Can you say Benign Positional Vertigo?

I don't know if any of you have had this condition, but there's nothing benign about it.  It's almost completely disabled me.  I can't drive, can hardly walk, and even typing on the keyboard is difficult with the keyboard and screen wobbling.  I can't work and I can't play golf.  It's horrible for someone who's used to being "on the go."

I noticed a slight ringing in my left ear Tuesday afternoon.  Didn't think much of it since these are uncommon and usually go away quickly without incident.  This time, the ringing got progressively worse.  By Tues night, I could hardly hear out of my left ear.  During the night, the room would spin as I turned from one side to the other.  The next day, I have almost complete hearing loss in my left ear and cannot walk around the house without stumbling into walls and furniture.  I proceed to vomit repeatedly because of motion sickness. By the next day, I'm deaf in my left ear with nothing but a loud, constant ringing. Of course I cannot drive.

Two doctors later, and it appears I have BPV.  Nobody knows what triggered it yet.  Maybe dislodged crystals in the semi circular canals of the inner ear (responsible for balance), maybe a blocked Eustachian tube that has caused fluid accumulation in the middle ear, maybe an inner ear infection, and maybe a combination of all three.

I'm trying to see a third doctor...a specialist.  The problem is that specialists have long waiting times.  The "system" is not really setup well for those with disabling, acute conditions.  My health and family are more important, but playing golf keeps me active, relieves stress, and contributes significantly to the quality of my life.  It's really frustrating when it's suddenly taken away.

Thanks for listening all.  I won't be on much since typing makes me queasy.  Hopefully I can get this taken care of soon and get back to work and on the course!

Yep,

I went through Vertigo (probably viral induced) last year.  Vertigo is a great movie but terrible condition.

Check out on line support groups.

I was in hospital for 2 days. Could not open my eyes. Nausea and panic was crippling. The world was spinning clockwise and out of control. My symptoms slowly regressed over 2 week period.

The worst experience during the recovery stage was trying to walk the aisles in a supermarket. Too many distractions to fully focus on walking a straight line. Driving a car was out of the question for those two weeks.

I used golf for re hab. The shifting of focus of eyesight/balance requirement of the golf swing is great therapy. Also walking while shifting ones head and eyes is recommended by the Physical Therapist. Perfect to meld into a golf game. The idea was to transition balance and spacial awareness away for the compromise cochlear organ to muscular and visual cues.

I am fully functional now and my golf game has returned. (During the recovery phase balance was an issue).

I tried to stay away from any meds if possible. They may you functional but will prolong the recovery rehab phase. The tinnitus took the longest to regress and still is present to a certain degree. During my acute crisis it was intrusive. Now a mild annoyance. I remain caffeine and alcohol sensitive . Moderation is the rule.

Topper....Again my sympathies!!!!  During an attack one is quite disabled yet to others you appear normal. To get a feeling of what's happening put ice water in your ear canals. The nystagmus (eyes flicking back and forth) will give a short duration of the pain/panic. Holding ones forehead on a bat and rotating in a circle will give one a very brief Vertigo event. My sympathies are extended to those with Miener's syndrome. They must live with Vertigo which comes and goes without rhyme or reason.

Keep diligent, PT will help!!!  David Duval and Jim Furck have come back.

Thanks.  I still have extensive sensation of pressure in my left ear and cannot hear anything.  The nonstop, loud ringing is really wearing on me.  So far, neither antibiotics or steroids have any affect.  Like you said, a viral infection is appearing more likely.  I'll be seeing a specialist sometime this week (I hope) if for no other reason than to rule out things like cysts, tumors, or other abnormalities that might be affecting my inner ear or Eustachian tube.

For me, the hardest is riding in a car.  All the head movements that I make to scan the area in front of the car combined with the movement of the car really trigger the "wobbling" sensation.  My wife has driven me more in the last week than in the total 15+ years we've been married!

I was a little depressed today as I had to cancel my invitation to a business-related golf tournament this Tuesday.

Any activity where visual clues are in motion are tough. During the acute phase I used a cane (golf club) for a stability clue. Again those people who refuse to give in to the symptoms and test their mobility are the most likely candidates for a acceptable recovery. If indeed your condition is viral induced there will be certain degree of residual damage. This is why it is imperative to get those muscular and visual compensations going. Diligence!!! Get off the meds as soon as practicable.

After 2 months I saw a ENT specialist. She also had fought BPV  which made her recommendations plausible and real. Anyway the deafness in the offending ear had completely disappeared. I have normal attrition, age based, tonal loss but well with the functional range.

I hope the result is the same for you.

BTW antibiotics generally are not indicated. Antivirals also do not have a positive outcome. Steroid treatment has controversy as to its effectiveness. Time is the best healer. You are wise to get work ups for tumors, blood flow issues etc.  BPV is a diagnosis of omission. There is a point in time to accept the Benign (non life threatening) nature of the syndrome. The key is to rule out the nasties.

You are not alone....The number of patients is about 5% of the people over 50 I believe.

Any questions feel free to PM me . I went through the worry stage. Was quite distressing as BPV can be the harbinger to some scary diagnoses. Also ,in many cases, has an ill defined etiology.

THE MENTION OF TYPING BEING UNSETTLING HAS BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES. Reading was the same. I will guess if someone looked at your eyes you have one or both express some nystagmus.

Try this exercise to get the optical portion of the brain to compensate. Fiercely focus at a singular point in the center of your vision. Now slowly rotate your head from side to side keeping locked into the visual target. Repeat as often as you can.  Do the same when walking. Be safe here but do challenge yourself.

Topper, may I ask how old you are? This is a post from my not as smart as it thinks it is phone.

Thanks for the feedback.  It's reassuring to know someone at Sandtrap has experience with this!.  My appointment for an ENT specialist was moved to tomorrow!  It helps when your primary care physician is a friend of the family and goes to the same church as the ENT specialist!

I'm working from home today.  I was going to drive to the office after rush hour but my wife asked that I wait until after my ENT appointment.  I was making calls to my staff who are spread down the East coast letting them know I'm still alive.  One of my staff who's been with me the longest indicated that her husband had the same condition 4 or 5 years ago.  He was in his early 40's at the time.  I'm in my late 40's.

I definitely understand what you're saying about getting going again.  I'm sick of sitting on my a$$ all day.  I'm having my wife take me to the driving range tonight if possible.  I even ordered myself a Tour Striker for practice as a BPV present to myself.  My wife had a heart attack when I told her that I also needed new sneakers to start running cross-country with my daughter this week.  I need to lose a few pounds anyway.  However, my "country" will be a lot smaller than hers!

Now if only the ringing would stop!

I have had a number of bouts of vertigo over the years, after effects of a severe head injury with some inner ear damage. For me it is closer to motion sickness than what you describe so probably my opinion is not worth much. I keep otc motion sickness meds around to tide me over till I get to the doctor for more effective treatment. It might be worth a call to your family Doc to ask if they might reduce your symptoms.

Thanks allin.  I have meclizine which really helped me last week when I was vomiting every time I tried to walk around the house. I haven't taken any since yesterday and seem OK today, but I haven't stressed myself all that much by reviewing emails, reports, time sheets, etc.   However, I'm keeping it handy....especially as I start venturing out to try to perform normal activities.

That is a little early for BPV but I will put in my .02. I had always experienced tinnitus as child and I have treated quite a few people with vertigo, not necessarily BPV. Often the upper most cervical vertebrae can contribute to vertigo and especially to tinnitus. Now your medical doctor friend and ENT guy will probably balk at this but seeing a chiropactor for this condition may give you some relief. It is a lot easier than having someone drill through your mastoid and very safe.

I would not rule out chiropractic help if there was a possibility one could help get rid of this pressure sensation and constant ringing.  Or at least decrease it.  I don't know if there is any actual fluid accumulation in my middle ear or just the sensation of pressure that could be caused by something else.  My first priority is to rule out something more sinister going on.  I'm going to return to my normal routine as much as I can and as soon as I can...including golf.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Sure thing. I deal with stuff like this all the time. People wait and suffer until the medical community finally gets to them. Chiropractic won't hurt the situation but it might (probably) make things considerably more comfortable for you but it is your ear ringing that you have to deal with. Sorry for the rant. Carry on.

BPV ended up being more of a symptom than a condition for me.  I was diagnosed with Ménière's Disease today.  I'm basically in a post-diagnosis "holding pattern" for the next several weeks to see how the condition recovers (if at all) on its own.  I'm sure you already know that there's no known cause or cure but my ENT advocates general wellness with minimal drugs.  It's unlikely (but possible) that I'll have functional hearing in my left ear but the bigger issue is balance.  I'm still a little wobbly.  Most of the time it's like walking on the deck of a boat that's gently rolling in the waves.

On the bright side, I have the green light to return to golf and other normal everyday activities.  It may be a little bit of a struggle until my balance is fully restored but I can spend more time on the range and chipping/putting green.  I just have to be smart about my limitations.  I guess golf is more than a hobby for me now.  It's more like part of my recovery or therapy.  I wonder if having Ménière's Disease can help me improve moving my weight forward onto my front foot?  If it helps, maybe I can right a book or make a DVD entitled, " Ménière's Disease to Better Golf."

Well I hope it works out for you. FWIW there are a ton of situations that can aggravate the inner ear associated with neck issues. I would love to have your case in my office but there is so much that also relies on patient cooperation which is out of my control. I don't know a doc to get you pointed in the right direction, and it could take 3 months to a year to make changes needed depending on the individual. The big problem as well as a benefit too, is that my career field has a vast amount of treatment styles and some individuals that are not good at treatments (just like like any career field) so to accomplish what needs to be done, might require testing out a few. It is somewhat frustrating when I hear about people not getting help when I have close to a 99% improvement rate among patients who follow recommendations. Some people do come see me at times with conditions similar to yours and I warn them up front that there may not be anything to help them. Well I hope it absolves with however you decide to treat it.

Thanks Valleygolfer.  I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and taking an occasional Tylenol for headaches from the constant ringing.  I'm going for a very short jog tonight with my daughter, and if I have time, go to the driving range.

Meniere's disease......I certainly would consider a second opinion.  There is no definitive test for Ménière's; it is only diagnosed when all other causes have been ruled out. Because of the permanency of the diagnosis and its insurance consequences this should not be a lightly considered diagnosis. Please do a Wiki on the subject. Note the section on History for certainty of diagnosis. Also the mayoclinic.com has extensive information on the diagnostic procedures. I went through emergency room MRI with contrast injections and physical exams. Postural challenges, hooked up to equipment measuring my reaction to balance challenges, eye movements etc. directed by a PT specializing in Vertigo. A 4 hour time block.

Then very extensive (2 hours) hearing exam. At the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics ENT Clinic (Vertigo department) the diagnosis of Meniere's syndrome is taken only after extensive testing.

Note your daughter is involved as this syndrome is genetically inherited.

With only one episode of severe vertigo my physician was comfortable with a diagnosis of viral etiology. The diagnosis of Meniere's was reserved if I should experience multiple episodes. Again the treatment for Meniere's would not change whether an early diagnosis was arrived at or not.

As far as the insurance consequences, I applied for a very favorable long term care insurance with my wife. She was accepted and I was denied. That denial meant that every health insurance policy I would later apply for would be colored by that denial. I challenged the denial, based on Meniere's, and WON.

please also refer to this site.

http://www.menieres-disease.ca/diagnosis.htm

Why do I care. I am a Medical Technologist. My wife, a RN neurosurgery specialist. My sister a Physician. My training tells me to tread carefully with this diagnosis.

Thanks for taking the time to explain alternatives and to send the PM!  I appreciate it.  I think you bring up good points and we don't want to rush into anything at the moment.  We (wife and I) are actually going to see another specialist but wait at least 4-6 weeks.  I went through the extensive audiometric testing with my first ENT this week that showed (not surprisingly) that I'm deaf in the affected ear.  It was actually interesting although I wish I was the one outside the "box". I'll check out your link.

I still have a constant, loud dial tone in my head and ongoing unsteadiness like I'm walking on the deck of a boat that's rocking in the waves.  I am learning to tolerate this condition to see if it will improve with time.  The constant dial tone is the worst symptom right now and something will eventually have to be done if it doesn't clear up on it's own.  It's pretty fatiguing to try to keep pushing it to the background while I'm having a conversation, reading reports, or attending meetings.  I am focusing on the things I can control like improving general wellness (better eating and more exercise).  It certainly can't hurt.

I actually went to the driving range yesterday and hit a small (50) bucket of balls and practice on the chipping green.  My driver is off....even for me but I think I can adapt.  My 5W and irons were fine relative to my usually consistency. I hit a dozen or so with my 6i and I think my accuracy and ball flight were actually better than usual.  Go figure.  I was definitely swinging down and through the ball.  No topping or thin shots.  Chipping and putting were fine.