My Meniere’s Diagnosis

Ear Nose and Throat Doctor (ENT)

So, by the time I was at my ENT appointment I was still having the pressure and roaring in my ear (always the right ear.) I was still off balance and dizzy. Especially after car rides. It was hard to watch motion. (Sitting in a lobby facing the street was almost torturous.) I went through several tests at the ENT including a hearing test and was Diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease. He said that the hearing loss matched the classic “loss curve” for Meniere’s and he prescribed my with Alprazolam (Xanax) and also wrote a prescription for a diuretic that I would use daily.

He also prescribed a reduction in salt intake. This seemed to run counter to my thinking that my allergies were the main cause. During this time I had started logging EVERYTHING. Weather, eating, drinking, salt in each food, portions, medicines, EVERYTHING I could think to write I put in my log. There seemed to be NO correlation between salt intake and my symptoms. I was still feeling pretty lousy.

Around New Years I started slipping back to less frequent allergy shots and in mid January I went to a weekly routine. During this time my symptoms started getting better. I started noticing that about 24 hours after my shot on Monday I’d start feeling pressure in my ear and if that continued by Thursday I might be a bit dizzy, but it cleared up a bit after (in time for my next shot.)

At the NEXT ENT appointment I described this correlation and he seemed to agree that we might have a finger on the pulse of the problem with my allergies. So, he prescribed Prednasone in case I needed it for a BAD allergic reaction.