Help! In the ER... Right Side of Face and Ear Numb. I Feel Like I Have an Amplifier.

Hey @Rina: First, what makes you think the Neurotin would make the tinnitus worse? If you are looking at a list of ototoxic drugs, remember a lot of meds on those lists include medications where less than half of 1 percent of people reporting having ear ringing after taking a medication. And there often is no definitive poof that ties that ringing to the drug. Not that ototoxicity is not real, because it is. But those long lists can be very off-putting and keep people from meds they need. Not sure if Neuotin falls into that category or not. Also, if you take Neurotin and it increases your tinnitus, just stop taking it. Should not cause a permanent increase in the short-term.

Also, I agree with @linearb, although I know little about Lyme disease. I do live in Florida, though, like you. And yes, we have ticks. Just not as pervasive as other parts of the country.

And yes, you can have a tick bite you and not know it. I lived in Oklahoma for awhile, where ticks are wicked in the summer. I ended up with one in my scalp. I didn't find it for days, buried in my hair, until it had grown so big and fat from feeding on my blood that I felt it when washing my hair. So your doctor is incorrect. You don't feel a tick bite you and you easily could have one without knowing it. I am glad you will insist on the test.

 

I have a relative who had a really tough time with Lyme; she never saw a tick or a rash, and because the tests are not anywhere near 100% accurate, it took her quite a while to get an accurate diagnosis.

Are you saying that the antiviral drug seems to help the ringing? That's interesting; there are viruses that can also cause all these neurological symptoms. My ringing and visual problems started within a few months of getting a cold sore, which is a herpes virus, which lives in a dormant state in the cranial nerves... I have often wondered if there's a connection.

I wish you the best luck in getting to the bottom of your problems and feeling better. It definitely sounds like you have more going on than garden variety tinnitus.

 

Rina ,did you ever take neurotin? And did it help you?

 

I just got infected with herpes and tgen 1 moth later the tinnitus started. So yes, did yours ever stop?

 

nope. got worse ~10 years later following noise trauma, so be careful!