My Brother's Tinnitus Has Skyrocketed...

Hey guys,

I am worried, for once it's not for me, but for my younger (+-25 year old) brother.
He has a very wide set of problems and diseases, for instance he doesn't produce white bloodcells and needs to get injection every so many weeks to deal with the lack of white bloodcells. He has a a variety of other issues as bad eyesight, bad hearing and also balance issues. Overall he deals extremely well with these pains.

He also has crohn disease, and also the very rare disease which is responsible for the lack of white-bloodcells.

He had a form of tinnitus since he was young, and it never bothered him, and his hearing aid helped him.

That was until very recently. His tinnitus turned into a very high tone and much louder, he can't sleep decent, so I helped him with a soundpillow and some advise. But even during the day he tells me it's harder to concentrate because of it, so it must be way louder..

Now, he didn't attend any loud events, he didn't take antibiotics, his hearing didn't decline as far as I know.
The only thing he told me was that he had an headache, and the tinnitus followed after, together with vertigo.

His life didn't change that much, except that he got a job since a month, which he loves doing (not too loud either), he reguraly doesn't drink enough water during the day, but other than that..

His gp gave him Medrol, and it's a bit better now after a few days, but I am really worried and he can't see an ENT before April, which I will not accept, and will try to get him to one sooner..

Can someone perhaps explain the link between headache and sudden tinnitus and extra balance issue increases? There must be a connection.

 

Hey Jurgen,

Im sorry to hear about the many health problem your brother faces. Unfortunately the link between vertigo, headache and tinnitus can have many origins. For ex. Jaw tension, infection, etc. Maybe some other members have better answers for this.

What made me answer is that i see you are also from belgium. And judging from your name you are probably from the flanders region?
Can i ask which hospital your brother will go? I would highly recommend going to uz gent or uz Antwerpen. I've also heard good things from az maria middelares.
I first went to az groeninge which was a total flop. They just did a standard audiogram and said, "no hearing loss, we cant help".

Maybe you can get a refferal from your gp for an emergency test? When i called the hospital this week they said i had to wait untill july. So i asked for a referral from my gp and they gave me an 'emergency' appointment in march. Its still a long wait but a major difference from july...

 

Hey Lebber, thanks for you comment.
He lives in Zemst (near Mechelen), I personally went to UZ Gent and AZ Sint Lucas in Gent. I live there so.
He has an appointment in Leuven, but I asked my mother to check for something sooner, I will advise Antwerpen, thanks!

Yeah, I am guessing it has little to do with his neck or jaw, but with this thing everything is possible.
Hopefully someone heard of a connection with a headache and instant T increase. The GP probably didn't.

 

Good luck with getting an appointment. I hope they will schedule it soon. Idk about leuven, it will probably be good too. But ive heard very good things from Antwerpen so its worth the try.

Yeah it can be a neck, jaw thing. My headaches and t come partially from neck problems. But indeed its so complex, it can be something else. My gp also referred me to gent because she believes they have better answers. And with the complex medical history of your brother a specialist is needed.

Hope the doctors can find what is going on

 

You are a great big brother Jurgen. These are a few things you may want to look into and have in hand when you get the doctor's appointment for him. I wish you the best and hope your brother's condition improves. He is really a strong man to cope with his different health issues and still want and like his job.

https://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/headaches-migraines-vision-vertigo-dizziness#1

A basilar-type migraine is the most likely to cause vertigo. It's also likely to cause ringing in the ears, hearing loss, and coordination difficulties.

Some people who have migraine-related vertigo don't get this symptom until several years after their headache episodes begin.


https://www.swedish.org/blog/2013/04/dizziness-from-loose-crystals-in-your-head

Dizziness can be caused by loose crystals called “otoconia” in your inner ear, which is known as BPPV. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, is the most common cause of vertigo, and is also the most common vestibular (inner ear) disorder. BPPV occurs when tiny calcium crystals are displaced from either one or both of the otolith organs of the inner ear and fall down into one of the semicircular canals, disrupting the flow of the fluid of that canal.

 

Vertigo is a worrisome symptom. That was the symptom my dad had before he was diagnosed with brain cancer. Your brother might want to get an MRI or a CT scan done...

 

Thanks for all the comments thus far.

I don't think it's such an illness, well I certainly hope, but the fact that he always had some form of vertigo reassures me.

 

Next to my brothers problem this is kind of an intresting find, didn't know those crystals could get lose and pop back in.

Appereantly he has improved over the last few days, I am trying to get him a sooner appointment though.

 

I am just getting used to the rating thing!

So big hug for taking care of your brother so well. It is good to know his symptoms are improving. Also good to get an appointment for him and take actual information and questions with you. Write down or record what the specialist may say. It is so easy to be overwhelmed and forget things.