Caught in the Labyrinth

Today I return to work after a little over a week off because of sudden-onset vertigo. I had this in April, when we went to Florida, but it went away on its own. At that time, I figured it had something to do with the pressure changes of driving through the mountains in the southeastern states.

Having had lifelong issues with my sinuses — as a child I once burst an eardrum from an ear infection, and I always got motion sickness — I know firsthand how the ears are connected directly to the sinuses. Flying has often caused severe ear pain and blockage. But till this year I hadn't experienced dizziness from that.

Early this month it crept up on me at work. I just felt kind of nauseated, but didn't know why. I woke up on Friday with the symptoms I'd experienced in Florida — moving my eyes caused a feeling of the room moving around me.

I didn't understand this till I saw an ear, nose and throat specialist yesterday. The problem was my brain, you see.

Well, it starts
in the ears.
The semicircular
canals in
the inner ear are
the organs that
help us keep
balance. Kind of like
the bubble in a
carpenter's level.

I went to the doctor, who diagnosed accute labyrinthitis. She gave me antivert, an  antihistamines, which reduces swelling in the inner ear and thus dizziness. And I got prednisone, a steroid. I accidentally ignored the instructions and took all five of the first day's prednisone, and went to bed. When I woke up I felt better — the dizziness was gone. But I stayed home, rested and drank water for the next two days.

Yet, on Monday when I got up and got on my computer in the morning, the dizziness returned in a big way. I went back to the doctor as instructed, and despite our best efforts, I threw up all over myself driving home.

I alerted my friends, colleagues and news sources that I was unable to spend the day on the computer because of this condition.

I couldn't get in to see the ENT till the following Monday. When I did, he told me he'd seen 200 cases of labyrinthitis this year and he said it was likely caused by a virus. A member of his staff said it could last as long as six months to a year.

They also explained to me that when the ears and the eyes are sending different signals to the brain regarding your body's orientation in space, the brain struggles to interpret the input and can't quite rectify it. This is what causes the nausea and "floaty" eyes, rapid involuntary eye movement called nystagmus.

So I got an antiviral drug, which I'm taking for the next 30 days, and thank goodness I feel balanced again.

The interesting thing about all of this is the number of people who told me they have the same problem. Who knew so many were struggling with this?

Here's some info from the National Library of Medicine:

Labyrinthitis is an ear disorder that involves irritation and swelling of the inner ear. During labyrinthitis, the parts of the inner ear become irritated and inflamed. This interferes with their function, which includes the ability to keep your balance. Its symptoms are associated also with Meniere's disease, which causes deafness as well as ringing in the ears (tinnitus).
Labyrinthitis commonly occurs after an ear infection (otitis media) or an upper respiratory infection. It may also occur after an allergy, cholesteatoma, or taking certain drugs. During labyrinthitis, the parts of the inner ear become irritated and inflamed. This interferes with their function, which includes the ability to keep your balance.

The following raise your risk for labyrinthitis:

• Drinking large amounts of alcohol
• Fatigue
• History of allergies 
• Recent viral illness, respiratory infection, or ear infection
• Smoking
• Stress
• Use of certain prescription or nonprescription drugs (especially aspirin)

Symptoms:

• Abnormal sensation of movement (vertigo)
• Difficulty focusing the eyes because of involuntary eye movements
• Dizziness
• Hearing loss in one ear
• Loss of balance, such as falling toward one side
• Nausea and vomiting 
• Ringing or other noises in the ears (tinnitus)