SussexDunc
03-24-2013, 10:29 AM
It's all a bit grim in here at the moment, so I thought a bit of good news might help others.
Like everyone else, I've got so frustrated with my GP's general disinterest in humouring my hypochondria. "It's stress, change jobs" would be the usually unhelpful advice. My anxiety is based on panic attacks - classic fear of the fear. My first panic attack happened after a sudden vertigo moment in the car, after a very stressful day and an aural assault by The Prodigy via the car's stereo.
I thought I'd damaged my hearing in my right ear when it happened, by GP assured me nothing was wrong. Panic remained whilst driving when turning right and going over crests or in sudden dips in the road. Despite repeated visits to my GP reporting these symptoms, and other moments like very busy open spaces, or sudden changes in temperature, he maintained nothing was wrong.
The anxiety inevitably followed, with the self fulfilment of tension heightening anxiety leading to increased anxiety. The panic remained a fairly infrequent thing though, and I learned to control it to a point where despite being unpleasant, it doesn't really bother me.
Anyway, after five years if dealing with this, things eventually came to a head in April. I got an inner ear infection, which threw my balance completely out. Post ear infection the balance issues remained. Initially I assumed this was labyrinthitis, but got tired of the now almost constant panic attacks when outdoors. After much cajoling, far too much cajoling. I got referred to a private ENT specialist last month (tip, always take the company healthcare if its offered).
MRI drew a blank. Hearing test drew a blank. Audio vestibular test, however, showed my left balance organ (bit of the ear governing balance information through sound and air pressure) is twice as sensitive as the left. Right is considered normal, left is hyper sensitive.
Talking to the consultant was like having someone finally tell me I'm not completely mental. He thinks that the incident six years ago damaged the right ear and impaired the balance organ. Hence vertigo, as brain was having to balance using visual information. The panic attack was inevitable, as when using only visual info, the brain is snapshotting with the eyes, which is very close to flight/fight and it's only a short step to full blown adrenaline surge.
My brain has learned and adapted to the unequal information, but will sometimes be fooled by sudden noise to my right, changes in temperature (part of the audio vestibular test involves blowing air into the ear to provoke vertigo) or unusual movement.
However, it seems that the ear infection in the right last year caused my brain to just give up trying to interpret the now very imbalanced information, and just resort to balancing visually. Even though the ear infection cleared, the brain didn't bother listening, so to speak, to the ears again.
"You'll probably find you're prone to panic attacks, wake up with aching legs from tensing against sleep vertigo, and find walking in visually busy environments a real challenge"
It's taken all my willpower to not go back to my soon to be retiring GP and say "I ******* told you something was up with my right ear, you utter muppet"
So, anxiety still exists, as I can't undo so many years of learned behaviour, but much lessened. Panic now a thing of the past, now I have an explanation or the sudden vertigo, but still requires a concentrated effort to not react with panic when it happens.
Got a lot of exercises to do as part of the vestibular rehabilitation, most of which seem to involve literally bullying my brain into using the ears again, but the road to eventually panic-free, and therefore hopefully anxiety free existence, is now one I'm firmly on.
Anyway, the point to all of that - apart from to say that there is light at the end of the tunnel - is that you don't need to have something chronically wrong with you to trigger and fuel our condition. In my case, Audio vestibular imbalance is very subtle, completely non dangerous (unless you happened to be a tightrope walker), and only detectable using one very particular test.
I certainly don't encourage you to all troop off to the GP tomorrow and demand a referral for the test. However, as the symptoms are close - very close - to those moments leading up to a panic attack; hyper-realism, light headed/dizzy/vertigo, etc, an audio-vestibular test is something you might want to talk to your GP about.
Love, hugs, and calm breathing to all.
D
Like everyone else, I've got so frustrated with my GP's general disinterest in humouring my hypochondria. "It's stress, change jobs" would be the usually unhelpful advice. My anxiety is based on panic attacks - classic fear of the fear. My first panic attack happened after a sudden vertigo moment in the car, after a very stressful day and an aural assault by The Prodigy via the car's stereo.
I thought I'd damaged my hearing in my right ear when it happened, by GP assured me nothing was wrong. Panic remained whilst driving when turning right and going over crests or in sudden dips in the road. Despite repeated visits to my GP reporting these symptoms, and other moments like very busy open spaces, or sudden changes in temperature, he maintained nothing was wrong.
The anxiety inevitably followed, with the self fulfilment of tension heightening anxiety leading to increased anxiety. The panic remained a fairly infrequent thing though, and I learned to control it to a point where despite being unpleasant, it doesn't really bother me.
Anyway, after five years if dealing with this, things eventually came to a head in April. I got an inner ear infection, which threw my balance completely out. Post ear infection the balance issues remained. Initially I assumed this was labyrinthitis, but got tired of the now almost constant panic attacks when outdoors. After much cajoling, far too much cajoling. I got referred to a private ENT specialist last month (tip, always take the company healthcare if its offered).
MRI drew a blank. Hearing test drew a blank. Audio vestibular test, however, showed my left balance organ (bit of the ear governing balance information through sound and air pressure) is twice as sensitive as the left. Right is considered normal, left is hyper sensitive.
Talking to the consultant was like having someone finally tell me I'm not completely mental. He thinks that the incident six years ago damaged the right ear and impaired the balance organ. Hence vertigo, as brain was having to balance using visual information. The panic attack was inevitable, as when using only visual info, the brain is snapshotting with the eyes, which is very close to flight/fight and it's only a short step to full blown adrenaline surge.
My brain has learned and adapted to the unequal information, but will sometimes be fooled by sudden noise to my right, changes in temperature (part of the audio vestibular test involves blowing air into the ear to provoke vertigo) or unusual movement.
However, it seems that the ear infection in the right last year caused my brain to just give up trying to interpret the now very imbalanced information, and just resort to balancing visually. Even though the ear infection cleared, the brain didn't bother listening, so to speak, to the ears again.
"You'll probably find you're prone to panic attacks, wake up with aching legs from tensing against sleep vertigo, and find walking in visually busy environments a real challenge"
It's taken all my willpower to not go back to my soon to be retiring GP and say "I ******* told you something was up with my right ear, you utter muppet"
So, anxiety still exists, as I can't undo so many years of learned behaviour, but much lessened. Panic now a thing of the past, now I have an explanation or the sudden vertigo, but still requires a concentrated effort to not react with panic when it happens.
Got a lot of exercises to do as part of the vestibular rehabilitation, most of which seem to involve literally bullying my brain into using the ears again, but the road to eventually panic-free, and therefore hopefully anxiety free existence, is now one I'm firmly on.
Anyway, the point to all of that - apart from to say that there is light at the end of the tunnel - is that you don't need to have something chronically wrong with you to trigger and fuel our condition. In my case, Audio vestibular imbalance is very subtle, completely non dangerous (unless you happened to be a tightrope walker), and only detectable using one very particular test.
I certainly don't encourage you to all troop off to the GP tomorrow and demand a referral for the test. However, as the symptoms are close - very close - to those moments leading up to a panic attack; hyper-realism, light headed/dizzy/vertigo, etc, an audio-vestibular test is something you might want to talk to your GP about.
Love, hugs, and calm breathing to all.
D