Can hearing loss and fullness sensation be INTERMITTENT?

[flyingunderhills]

Hello folks, I am new.
I apologize if this has already been answered, i searched but cannot seem to find it.

I have symptoms that come and go.  The main problem is hearing loss, and fullness sensation in my right ear.  Also some mild dizziness. 

Understand that I am deaf in my left ear from a childhood illness, so it is unusually simple for me to notice a loss in hearing. 

I have had these syptoms about 5-6 times in the last 2 years. 
They last from 1 to 4 weeks.
The most severe bouts seem to be accompanied by neck stiffness and headaches.
They may be related to stressful times/events.

I live in Indonesia, so it is difficult to get medical care, but I went to Jakarta and got an MRI after talking to a neurologist there.  He convinced me that I don't need contrast, that it can make you sick, and it is only needed if they notice something on the first MRI (without contrast).

Any help?

Thanks, Brian   

     

[TJ]

Brian

For them to dertimine if you have an AN the MRI must be done with contrast.  Although I am not a doctor I have never heard of anyone getting sick from the contrast.  In my case my AN did cause intermittent hearing lose and fullness in the ear.  It would last a bit then would go away for awhile.

Hope this helps

TJ

[moe]

Hi Brian,
Agree with TJ. Did you already have the MRI without contrast?
Try and persuade the doc. Maybe print up some testimonials from this forum? 
Good luck, let us know how things progress.
You can also request the info from this web site; Even though you do not know that you have an AN, some of the pamphlets may indicate the importance of contrast with MRI to diagnose it.
Nice meeting you,
Maureen

[flyingunderhills]

Maureen,
Yes as I mentioned in my post, I already got one without contrast.  They said they found nothing abnormal.  Thanks, Brian

[ppearl214]

Hi Brian

Since the scans are not showing any mass (ie: tumor), have the docs given you another potential reason for the symptoms you are experiencing?

Phyl

[CHD63]

Hi Brian and welcome to this forum .....

Although I hope you do not have an AN, it is universally accepted that the only definitive diagnosis for an acoustic neuroma is with an MRI with contrast.  If it is a large AN, sometimes the shadow can be seen on an MRI without contrast, but small ones would be missed.

As Phyl said, "Are they giving you other possibilities for the symptoms you have?"

Like TJ, in the initial stages before I was diagnosed, my hearing loss/fullness sensation and vertigo were intermittent ..... then became constant.  It was at that point I sought a diagnosis and it was discovered with an MRI with contrast that I had a 2.0+ cm AN.

Let us know how you are doing.  Clarice

[ennayram]

Hello Brian,

I was wondering if you have any other medical conditions, which are causing your doc to choose not to do an MRI with contrast. No doctor should do an MRI with contrast if a patient has any history of kidney or liver disease. The reason for this is due to the kidneys not being able to clear the body of the Gadolinium (the chemical used to create the contrast). If the body doesn't clear the chemical quickly, it ends up going to the eyes, joints, skin, etc. and, yes, renal or liver failure and possibly death can and do occur.

There are loads of lawsuits out there. So, your doc is being very cautious. Also, while the MRI with contrast makes it very easy to see the tumor and help the surgeon know what he is dealing with, any experienced surgeon will tell you that they can see the tumor without the contrast, because they know exactly where to look for the tumor.

So, before jumping into another MRI, perhaps see if another Neurologist can see something on your MRI results. If not (and I hope not) try looking into other possibilities. Your symptoms can also be related to the deafness in your other ear. It will throw you off balance, even after many years. Please check out info. on Houseearclinic.com.

Good luck to you!

MaryAnne

[Tumbleweed]

Welcome, Brian:

Hearing loss and fullness sensation can indeed be intermittent.

You need an MRI with contrast to ensure an AN will show up in the images, especially if it's small. The contrast agent (gadolinium) is not harmful unless you have impaired kidney function to begin with. Drink a lot of water after the MRI to flush out the gadolinium. I've had 5 MRIs with gadolinium and have never had any problem with it.

Is your hearing loss in the high frequencies? Or is it in the bass frequencies? Progressive hearing loss confined only to bass frequencies may indicate Meniere's Disease. Loss in the high range pretty much rules out Meniere's but doesn't necessarily mean you have an AN, either. Some sensori-neural hearing loss can not be explained, even by the experts.

Best wishes,
TW

[leapyrtwins]

Some sensori-neural hearing loss can not be explained, even by the experts.

Absolutely true.  I know lots of SSD people who never had an AN - or anything else that can be attributed to causing their hearing loss.

Sometimes things are just unexplained.  Medicine is not an exact science.

Jan

[flyingunderhills]

Thanks folks for the help.  Let me clear up a couple things. 

The deafness in my left ear happened 35 years ago when I was a small child.  It came as the result of a string of illness including an ear infection, chicken pox, and pneumonia, with a very high fever, all in a period of 2-3 weeks.  The worst part, which probably caused the nerve deafness was a severe allergic reaction to erythromycin, given to treat the infections.  At some point during or right after that illness I had complete deafness in that ear.  So, what I am experiencing now, to the best of my understanding is in no way related. 

The present hearing loss/difficulty/discomfort is as I described:

I have had these symptoms about 5-6 times in the last 2 years. 
They last from 1 to 4 weeks.
The most severe bouts seem to be accompanied by neck stiffness and headaches.
They may be related to stressful times/events.

I addition, to loss, I would have to say that the more annoying aspect is that it is generally just muffled.  It feels exactly like it does when you have your ears plugged when descending in an aircraft.  I am quite sure it is not a Eustachian tube issue, as I am easily able to equalize the pressure in my ear with the valsalva maneuver.

Additionally, when I am exposed to low frequency sounds, it feels like it is resounding through my head.  I am hyper sensitive to low noises, such as thunder a long way off, or music playing, machinery, and etc., it is almost like distortion in a blown speaker.

It is not progressive.  It will (hopefully) be completely fine in a few days, and then show up again unannounced in a few months.  this is the present cycle. 

About the MRI and neurologist.  I was in Jakarta about three months ago, so I decided to get an MRI.  I went to the hospital here and asked to see a neurologist. After explaining my symptoms, he agreed we should check it out.  I didn't want to disagree with him about the contrast, because I was just glad I was talking to someone who knew what AN was.  So I waited 4 hours and got the MRI (no contrast) and the radiologist said they found nothing.  By that time, the DR had left for the day, so I never talked with him again.  I don't know what to do now.  I am concerned because now the symptoms came back again and they are impossible to ignore.

Thanks, I am very eager to hear from all of you about the intermittent question, and whether you recommend I do the MRI again with contrast.

Here in Indonesia you kind of have to find your own way, so I value this forum greatly.

Brian   

[ennayram]

Brian,

Have you seen other doctors, such as an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, in the past for this condition? Have you tried any medicines that alleviate some of the symptoms? Some ear and sinus conditions can also cause your symptoms. While you await another MRI, you might want to also see an ENT. I just feel that there are many different potential causes for your situation and you should try to pursue a number of different areas of medicine.

I am so sorry that you are experiencing so much difficulty in even finding out what is causing your situation.

Regards, MaryAnne

[flyingunderhills]

Hello all.

Thanks for your help.  I finally went to see a very good ENT for my condition.  He had very high tech equipment, and said I have been having ear infections and not to bother to look anymore into neurology for an answer.  Unfortunately there is quite a language barrier so we couldn't have a very in-depth conversation, but I think there is more to it than this.  I was reading some stuff on-line about stress and it's link to my symptoms, and it is pretty clear that many people believe that emotional stress can cause hearing loss, sound sensitivity and other symptoms relating to the hearing and balance systems.  This is good enough for me to know for now. I am going to try and come up with some methods for managing this, and hopefully I will see an improvement.  (A little difficult, no doubt, managing stress while living in a foreign country, but I am going to try.)

Thanks and I welcome any thoughts, questions, comments or snide remarks. 

Brian   

[ennayram]

Brian,

I am pleased that you did find an ENT who gave you an explanation. From my first read of your symptoms, it did not sound like an Acoustic Neuroma so that is why I was hoping you would get a better answer by going to an ENT. I am surprised that the doctors didn't start you off with an ENT doc before going for the MRI. The MRI and the possibility of an AN alone would stress someone out. While stress can cause some hearing and balance issues, your condition sounds more like an inner ear infection, which often can come and go. The infection may feel like water in your ear and that will cause hearing loss and strange hearing sensations, etc.  Anyway, I do hope everything gets taken care of and you get the right meds. to clear the condition up.

Regards, MaryAnne