damaja:
i lost most of my hearing to antibiotics used to treat meningitis when i was an infant, but a few years ago (i’m 32 now), i woke up with pressure and fullness in my ears. it felt like ear wax or maybe like my ears wouldn’t pop after a change in altitude. this went on for a few days before i saw a serious of ENTs that had no idea what was going on. hearing tests revealed that i had lost some hearing, but it was not as dramatic a drop as i thought it would be; nevertheless, i couldn’t hear as well and the fullness/pressure sensation was annoying. i was just about to give up when a friend’s father happened to mention my situation to a colleague who specialized in my disorder. he said it was endolymphatic hydrops and needed to start steroids immediately. he referred me to dr. derald brackmann at the house ear clinic in LA and i flew down to see him days later. he started me on prednisone, a steroid, for 60mg for 30 days. he also put me on HCTZ + potassium pills to lower the sodium content in the inner ear (the theoretical cause of the pressure and fullness). a few months later, the pressure disappeared and i got my hearing back, but i didn’t get all of what i had back. nevertheless, i adjusted.
the doctor kept me on the HCTZ and potassium pills indefinitely. i’d been doing fine this way for a few years, but earlier this week the fullness and pressure came back for seemingly no reason. i was put on steroids and they seem to be helping again.
this problem is similar to meniere’s disease, but commonly misdiagnosed if you don’t have vertigo (a common giveaway for meniere’s). most ENTs know what endolymphatic hydrops is…but i’d recommend seeing someone who is comfortable treating it.
Unfortunately Meniere’s disease is really more of a syndrome. It is very difficult for anyone who has it and unfortunately has no real “cure.” Hopefully in the near future there will be a cure. Perhaps just as bad is that the symptoms are very spontaneous and don’t occur in cycles. It would be wise to see both an audiologist and an ENT for advice on how to cope with this. Best of luck to you Damaja.
Dunshaw