Ménière’s and Improvement After 2 Years

On April of 2016 i suddenly lost hearing in my left ear, accompanied by extremely loud tinnitus and hyperacusis. I developed severe anxiety, unable to sleep for weeks!

Lost 15 pounds and became quite depressed. I was a 61 year old physician, after loosing my wife to cancer 6 years prior I was starting to enjoy my life. Tinnitus was torturing me! I also had severe hearing loss and could not tolerate certain noises, could not empty the dishwasher slight banging of dishes would cause unbearable pain! The crying of my grand children was intolerable, everything sounded like a broken speaker. I had intratympanic steroids, oral steroids, hypnosis, acupuncture, tinnitus retraining therapy, meditation!all kind of medications!

On my darkest moments I planned my suicide, luckily my son took all my weapons out of the house, I became a recluse. I stopped working for months, I could not concentrate on patients.

Then after 4 or 6 months vertigo started!

Suddenly I found myself spinning uncontrollably vomiting sweating for 3 to 4 hrs unable to stand or even crawl, then I was unsteady and weak for weeks. I had multiple episodes, I felt my life was over.
I reached out to world class otoneurologist I was told I had Ménière’s disease, although I was suspicious I was hoping for better news. I was offered intratympanic gentamicin injections or a labarynchtectomy to destroy my inner ear. Then slowly my hearing got better, tinnitus decreased, hypercusis vanished!

Then after several weeks of improvement symptoms reoccurred, and this patter continued for months. Finally for the last 3 months it appears that I have been stable, I can hear with my hearing aid, tinnitus is bearable and hyperacusis is gone! No more vertigo! I feel almost Noel’s except for the tinnitus but it’s tolerable and I have habituated.

I can honestly say as a physician that there is no real treatment for tinnitus but our body is able to heal with time!

Our brain will adjust ! Hang in there and you too will get better!

 

@Dominic1955 ,
I totally understand what you went through as had Menieres 14+ years.
Are you taking any medication like Betahistine or Proclorperazine or Cinnarazine 15mg ?
Did you have the gent injections ? as they destroy your inner ear and balance can loose your hearing that leaves your eyes to take over for balance .
Meniere's has no cure but can be managed but it is a progressive disease until you reach burnout.
At burnout you are left with hearingloss and sever tinnitus and balance issues mainly in the dark.
Meniere's attacks can come on fast and a few attacks together but can go weeks ,months, years apart and should not drive until 12 months with no vertigo on medication.
love glynis x

 

@glynis I stopped all medications, they were no help!
Love Dom

 

@Dominic1955 ,
Did you have the gent injections?
love glynis x

 

No

 

Thank you so much for sharing your success story! All my best wishes to you.

 

Thank you for sharing. I am glad you "weathered the storm"!