Hearing Loss?
 

I am doing some more research- running off on a tangent of my hypothesis. Wondering why all the cell loss seems to come near melanin cells.

Melanin cells form a layer in the cochlea. I cannot find any data on PD and hearing loss though.

I have pronounced hearing loss in my right ear, and my father started losing his rather early on one side too.

Just wondering-- can you hear me now?? :wink:

Hearing Loss?
 

I think it is hard to attribute this to PD, but actually something really weird happened to me once. I completely lost hearing in both ears for six weeks. I could not hear a thing. It came on gradually. I had been hearing clicking sounds, like there was fluid in my ears. One night I was watching TV and my husband came in the room and turned it off. He asked me why I didn't turn it down. Didn't I hear the neighbors pounding on walls? At the time I could barely hear the TV. The next morning I woke up totally deaf and terrified.

My husband took me to a hearing specialist and he confirmed my inability to hear. He said to wait it out and see what would happen. Six weeks later, one ear suddenly started clicking and I was able to hear again. The other ear took a few weeks. When I went in for a hearing test, they discovered I had lost 50% hearing in my right ear. The person who did the testing suggested that maybe I should consider a hearing aid. I was still in my middle thirties. Vanity made me say no.

Vicky

Interesting. A couple of years before my motor symptoms really started to become an issue, I started losing my hearing. I was diagnosed with something called osteosclorosis, which basically means the bones in your ears that vibrate to transmit sound (anvil, hammer, stirrup) have calcified and hardened. When they test my hearing through my ears, I've lost about 50%. But when they test my hearing from behind my ears on my orbital bones, then it's perfectly normal. They say it's hereditary, so maybe check your family history. There is no cure except for a highly risky surgery that has serious side effects like facial paralysis, permanent loss of hearing, and permanent vertigo. Yay! :mad:

I have noticed a number of people with PD who also have hearing issues. Coincidence? Who knows...

It reminds me of when I was talking to a nationally recognized MDS once about young-onset PD patients and migraines. He said there was no research to back that up but that now that I mentioned it, he realized that a great number of his patients had this issue.

My guess is, there's still so much we don't know about PD, the brain, and resulting issues like this (hearing loss, migraines, etc.) that we may never get the answers we seek. So frustrating...

And as a side note, I threw vanity out the window years ago. I wear hearing aids, they suck, but at least I can hear most things now.

This is very interesting. I have not had total hearing loss, however my ears ring, buzzy and sometimes I lose hearing in one or the other ear. But only for a few minutes.

Now migraines is a different issue. I have struggled with migraines for sometime now as well as daily headaches that just kind of sit in the back of my head. I have been able to get them under control with the help of a migraine specialist. He put me on an old blood pressure medicine and a supplement called Migra-Eaze. It has B-2 and Butterburr root in it. It has worked wonders for me. I have seizures due to my migraines, but when the migraines are under control, so are my seizures.

I haven't been dx with PD, but suspect that I have it. You can look at my other post to get the jist of what is happening to me.

If any of you have any thoughts/ideas/suggestions, I would appreciate you letting me know.

Thank you in advance.

Missy

weird...
 

how different we are. I hear very well, in fact almost as well as a dog.:D. I think Todd gets to the point that hearing is more of a "mechanical" process, and the auditory nerves are not involved in the cell losses seen in PD.
There is a well known theory that cells in the olfactory bulb are "highjacked into producing dopamine", and that this contributes to the fact that a lot of PWP lose their ability to smell things as intensely as they used to, But i've never heard of hearing loss a being a common "marker" for "parkinsonism".

thanks ol'cs, I was getting the impression I was wrong when everyone mentioned other types of hearing loss.

Mine must be a relic from that Aerosmith concert back in '79. :D

Dear Ol CS
 

The genetic Young onset Parkinson patient has no loss of smell. Anouther difference between those with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and thow with genetic mutations. Research in early 2000 "a study of several patients with genetic Young onset Parkinson's Disease.

Vicky

hUh?
 

Related Background Brief:

EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE. In idiopathic Parkinson's
disease (IPD) approximately 60 % of the nigrostriatal neurons of
the substantia nigra (SN) are degenerated before neurologists can
establish the diagnosis according to the widely accepted clinical
diagnostic criteria. It is conceivable that neuroprotective
therapy starting at such an 'advanced stage' of the disease will
fail to stop the degenerative process. Therefore, the
identification of patients at risk and at earlier stages of the
disease appears to be essential for any successful
neuroprotection. The discovery of several genetic mutations
associated with IPD raises the possibility that these, or other
biomarkers, of the disease may help to identify persons at risk
of IPD. Transcranial ultrasound have shown susceptibility factors
for IPD related to an increased iron load of the substantia
nigra. In the early clinical phase, a number of motor and
particularly non-motor signs emerge, which can be identified by
the patients and physicians years before the diagnosis is made,
notably olfactory dysfunction, depression, or 'soft' motor signs
such as changes in handwriting, speech or reduced ambulatory arm
motion. These signs of the early, prediagnostic phase of IPD can
be detected by inexpensive and easy-to-administer tests. As one
single instrument will not be sensitive enough, a battery of
tests has to be composed measuring independent parameters of the
incipient disease. Subjects with abnormal findings in this test
battery should than be submitted to nuclear medicine examinations
to quantify the extent of dopaminergic injury and to reach the
goal of a reliable, early diagnosis. G. Becker et al: J Neurol
2002 249:III-40.

low magnesium intake..
 

has been associated with PD.

Given that magnesium also helps RLS (like dopamine agonists do) is also very
indicative that it is playing some role perhaps in PD.

When magnesium is low it also impair hearing. I have a magnesium thread here, on page 1 of Vitamin Forum with papers on many aspects of illness including hearing loss and mag deficiency. I am searching papers for mag/PD specifically and they are still sketchy and contradict each other. Much like the papers on SAMe. But it would not hurt to examine your food intake and if it is low, to increase it to RDA levels for your gender. All that information is there on my thread. Low magnesium intake is a serious issue in this country.

Update
 

Funny, my hearing on the right side suddenly improved last night. Somewhat like vhperry. Only it has been years.

I am researching the seventh cranial nerve which innervates the face and ear. (Controls muscles around those bones Todd)

Since going gluten-free I have noticed a steady improvement in my sinuses, facial muscle movement, and some of my deep wrinkles have relaxed. It's been spreading from the nose outward towards the ears. Last night my right eustachian tube relaxed and I could feel air in there.

strange but true.

Ol CS (responce to HUH?)
 

I do not have idiopathic Parkinson's disease

:

NEUROLOGY 2004;62:1224-1226
© 2004 American Academy of Neurology

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brief Communications

Olfaction differentiates parkin disease from early-onset parkinsonism and Parkinson disease
N. L. Khan, MD MRCP, R. Katzenschlager, MD, H. Watt, MSc, K. P. Bhatia, MD FRCP, N. W. Wood, MD PhD, FRCP, N. Quinn, MD FRCP and A. J. Lees, MD FRCP
From the Department of Molecular Neurosciences (Drs. Khan, Wood, and Lees) and Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders (Drs. Bhatia and Quinn), Institute of Neurology, Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies (Drs. Katzenschlager and Lees), Royal Free Hospital and University College Medical School, and Department of Statistics (H. Watt), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University College London, UK.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. A.J. Lees, Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, Royal Free Hospital and University College Medical School, Windeyer Bldg., 46 Cleveland St., London W1P 6DB, UK; e-mail: a.lees@ion.ucl.ac.uk

The authors studied whether olfactory dysfunction is present in parkin disease using the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). The mean UPSIT score in parkin patients was 27.3 (95% CI 24.4 to 30.2). This did not differ from the normal group mean of 29.4 (95% CI 28.0 to 30.7; p = 0.22) but was higher than the Parkinson disease group (mean 14.3; 95% CI 12.2 to 19.5; p < 0.0001) and the parkin-negative group (mean 17.1; 95% CI 14.8 to 16.3; p < 0.0001) values. Parkin disease may be a distinct and separate entity from Parkinson disease.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have Parkin disease.

Also, in the journal, "Brain," April 24, 2002, The article name, "Progression of nigrostriatal dysfuntion in a Parkin kindred: an [F]dopa PET and clinical study," London, UK.

The Introduction reads:

"Autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism is a distinct clinical and genetic entity first described by Japan in 1973. It is characterized by dystonia at onset, hyperreflexia, early complications from levodopa treatment (in contrast to dopa-repsonsive dystonia) and slow progression.

Neuropathology of Parkin cases is limited but, in cases that have been reported, there was a severe and generalized loss of dopaminergic neurones in the substantia nigra pars compacta without Lewy body inclusions, implying that parkin disease is a pathological entity separate from idiopaathic Parkinson's disease with overlapping clinical features."

Vicky

I sometimes have episodes where I can hear people talk and see their mouths move, but I can't process what they are saying. It's a little like an out-of-body type experience. It's like something is disconnected--like the part that processes communication just stops working for a while. Usually it lasts for a minute or two. Sometimes it has lasted maybe about twenty minutes.

I don't know if it's related to PD, but it sometimes coincides with an increase in other symptoms. I haven't talked to my neurologist or other doctors about this yet. I'm afraid they'll think I'm psychotic.

Karl

For Karl
 

Hi Karl,
Did the watching people talk without hearing start after you commenced anti parkinson medication?
Agonist drugs gave me both auditory and visual hallucinations plus a bit of paranoia right from the early days of taking them, bit too much of a coincidence I think!
Anyway, just a thought.
Regards,
Lee

hearing loss
 

11 years ago I had sudden hearing loss in my right ear.5 years ago dx with pd. My ear doctor said the hearing loss could be caused by a viral infection. Amantadine ,an antiviral agent helps some pd patients. I wonder if some of the people with PD have it caused by a virus.

I don't recall very well what drugs I was on when I first noticed it about a year ago. It occurred just a few days ago. I am now on sinemet 24 hours a day with klonopin and trazadone to help me sleep. These days, it doesn't seem as bad or does it occur as often. It's a mystery to me.

keeping things to yourself
 

I, too, have difficulty hearing although I was given a very, very thorough exam. Even so, my ear pops occasionally and it's like ... ah ... see I DO have something plugged up!

I'm with Karl .. it's funny how much I keep to myself, worried that others will think I'm psychotic. I'm both saddened and glad to hear that I'm not the only one.

Thanks, Karl ... you made my day and didn't even know it!

Terri

Terri: I think one of the best things about this forum is to be able to learn from others who are also facing difficult issues. I've had the "Oh, I'm not the only one!" experience many times since I joined. For me, for example, the discussions of insomnia and stress have really helped. Now, when I see stress coming my way, I head the other direction. I've felt much better since I actively started controlling or avoiding stressors in my life.

Karl,

I am 100% convinced that stress exasperates my condition horribly. I'm lucky in that I don't have to work. I quit my last job which I positively loved (working for a non-denominational Christian youth organization). It was a 20 hour a week job but, because I become so involved in it ... and love teenagers more than most will ever understand ... I took a lot of work home with me. Trying to juggle that, with my Parkinson's and with three kids in college, was simply more than I could handle.

So now I substitute teach at the high school. I can pick and choose which schools I'll teach, which subjects, which grades (in case you're not like me and like high school kids!) which days, and how often. They honestly don't care if I teach one day a year, or every day of the week. It's amazing how many retirees there are. I'm also paid at least decent wages ... $70.00 a day and that's in the midwest (Houston, TX) which is considerably cheaper to live than the east or west coasts.

So now ... lightening bolt! .... I think I'll post another thread so that others know it's a viable option.

But getting back on topic ...

I honestly can't adequately express what this site did for me ... especially when first diagnosed. It was my rock and was the only thing, really, which helped me keep my sanity. Now, four years later, I don't need it "quite" as much ... but when I do, you're here for me and have not once let me down. Like you, I can ask and seek questions and answers. Nothing is too small, too embarrassing, or too silly of a question to ask.

Terri