RSKY
Elite Member
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2003
- Messages
- 2,757
- Tractor
- Kioti CK20S
A report for those of you who have humored me during my depressing series of posts and rants about my ear problems. I had a doctor's appointment in Memphis yesterday for a checkup. Let me recap what has happened to me. This might help somebody else having a similar problem.
August 10th I had an 'episode' at church that led two very experienced RNs to think I was having a heart attack. Fed me nitro pills and had me transported to a local hospital. Spent two days there having all sorts of tests ran. Had a couple more episodes over the next week so bad I couldn't even crawl to the bathroom to throw up. Heart problems were ruled out and I got an appointment at the Shea Ear Clinic in Memphis where I was being treated for hearing loss in my right ear. Dr Shea diagnosed a recurrence of Ménière's disease which I was treated for thirty years ago. He treated me with a "Profusion" in the right inner ear. Which means they put me to sleep and stuck a needle thru my eardrum and injected a drug to "permanently numb" the nerves from the balance portion of my ear to my brain. When we went back for a six week checkup I was very discouraged to the point of depression. Couldn't walk thru my house without bouncing off the walls and running into door facings. Did a lot of falling and staggering around due to constant dizziness and vertigo. My hearing in my right ear was declining and I couldn't wear my hearing aids because they seemed to trigger a round of vertigo. To my shock and surprise the doctor was ecstatic about my problems and by the time I finished describing what was happening with my wife filling in more details he had a big smile of his face. Said the problems I was having meant that the process was working!! Gee, thanks for telling me Doc!!
About three to four weeks ago I hit a low point. The dizziness was nearly constant. Even sitting still my balance was off. It was never bad, just constant. When trying to go right I would sometimes stagger to the left and did not trust myself to stand up and start walking without a few seconds to stabilize. Had to have a hand out to balance myself all the time. Had to have night lights because I had no balance in the dark. And I had lost nearly all the hearing in my right ear.
Slowly, over the past three weeks things started to improve. I am not staggering, not walking into walls, can walk in a straight line. And my hearing in my right ear has improved. The hearing tests yesterday showed my hearing better than my first appointment last year. From nearly deaf to improved hearing in three weeks! The good doctor was very pleased with the results and was smiling from ear to ear. And after three months of not driving I actually drove out of Memphis and part of the three hour trip home. I am at about 90% or higher being back to as normal as I usually am.
The only problem I was warned about is that I have to be conscious of weather fronts. A sudden drop in barometric pressure can trigger a resurgence of symptoms. This too will gradually fade away over time.
So, in conclusion to my overly long post, I am back to as close to normal as I have ever been. My poor Ford pickup hasn't been driven in close to two months and it is feeling neglected. I have places to go and people to see. And I wish joy and happiness to all who are reading this.
RSKY
P.S. If you or somebody you know is having ear or balance problems I highly recommend the Shea Clinic in Memphis Tennessee. Clinic was started in 1926 and the doctor I am seeing is the great grandson of the founder and it is one of the top clinics in the world for ear problems.
August 10th I had an 'episode' at church that led two very experienced RNs to think I was having a heart attack. Fed me nitro pills and had me transported to a local hospital. Spent two days there having all sorts of tests ran. Had a couple more episodes over the next week so bad I couldn't even crawl to the bathroom to throw up. Heart problems were ruled out and I got an appointment at the Shea Ear Clinic in Memphis where I was being treated for hearing loss in my right ear. Dr Shea diagnosed a recurrence of Ménière's disease which I was treated for thirty years ago. He treated me with a "Profusion" in the right inner ear. Which means they put me to sleep and stuck a needle thru my eardrum and injected a drug to "permanently numb" the nerves from the balance portion of my ear to my brain. When we went back for a six week checkup I was very discouraged to the point of depression. Couldn't walk thru my house without bouncing off the walls and running into door facings. Did a lot of falling and staggering around due to constant dizziness and vertigo. My hearing in my right ear was declining and I couldn't wear my hearing aids because they seemed to trigger a round of vertigo. To my shock and surprise the doctor was ecstatic about my problems and by the time I finished describing what was happening with my wife filling in more details he had a big smile of his face. Said the problems I was having meant that the process was working!! Gee, thanks for telling me Doc!!
About three to four weeks ago I hit a low point. The dizziness was nearly constant. Even sitting still my balance was off. It was never bad, just constant. When trying to go right I would sometimes stagger to the left and did not trust myself to stand up and start walking without a few seconds to stabilize. Had to have a hand out to balance myself all the time. Had to have night lights because I had no balance in the dark. And I had lost nearly all the hearing in my right ear.
Slowly, over the past three weeks things started to improve. I am not staggering, not walking into walls, can walk in a straight line. And my hearing in my right ear has improved. The hearing tests yesterday showed my hearing better than my first appointment last year. From nearly deaf to improved hearing in three weeks! The good doctor was very pleased with the results and was smiling from ear to ear. And after three months of not driving I actually drove out of Memphis and part of the three hour trip home. I am at about 90% or higher being back to as normal as I usually am.
The only problem I was warned about is that I have to be conscious of weather fronts. A sudden drop in barometric pressure can trigger a resurgence of symptoms. This too will gradually fade away over time.
So, in conclusion to my overly long post, I am back to as close to normal as I have ever been. My poor Ford pickup hasn't been driven in close to two months and it is feeling neglected. I have places to go and people to see. And I wish joy and happiness to all who are reading this.
RSKY
P.S. If you or somebody you know is having ear or balance problems I highly recommend the Shea Clinic in Memphis Tennessee. Clinic was started in 1926 and the doctor I am seeing is the great grandson of the founder and it is one of the top clinics in the world for ear problems.
