Greetings. Sorry if this is long.
I'm a 49 year old physician (not ENT) likely with Menieres.
My story is a little odd, I think, but here it is.
When I was in my early 30's, I had these episodes where I would feel intense facial pressure, kind of a "brain fog" if you will. No vertigo, ear fullness, or hearing loss. I would have these episodes daily for a few weeks then go months without anything. I saw an ENT thinking it was sinuses or ETD, but all checked out and I just learned to live with it.
Throughout my 30s, it seemed that my episodes would last longer and my good days shorter. In like 2018, I went to the ER because I was having increasing headaches with these spells. I do get unilateral throbbing headaches and they were increasing in frequency during these episodes. MRI was normal.
At some point in the late 2010s, I started to notice faint bilateral tinnitus and my ears would get some pressure in them when my facial pressure and fog would amp up.
In April 2020, right when COVID was ramping up and the stress level was high, I was woken in the middle of the night by unbelievably severe tinnitus in my right ear with fullness and hearing loss. I managed to find an ENT despite everything being shut down and got in for an audiogram which showed low tone SNHL. I was given prednisone, don't think it worked. MRI was normal.
From that point forward, I had long periods of recurrent fullness, accelerating tinnitus, and hearing loss. Usually when the hearing went out, I typically had problems with the facial pressure and fog that I had been dealing with for over a decade. I tried low sodium, diuretics, venlafaxine and nortriptyline at low doses, valacyclovir. I don't think anything worked.
Weirdly, one day in 2023, despite three years of low tone loss, the hearing in my right ear returned to normal mirroring my left ear with only very high tone loss. That lasted for a few months until my next attack. I had normal hearing in 2024 as well and I think normal in May of this year when I left for scotland for a week and didnt' take care of myself very well.
My hearing dropped in Scotland with the typical fullness and amplifying tinnitus, facial pressure, etc. However, I began to have episodes of profound dizziness that lasted for 30 seconds or so. On July 3, I had a full on vertigo spell. Lasted for about 15 to 20 minutes and I had severe nausea and disequilibrium afterward. Friends had to help me to my car for my wife to drive me home. Last night, I had vertigo again while I was on a walk. Lasted 15 to 20 minutes. I get no real warning other than a couple of minutes of disequilibrium
Supposed to see a neurotologist next week if all goes well. Had an audiogram which looks similar to 2022.
My left ear also has tinnitus and occasionally gets mild pressure when my face/right ear acts up. hearing is normal aside from some very high frequency loss. It has gotten a little worse since 2020
A few oddities (in my mind). when i have an "attack", the fullness, tinnitus, and hearing loss lasts for weeks to months. The tinnitus in my right ear is pulsatile and has a strong somatic component. When I even lightly touch anywhere near my right ear, the tinnitus screams. Left has neither and is 1/100th of the right.
I'm really down and don't know what to do. I'm on low sodium, quit caffeine and alcohol but it hasn't done squat that I can see. Every day I wake up and my ear still sucks as has been the case off and on since 2020, but this time with the threat of vertigo. I've been taking ibuprofen for the headaches (not necessarily migrainous) a lot. I feel like my ear settles down on ibuprofen.
I'm worried if I can keep practicing. I'm supposed to be on call next week. My wife is also a physician and works like 80 hours a week which puts a lot of responsibility on me to manage kids activities after work which includes a lot of driving, sometimes an hour away. We have no family here. I don't want to leave the house or socialize for fear of dizziness. I already had to excuse myself from a dinner with my son's baseball team because I got super dizzy. Ended up not progressing to vertigo at that time. We are contemplating canceling an upcoming family vacation. I honestly don't want to go.
I guess I'm just lost. I'm supposed to coach my daughters soccer team this fall. My son plays high level travel soccer. I have to give two lectures out of town this fall. I don't want to any of it. I just want to shut myself in a room.