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Morav

Vestibular Neuritis

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I've had Meniere's for over 30 years. Same symptoms along with hearing deterioration. Luckily it has remained on only one side. (Whew!)

After a bout I am hungover for a period of time. It feels like I have been totally wrung out of energy. It helps to start eating again and get back as active as possible. Rest helps too. (Valium)

Good luck!
jon

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Does skydiving affect you at all??

I've been off work for over a month now, and decided to take a break from skydiving until I am 100% again. I'm an airline pilot by day, and my medical certificate was pulled making this an extremely stressful situation.

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Crazy thing is it never impacted my jumping. When it was at it's worst I was jumping my most.

If you're looking for the best of the very best doctor he is Derald Brackman at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles. He'll back you up with a letter to the Feds when you feel ready. He knows what you are going through.

Bummer is that I got an ear infection some years ago that damaged the Eustachian tube so the same ear with Meniere's doesn't equalize. It's excruciating in freefall and severely limits the number of jumps I can do comfortably.

jon

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Learn what makes it come on.
Is it something you are allergic to? Are you tired? Stressed? I can now tell what of these is causing an onset and quite often can avoid a full blown attack by modifying my diet, rest, work. Sometimes I can get to sleep (valium) before an attack and sleep thru it (whew).

I found out at a Z-Hills boogie that I was allergic to cheap shit vodka. Only the good stuff now.

jon

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I suspect the condition you are suffering from is a form of a balance problem aerobatic pilots suffer from. If you are still suffering from the swelling, you need to see a doctor. We call the balance problem, "the leans". If you are still suffering from the balance issue there is a procedure that we use to help us cure it. Essentially it is nothing more than laying flat on the bed and turning our head every few minutes in different directions. The problem is a result of the tiny calcium deposits in the semi-circular canals brushing against the hairs in the canals. This causes sensory inputs from the ear to be sent to the brain indicating the body is moving in a particular direction when in fact it is not. If this is what you are suffering from, send me a note and I can get the procedure from one of the other guys on my acro exploder page. I know it sounds stupid but it works. The best way to determine if this is the possible problem is to see if you have Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus. (I can explain that as well if you are interested). Just let me know.
Life's the Pitts then you jump one.

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I have read about what you have mentioned in your post. I don't think it is what I am experiencing. My symptoms began at the same time I had an outer ear infection. I went through an acute phase where the symptoms were pretty wild, including things such as light sensitivity, blurred vision, and I was even slurring my speech at one point while I was flying.

I am still out of balance, and I guess retraining my brain using damaged nerves in my ear, so any sort of exercise shouldn't hurt... I guess.

If you could send the info that would be greatly appreciated.


I know this seems like a "downer" post, but it really feels like I'm fighting this problem le solo. Everyone thinks because I look OK, that I'm probably just fine. That's one of the most frustrating things about this problem, is the lack of support.



I urge anyone with bad summer allergies, someone who drinks excessively and has a poor sleeping habits to get those in check! (I wasn't an alcoholic, most my friends could out drink me, but it had an exponential effect!)

I really regret not getting allergy shots this summer, as I think the problem stemmed from all the congestion I was experiencing. I was running my body hard, work+ social life+ play and with a poor immune system, a viral infection just spread to my inner ear. Simple as that.


Your body's your temple be kind to it. I'm learning a rough lesson in my mid 20s.

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Quote

I suspect ...The problem is a result of the tiny calcium deposits in the semi-circular canals brushing against the hairs in the canals.



This causes positional vertigo. When you change your position or attitude (pitch/roll/yaw) you get "dizzy". I get this too once in a while but it is very different and easy to tell what is causing it. The vertigo is very intense but short lived. Go through the routine positioning of the head and sleep sitting up for a couple nights in hopes that the calcium will dissolve. Sometimes you have to re-perform the maneuver.

The routine is to sit on the bed. Lie back, roll to the side then roll up to vertical. This in hopes of moving or dislodging the debris and getting it out of whichever (pitch/roll/yaw) canal and into the vestibular gallery.

ANY time you are dizzy or experiencing vertigo, no matter the cause, you will have nystagmus. It's your brain fighting with the seat of your pants and your ears. Your eyes are trying to catch up causing the perception of spinning. Helps to be able to concentrate on something if it's not too severe but sometimes you just can't stand it and puke. Best to sleep before you can't even close your eyes for the spinning.

jon

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Hey Jon,


Prior to this problem, yes I was under a lot of stress after starting a new job, and breaking a 3.5 year relationship. To top it off, I did 3 years of Medevac flying in the North doing shift work. I had horrible sleeping habits, and I'm still trying to fix that problem. It's very seldom I can sleep a solid 7 or 8 hours with out haven been awake at some point.
Anyways I think after moving back to the big city, the break up, the training, and then a summer of skydiving:D, my body just snapped.

LOL


This is the way it feels to me anyway.

I'm well aware this problem breads anxiety and depression. So far so good on that front.


Thanks for the reply's, it's nice to get some things of my chest.

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There's a tecnique called the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test that will tell you alot about what is going on. Yes, this test is the same one cops use to tell if you are drunk. Essentially the test is a check of your eyes ability to track a stimulus. What happens is that your eyes muscles are semi controlled by the semi circular canals. The ears send false signals to the brain and the brain thinks the body is moving and sends incorrect signals to the eyes to keep up with the believed movement. What happens is a disparity between what the brain "thinks" is happening and what the eyes are really seeing causing an involuntary movement of the eyes or "twitching". Try this site: http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/enforce/nystagmus/hgntxt.html

If you are able to have someone give you the test... and find you are suffering from some sort of nystagmus... you probably still have some sort of issue going on within the inner ear that needs further investigation. The technique mentioned in the earlier post is almost correct. I'm still searching for the exact tecnique. I'll let you know if I find it.

BTW... my background... Pitts biplane driver (couchfreaks, skyfest, summerfest, etc), aerobatic competitor, skydiver driver and yeah.. I'm the po po... LOL. So I have a bit of actual experience with all of this. I did some casual testing of my aerobatic students that endured spin training. I would give them the HGN test after training and ALL suffered from some sort of nystagmus issues. If you are somewhere near IL drop me a line and I can give yah the HGN test in person or if you have a cop friend, ask them to do it for yah.

My bet is... you are still suffering from some sort of inner ear issue however your brain/eyes have learned to deal with it much like a habitual drunk deals with it. The body has just corrected itself for the false signals coming from the ears.
Life's the Pitts then you jump one.

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Hey

Thanks for the offer and the info. I had a buddy of mine who is a brain surgeon do some sort of quick test on me, and he did mention I had some sort of Nystamus.

I have a balance test at a Vestibular Lab in less than a week. Hopefully they can sort out whats wrong, and possibly give me some exercises that could fix this problem.

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If you want to REALLY learn about nystagmus you just have to try an E.N.G. (Electronystagmography) It'll deck you. They attach sensors around your eyes that track the movement of the eyes. Then they squirt warm water into one ear and you relax in a nice arm chair watching a blank wall while they collect data. They do it to the other ear and you still get to relax. Then they squirt cool water in the first ear... cool in the second.

A little backing-up here... They'll tell you not to eat anything for at least 12 hours prior. The test is also used to diagnose or verify vertigo in neck injury patients (or fakers) Some people thing they can fake out the test by eating a big breakfast before. Baaad move!

Back to the test... Hope there's nobody waiting to get into the room because you are not going to want to move for a while. You WILL be dizzy. Luckily it'll subside fairly quickly but you will remain miserably hung-over for at least an hour. Nobody told me not to ride my motorcycle to the test. I sat in the lobby for awhile. At least I didn't eat first.

jon

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FOUND IT... Amazing how things come around when you need them. My acro buddies were discussing this again and the "Eply Manuever" was the positioning technique I was telling you about. Here's the website for it....

http://www.acroflyer.com/wobblies.htm

Also.. I called it the "leans" but some apparently call it the "wobblies. If it is the semi circular canals... this should clear it. Give it a try.
Life's the Pitts then you jump one.

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This is NOT a panacea. It is for a very specific malady caused by a small calcium deposit loose within the semicircular canals. This causes very transient dizziness, it is not chronic nor long lasting. It IS a pain in the ass though and the maneuver can give the desired relief to those effected.

jon

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Hey John...

You are right.. this is not a cure all for ALL conditions associated with vertigo but is a "quick" cure for a common problem associated with skydiving and aerobatics, thus my comment, "if it's the semi circular canals, this should clear it".

I am familiar with the test you were talking about (Electronystagmography). I had this test done about 8 years ago when I first started flying acro and thought I had a horrible balance problem that was acute AND chronic (lasted for several months). The electronnystamography is an excellent test for further investigation of balance problems and it DOES work (can you say projectile vomiting?). My comments regarding the Eply technique and the nystagmus test were to assist Morav in determining that 1) he had a problem and 2) to provide a quick possible cure as an alternative to taking various medications.

I did not intend to assert that I am a medical professional or that I had the "cure all" to all things vertigo.
Life's the Pitts then you jump one.

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I have some serious inner ear issues that jump up and bite me in the A$$ every 3 or 4 years.
As a little kid, I swam in lakes alot, and had a lot of inner ear infections. That created eustation tube problems. Then I had 2 concussions, both on the left side of my head. Add to that a little (very little) allergy to corn smut, and I go WAY over the top on vertigo.
Sometimes I have to lay on the floor with both eyes closed and just hang on til the spinning stops. Through trial and error, I have found that decongestants and antibiotics are the only thing that get me up and going again. When the spinning starts, I have very little hearing in my left ear. It sounds like I am listening to people talking to me while my head is in a bucket.
This was the third year, and as always, I had it the last week of July, and the 3rd week of September. It's just about over, and if I am lucky, it will be at least 3 years before it happens again!
skydiveTaylorville.org
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