What could be wrong with me?

[GA girl]

About 6 weeks ago I had what I thought was a nasty stomach virus. I was really dizzy and threw up a lot! It passed after about 24 hours but I was still dizzy off and on. About a week later it came back, so I went to the Dr. He said it was just a stomach bug.
That was about 6 weeks ago, the dizziness comes and goes, sometimes it is so bad I throw up. About 2 weeks ago I started getting a ringing in my left ear and I can not hear as good out of it. Everything is muffelled.
I went back to the doctor last week, he put me on an antibiotic and ran some blood work. He is referring me to an ENT.
The ringing is constant and is starting to drive me crazy! Yesterday it got just a bit louder.
Any ideas of what could be wrong?

[NotaGeek]

Had an ex-room mate that had the same thing. He had an inner ear infection that actually caused nerve deafness in his ear and still has the ringing/deafness about 6 years later -- get to the doctor quick!

[Disney4us2]

The ringing in the ears could be Tinitus and the dizziness Vertigo. Sometimes the vertigo can be severe enough to cause nausea/vomiting.

See the ENT so he/she can treat you. Good luck and hope you feel better soon

P.S. I am not an M.D. but worked for an ENT for many years.

[Strmchsr]

I had very similar symptoms last summer and it was a severe inner ear infection, so, hopefully, the ENT can help you out.

[BrerGnat]

Did you have stomach pain 6 weeks ago during the initial vomiting spell? If not, you probably did not have a stomach bug.

Look up "tinnitus" on google. There are a number of causes for ringing in the ears. The dizziness could be due to a fluid imbalance in the inner ear, so it's good that you will be seeing an ENT.

If you have no other neurological symptoms, the dizziness is likely due to an ear problem.

Hopefully, someone will be able to help you out soon.

I had a lot of dizziness and nausea a couple months back. It turns out it was due to a hormonal shift (normal for women at different times of life). I went through a whole battery of tests because it was really bad! My body is very sensitive to Estrogen and it ended up being that. I honestly thought I was pregnant, even though I knew it was impossible (DH is "fixed").

But, I never had ear issues, so your symptoms seem to point to an ear problem.

[magicofdisney]

I didn't have your exact symptoms but I did have something similar.

A few months back I woke up one morning and was so lightheaded I couldn't walk straight. This in turn made me very nauseated. This was a Sunday morning and by Tuesday morning I called the Dr. He first checked for "rocks" in the ears. We have small crystals in our inner ear area that can "fall" out of place and cause these symptoms. Once he determined mine were ok he diagnosed me with a viral, inner ear infection and put me on prescription strength antihistamine.

Fast forward a few weeks and I've finished the RX and am feeling a little better. I'm still lightheaded but not nearly as severe. (This is the - DUH, what were you thinking? - part) It was at that time I remembered I had previously rubbed some steroid cream behind my ear to deal with a rash I'd developed. This cream was given to me for a rash on my arm and I just figured I could use it for the rash behind my ear. I THINK what happened was the steroid in the cream caused swelling in the ear, therefor changing my equilibrium. This may or may not be the case. Perhaps I really did have that viral infection like the Dr. said.

My husband just got over a bug with symptoms of lightheadedness highlighted with vomiting. He was so dehydrated that the symptoms continued for several days. Eventually he went to the ER and was given IV fluids. He was also told his potassium was low so eat up on bananas and drink OJ.

It seems there are many things that can cause these symptoms and since you're seeing an ENT, you're headed in the right direction.

[Jeri Lynn]

Please go and see an ENT. Six years ago I was watching tv perfectly fine, the next minute the house was spinning so fast I could not see, it was like being on one of those nasty carnival rides...I could not stop vomiting. Thankfully one of my daughters was home and called my sister in law who called an ambulance (DH was away). I was diagnosed with Vestibular Neuronitis, the spinning lasted through the night and my loss of balance lasted about 6 months. I ended up losing 70% of the high range hearing in my left ear and my ear has been ringing ever since. This past November I noticed what I thought was an "echo" in my ear...after trips to my primary care and 2 ENT's, they feel this is more damage showing up from the viral infection in my ear 6 years ago...I now have more hearing loss.

An ENT will be able to direct you and hopefully diagnose you. I eventually went and had vestibular therapy and THANKFULLY have never experienced that severe dizziness again, although there are days my head just feels "off".

I really hope you feel better soon, I can completely relate to what you are going through.

[GA girl]

I received by blood test results back today.
It seems I have a deficiency in Vitamin D. I have no Iron and my Hemoglobin is low.
So they want me to take Chromagen to bring up my iron levels, some other prescription for the low Vitamin D, get B-12 shots for the next few months and take Lipo Flavanoid for the ringing in my ears and a throw in a couple of Flintstone vitamins a day.
Then he wants me to come back and get my blood checked again in a few months.
I just had a well physical in November and everything checked out alright, except I had high cholesterol. So I am not sure how I went downhill so quickly. Hopefully this will help out.

[Nini]

Thyroid problems can cause ringing in the ears (and low vitamin D and iron go along with hypothyroidism as well). Have you had your thyroid levels checked?


Denise

[garymacd]

When I first started reading your symptoms, the first thing I thought of was Lyme disease. After reading your entire post, now I'm not sure.

Keep pushing for answers.

[GA girl]

They have not checked my thyroid. I was watching Dr. G. last night while reading this and the 39 year old woman that was on there died from hyperthyroidism. I think I will ask them about it when I go back in next week.
The dizziness has gotten some better but has not completely gone away. The ringing is still there and it is making me nuts!
I still think that it is/was an ear infection.

[GA girl]

I am thinking I should probably go some where tropical and sit by the ocean while drinking vitamin D enriched milkshakes.
I wonder if I could get a doctor's excuse to get me out of work?

[murphy1]

No, you need higher amts of vitamin D now if you are deficient. I have had two thyroid surgeries to remove the thing (I have an autoimmune thyroid disease and had a few cancer cells and then they took the rest of it out in 2008). They just put me on 50,000 IU of Vitamin D, my NP found that a lot of patients with autoimmune diseases were Vit. D deficient. Not only that, but many people in general are. My level was only 9 and it should be at least 50-80. I am on a Vit D pill once a week (I have a prescription for it, not just over counter).I have been on it for 7 weeks now and my skin is a ton better along with a few other symptoms. Thryoid stuff is terrible, you have to help yourself along the way, it's been a long road for me, but I am better. Have your dr. do a TSH test, T3 and T4 and also Vitamin D test, it's just a simple blood drawing, but will give you some answers. Also, I only talk to and am advised by an endocrinologist for my thryoid. Most general practice docs have no idea about thryoid stuff, I talk to them and am shocked by their lack of knowledge on the subject of thyroid conditions. Dr. House knows more than most of them about it for gosh sakes!

[Magic Smiles]

A co-worker of mine gets very similiar symptoms to yours a few times a year. He has seen a specialist and the symptoms are pretty much related to his allergies.

[Nini]

murphy1, you got that right about regular docs not knowing about thyroid stuff! From now on I'm sticking with my endo. I had to ask my GP to test me for vitamin D and ferritin only to find out both were extremely low. The GP had no idea that there was a connection .

GA girl, does your heart feel like it's racing? Are you losing weight, feeling weak and/or having difficulty sleeping? These are some of the more common symptoms of HYPERthyroidism.
Generally with HYPOthyroidism you feel tired and run down all of the time. (Hard to tell, I know, with everyone having such busy lives.)

If you do get your thyroid tested be sure to ask for a copy of the results - often times your numbers may be "in the normal range", but you can still be hypo or hyper.

I've had ringing in the ears for 11 years. You do get used to it, but I'd much rather be without it.
Here's hoping yours is caused by just an infection, and will go away soon!

( ^milkshakes^)
Denise

[murphy1]

Excellent point, getting copies of your labs. I am hypo (since I don't have a thyroid). They keep me high normal. I also agree that you are suffering from some kind of infection or allergies with your other stuff.

[WhenUWishUponAStar*]

sounds like it could be Meniere's Disease:

The symptoms of Meniere's disease include dizziness, a feeling of fullness in the ear and tinnitus (a roaring/ringing sound in the ear). The dizziness is described as a spinning or whirling feeling. It may cause problems with balance and make you feel unstable while walking. Because of the spinning feeling, some people feel nauseated and vomit during an attack. You may also notice some hearing loss, especially with sounds that have a low tone.

[Morpheous]

Well, from the dizziness and such it could be as the previous poster suggested Meniere's Disease which is more or less an autoimmune I think. No treatment or cure. You just get episodes, then again it can be many other things. Tinnitus + Dizziness usually points to an inner ear issue.

I know how it is though, about 3 years ago the day before Christmas eve out of nowhere I got the loudest hissing in my ear that just never went away. Drove me crazy for a long time couldn't help but focus on it. Couldn't focus on work, or any of my hobby's even made it so I couldn't sleep. Never thought I'd be able to live like that, the turning point for me was my 2007 trip to Disney World. Came home and it was hardly anything to notice.

I still get episodes now and then where it bothers me but for the most part its not a factor in my life at this point. Unfortunately ENT's are notoriously bad at helping with Tinnitus. Unless the cause is something pretty apparent in blood work, or the symptoms all add up into something.

Hopefully you're feeling better at this point though and it wasn't anything serious (Many causes to Tinnitus are benign).

Oh I should mention that tinnitus can be caused by a lot of things. I have a lot of eardrum damage from chronic ear infections as a child so my issues are from a loss of hearing likely at certain frequencies.

Tinnitus can be hard to live with but try not to get stressed out over it, that can make it worse the brain eventually (in most cases) will habituate to the sound basically filter it out.

[momofdisneyprincess]

I actually have Meniere's and from the sounds of your symptoms was going to suggest that. I have had it for 25+ years and as a PP stated, there is no known cause or cure and it is not easy to diagnose. They put you on a no salt diet to help decrease the symptoms. You would be shocked how many things salt is in. Just take a look at labels. My dizziness has been so severe at points that I actually pass out. Can be very scary. Keep pushing for answers if the extra vitamins are not working.

[GA girl]

I have been taking all of the medicine's for a few weeks now. The dizziness is much better.
I have an appointment on Tuesday with an ENT. They are going to do a hearing test. I have lost a lot of hearing in my left ear and what I can hear sounds like Munchkins.
I am thinking it is Meniere's also. I have gotten used to the constant ringing, so it does not bother me as much as it did to start with.
Hopefully it will get better.
Thanks for the replys!