Hearing problems
 

Has anyone here had any issues with their hearing since getting RSD? About 1 yr after being dx with RSD, I started having hearing problems. I've been tested for Mineres' and just recently I was also given a CT scan to check for an Acoustic Neuroma. Every test that they done has come back negative. My hearing loss is not normal according to my Drs. They definitely say that something is wrong but stumped as to what is the cause of it. I'm just wondering if it's possible that the RSD is the culprit here? :confused:

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cjay :hug:

P.S. Also just had my eyes tested and the Optomotrist says that my Optic nerve is very irregular in shape. He's very concerned about it, so he's going to run some specialized tests. All the normal tests he did don't show any signs of Glaucoma. Wondering if RSD could also be playing apart in this?

Hi there.

Since developing RSD I have had optic nerve problems, as well (called psuedo papilledema -looking like an elavated and inflammed optic nerve-), which were not there before!

Recently I have started losing hearing totally in my one ear, and it is apparently complications from RSD (in addition to migraines, ringing in the ears and tingling-- all neurological).


RSD is neurological, and my drs. assume all of this is from the RSD (since it is neurological in nature).

Do you lose all of your hearing at times or just some?


I think it all is indeed from the RSD. Somehow... who knows?!

I have had brain MRIs and every thing comes up normal. :confused:

Hearing problems
 

I've got hearing loss in both ears but the left one is the worst. I'm basically deaf in my left one. My loss is all of the time. My right ear seems to be better at times but still have a hard time in certain situations.

I kind of been thinking on the same lines that this all has to be connected somehow :confused: I'm at my wits end with all that is going to He** with me...don't know how much more I can deal with.

Thanks for your reply :hug:

Cjay

Meineres
 

I have hearing problems, but when they tested me it came back as meineres.

Almost completely deaf in left ear, and serious ringing in the right. The left used to give me atacks at first that would roar a couple days followed by some very serious spinning.

After a few years of that, the left ear is now just feeling clogged up with a very high pitched ring 24/7. They havent said it is RSD related but wouldnt surprise me either.

I kinda like the deaf ear at night :)
Put the good ear in the pillow, and sleep in total quiet cept for the ringing lol.

Although talking on the phone is becomong increasingly difficult as the ringing in both ears over rides peoples voices. Even watching TV has become difficult, all the sounds just blend together in one big jumble of noise.

Sorry about all that is goin wrong with you, this RSD is a monster! :(

This is SO strange... my left ear is the ear that acts up too! :eek: :eek: :confused: :confused:

Thanks
 

for starting this thread. I had a major flare up and lost hearing in both ears for a short period of time. Just stood looking at my business partners lips moving without hearing a sound. When my hearing came back it was not what it had been, and it still comes and goes. I noticed I had to have the tv at full volume at times. I have not had it checked as that is just one more expense, and I do not want to have to see in black and white one more thing RSD has taken away:( . Only sorry that others have to have this problem, but at least I know now my mind isn't playing games with me.:hug: Carose

ENT appt
 

Good Morning

I have an appt with my ENT Dr. today. He called and said that he was going to be talking with some other ENT Drs., the Radiologists that all read my CT scans, and I believe a Neurologist, to see if they can come up with some ideas as to what might be the culprit of all of this. Will let you all know what he has to say.

A week ago today they did my Myelogram and CT scan. I've had a terrible headache, my ears feel worse than ever...pain, ringing, fullness, and I've been lightheaded ( they had to do 2 Lumbar punctures and dye because he didn't hit the right spot the 1st time and 2 1/2 hrs after they released me I had to go back for some more scans...didn't get good pictures the 1st time). I think being hung upside down so that they dye flowed into my ears sure didn't help matters. :confused: :eek:

Thanks for all of your help.

:hug: cjay

i have noticed ringing in my ears lately - more than usual. AND every time i try to read a book my eyes can't ever stay still! it's like they go back and forth and cross and i can't focus on the page. i first noticed this when i was laying down so i just thought i was sleepy. then i sat up, i moved, i went to another room... could it be the meds? i mean, am i just too tired to read and focus? i can have the tv on and watch a movie without my eyes crossing and i am typing now without them crossing. what is it with reading books? maybe i'm just paranoid. :rolleyes:

ENT appt.
 

Well, I'm back from The ENT Drs appt. He doesn't have any idea what could be causing these problems. He wants to run a gamut of tests, to rule out all possiblities of a number of diseases that he feels could be the culprit. He said that if these tests don't show anything than he's almost positive that it's all brought on by my RSD.

He was very concerned about the headache that hasn't subsided since having the Myelogram done. So he made a few phone calls, to see what needed to be done. Well, I ended up having to go back to the hospital where the Myelogram was done. They had to do another Lumbar Puncture and then what they called a Blood Patch. The Blood Patch is done with the hopes that it will stop the spinal fluid from leaking. This procedure was not a pleasant experience...had a really uncaring radiologist, a terrible lab tech ( she put in the IV, so they could get the blood to patch into the puncure). The Radiologist said she hopes that she got it into the right spot ( she told me she was taking a stab at it...sure has convinced me that she'll never touch me again). If this doesn't work will have to have another one done.

After I get test results back, will let you know what the Dr has to say. I just hope that I finally can get some answers. Thanks for all of your input and experiences. I at least know that I'm not all alone.

:hug: cjay

are you on Neurontin by any chance?

Just out of left field, I had to stop Neurontin due to hearing issues.

I hope you get better regardless..!

Yes, I do take Neurontin. I've been on it since 1999. Did your hearing loss come on quickly, while you were taking Neurontin? All of the Drs that I've been dealing with and the tests that have been done, show that my hearing loss is due to nerve damage.

Thank you for your imput and your well wishes. I appreciate any ideas and thoughts that you all can give.

:hug: cjay

Hearing
 

I finally went to an ENT for a problem ear. Found out part of my ear pain is due to having NO ear wax.. probably a side effect of taking to many drying medications. LOL. I thought I would end up with tubes in my ears - but the doc fixed me up without going to that. I have had a painful ear that feels like it has fluid in it off and on for 20 years. (allergies etc)

Anyway.... they did a standard hearing test when I got there. I have RSD in my left shoulder, up my neck, and along my jaw. I didn't think it affected my hearing, or the ear on that side. That is not the side I was having ear problems with.. that is the right ear.

OH MAN!!! :yikes: did that hearing test hurt! :eek: It must have been the vibration, or just where the earphones were hitting my skin. Don't know. :Hum: I was almost hysterical by the time it was done, wanting to tear the earphones off my head. I told them do NOT go by anything in the last half of that test... it would not be accurate! AGONY!

He wanted MRI of my ear and sinus area. I refused. MRI's are just to painful for me since RSD due to the vibrations. So, then he said CAT scan was ok... which was painless. MRI vibration is just awful now. I hope I never have to have another one.

Good luck with your tests. Hopefully your results will be as good as mine. A few different meds, but finally one worked, no more ear problems after ALL these years. Whew!

Jules

Jules, Thanks for sharing your experience. I also take meds that are very drying to me but they haven't affected my ears. My ear canals are very moist...one of the many things that my Drs looked into, when I started having these problems. :rolleyes:

My ENT has done a pressure test on my ears every 2 weeks, to see if there is any change in them....not an ounce of change. He also at one point punctured my eardrum and cleaned out all of the fluid that was built up. He let it heal back up and did another pressure test...no change but the eardrum went back to the same way it was prior to him puncturing it ( it's concaved rather than straight up and down). :confused: :Dunno:

All of my Drs are convinced that if things continue as they are now, that I'll be completely deaf within a year. That's why they're running every type of tests that they can think of, to try and get a dx, so they can hopefully treat and at least stop the progression of the loss.

Thanks again everyone for sharing your experiences and taking the time to respond to my post. :circlelove: :hug:

:Thanx: cjay

Hearing changes are part of RSD
 

Hi there - I found 1 study showing that RSD affects hearing - I'm sure there are more studies out there, but this is the most recent one I could find.

Hyperacusis in patients with complex regional pain syndrome related dystonia, de Klaver,M.J.M.; van Rijn,M.A.; Marinus,J.; Soede,W.; de Laat,J.A.P.M.; van Hilten,J.J. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/abst....2006.111609v1 Published Online First: 30 April 2007. To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: j.j.van_hilten.neurology@lumc.nl.

This study describes how people with CRPS are acutely sensitive by loud noise. (frogga wears earmuffs so she's certainly an expert on hearing hyper-sensitivity!)

If RSD can affect hearing in one extreme, I wonder if it could affect it inthe other direction as well (hearing loss)? For example, RSD can make skin extremely sensitive, but after RSD has progressed past into a more severe phase it can make your skin so it doesn't feel anything... like something burning. I wonder if it can do that to the part of the brain that is supposed to register sound? :confused:
Maybe Somebody Brave could email the researcher and ask?!

I had bad tinnitus for the first 6 years. It was a strange and very annoying form. Rather than a ringing it sounded like a loud squeeky wheel and it went on much of the time.

I still get it a little but now it's a very loud, even painful, ringing in my left ear but very brief.

noise, ringing and loss
 

About a year after my neck injury I noticed if I lay on my left side watching tv in bed everyone complained about the blasting tv. I would lift my head and it was loud. I have diminished hearing in the right ear.

I also have 24/7 loud back ground noise, sounds like the white noise of low tv, or wind over an ocean, very low but consistant.
I have cervical nerve compression and Cerabal spinal fluid leak.

At times I can hear the noise of the fluid kid of whoosh as it moves loose.
Dianne

Hi
 

I a PNer and a old retired nurse. Usually when you have ringing in ears
it very well be a commom med. your taking. But i take so many pills
Neurotin 3600 mg. i think is the 1 causing my ringing. I remem ber my mom
use to complain about the same med. I plan on asking at the drughstore,
after all they seem to have more time to listen,than some of the Drs.
Asprin was the one that use to cause this problem and still does.
Well sorry for buting in and hope you all the best
:) :) Sue

mollymcn,

Thank you for the article and e-mail addy. I'm going to see if my ENT Dr will e-mail this person. I'm thinking that if a Dr e-mails with questions and the facts for the problem, hopefully he'll get a response back. Will let you know what happens.

:Thank you: cjay