most important was the ECoG test.

Cochlear Hydrops (as I understand it) is the same as Meniere's disease but without vertigo. My dad does not have vertigo. Just the fullness in the ears, pitch issues, hearing loss and a sound of "whooshing" and "whirring" all the time.

 

One of our forum members got shots on to his head/neck duration was 7 days. i met him here in NYC wherr he was receivong threatment and reported that it got that resolved for him. you should look in to that, it costs $20000 thougg

 

I saw the posts about that but hadn't seen a follow up. Since my dad is older, he's not necessarily interested in that. I think it's very interesting and depending on what causes they hydrops to begin with, it could very well be a cure.

I was just talking to my dad about seeing a chiropractor and mentioned several articles I've read. It occurred to me that he had rotator cuff surgery a month or two before his cochlear hydrops symptoms started. So....this could very well be due to damage to his neck or upper back. He's going to see my chiropractor or our DO soon. Fingers crossed!

 

Gosh. At 71 I'd be very careful of anyone cracking my neck. My sister had it done recently (67 years old) -
And the chiro fractured her c-1 vertebrae.
I have severe neck issues and wouldn't let a chiro touch me. I have gotten Facet injections in c-spine and trigger point injections with cortisone but not for the T , for miserable pain.
And for the record, I work for a spine medical device company that makes devices like screws, cages, rods etc for spine surgery and unless I couldn't walk, I would also avoid surgery on my neck even though one of our highly esteemed surgeons told me he could go in and operate.
Just my humble opinion. I hope he finds something.

 

@SleeplessSoul Thanks for that info. My chiropractor said that if he thinks there's ANY risk, he won't adjust him. He's very cautious. But my dad still works and is in great health otherwise. Our doctor is a DO (Doctor of osteopathy) and he does adjustments as well. He's been our doctor for 30+ years so there's NO way he'd do it if he didn't feel comfortable either. I'm excited that it could provide him some relief. He knows he'll need hearing aids for his hearing loss but the pitch problems, tinnitus & issues with vibration have to go.

 

I have had cochlear hydrops for years and there are posts on this from me. The regime I am on now, and I am quite rigorous with this as I have lost most of the hearing in one ear and accelerated loss in the other. I am on a very strict very low salt diet, this means not only no salt added to meals but also no salted nuts or chips, no cheese, bacon, ham, sauces or dressing, anything with salted stocks.... etc. I am an avid labels reader using the % Sodium in 100 grams, taking into account how much might be consumed in a meal and day. Dining out is problematic as chefs do not comprehend low salt includes cheese bacon etc. i imagine I would have no more than 300 mg of salt a day and this coming from my cereal or bread. BTW you need sodium so I am not advocating eliminating sodium in any way but prefer to get it mostly in organic form. Rather than taking medication I have chosen to take the hard road of changing my diet, but I was prescribed a 'morning after' medication of Moduretic (diuretic also used as a blood pressure medication I think so your father could take this daily i image under doctors advice of course) a combination of 5mg Amloride Hydrochoride: 50mg hydrochlorothiazide which I am to take for 3days or until the hearing returns. If not back to normal then I go into a 5day course of 3*20mg Prednisone. Both the diuretic and prednisone reduces the sodium in your body and as it is the loss of Potassium that is also critical I increase the Potassium levels And eat salads with spinach tomato capsicum and eat at least 1 salmon meal a week. Bananas are also good but very high sugar. Be also aware that is a lot of sodium in anti acids so this has been replaced by Omeprazole

 

@glynis
Is low frequency drone (engine) noise typical of hydrops?

 

It can be any

.lots of love glynis

 

I am the member who tried the experimental procedure for Menieres to try to fix my Cochlear Hydrops, a very depressing experience which did NOT help my cochlear hydrops.

Hi lolkas, yeah it didn't work man. I'm still stuggling just like I was before. Hope you doing well brother.

 

Hello it's been a long time since ive been posting on here. Your dad's experience is identical to mine! I've searched for a long time but not seen someone describe it as precisely as you have, and you dont even have the condition, thank you for caring!

The real issue as your Dad and you know is the Pitch difference in between the ears, I hear whats sounds like a multitude of birds swooshing around my ear? I cry regularly when I hear the swooshing. I can't stand driving next to cars the sound it triggers makes me want to crash the car and scream. Oh also my breathing trigger the noise, yes my breath, which I can't stop, triggers the noise. Sometimes I realize im purposely not breathing to stop the noise!!! talk about a hellish situation. Otherwise I am completely fine no vertigo or severe hearing loss, I do have a hearing aid masker, it doesn't work. For a while I thought ear plugs would help me stop hearing my voice but with them in I still hear the jingling birds swooshing around my ear. Ive been in FOUR mental hospitals since I got sick.. Finally saw an OTOLOGIST and got the ECOG which confirmend cochlear hydrops pressure in both ears, worse in my right which is of coarse where the birds swoosh worst. I think about suicide all the time.. Prays for you guys. Would love to stay in touch if one of us figures out the cause. For the longest time i've not noticed salt doing a darn thing to my tinnnitus sounds, I did the diuretic, drank more water, drank less water, but nothing has changed, the sound is consistently swooshing. But I'm going to try again maybe its very subtle and if I am able to just let go and avoid salts caffeine alchohol and get plenty of sleep maybe I will get better?? Everyone says avoid salt, and that did nothing for me, or so i thought, maybe I didn't fully commit to NO SALT? good luck I will update you.

 

Hi Ian, I really feel for you what a hell time!! Well I have been hydrops bout free now for About 6 months. I did try a low salt, I mean very low salt diet and watched what I ate and when going out asking for low salt options, BUT that is all good until you get tripped up by something as simple as homemade cheesecake and there's salt in the base biscuits. Plus side is I lost 10 kg as items that are low salt are often very high in sugar.
So for the past 6 months I have been on a specific diuretic daily called in New Zealand MODURETIC which is a combination of two sorts of diuretic, Amloride 5mg and Hydrochlorothiazide 50mg. The dosage even allows for possible second in the evening.
Now I am not an ENT or anything but my specialist had me research the Sodium Potassium Pump mechanism used by the body to regulate and provide a electrical potential difference that enabled nerves to carry sound. Also to research Aldosterone hormone that regulates the sodium posassium pump and my levels of this hormone are not good and the diuretic does the work of this hormone. As the salt is not regulated, the sodium becomes so high that it floods over the Potassium killing the mechanism to carry sound and virtually kills the batteries used by the hearing nerves
I still don't eat specific hi salt items such the normal salty items preserved in salt, but a definite nono is cheese, any cheese all cheese, bacon and ham, salted chips, salted crackers and salted nuts. Some cheeses can be tolerated, but as you eat so much at time the amount of salt is high per meal.
The tinnitus I live with, but hey mine is nowhere near yours. BUT when I had a hydrops bout the tinnitus was dreadful, it was bad enough I couldn't hear but what I did hear was masked by the noise in my head.
I have in the past tried both diuretics and steriods to bring my hearing back as quickly as possible to stop the hearing damage, but finally went for the daily dose and watching my food and it's been great now for ages.
Hope this is helpful, and my heart goes out to you, wishing you all the best

 

@Ian Mac ohh man, sorry to hear that. No sh*t that sucks. I though it felt much better when they did shots ? F*ck dude, sad to hear :/