Prevent exacerbation of Sudden Hearing Loss, Vertigo/Dizziness, Meniere’s disease, and Tinnitus
- Posted on: Sep 25 2019
Patients often ask how they can prevent exacerbation of:
- Sudden Hearing Loss
- Vertigo / Dizziness
- Meniere’s Disease
- Tinnitus
We recommend avoiding the 3 S’s and treating the A
Salt, Stimulants, and Stressors need to be reduced. And allergy needs to be well managed.
- Salt: avoid adding salt to foods, avoid packaged foods, avoid canned foods. Salt creates swelling especially in the inner ear. This swelling creates hearing loss, Meniere’s worsening, ear fullness, and ringing in the ears.
- Stimulants: avoid caffeine and oral decongestants. This includes coffee (minimize to 0-1c/day), tea, and decongestants as they also create the same issues. Sudafed/pseudoephedrine, any allergy medication with “D” are included in this category. These stimulants have been shown to make these ear issues worse.
- Stressors: mental and physical stress. Stress raises the stress hormone cortisol and this causes inner ear swelling. This swelling acts like salt with worsening of all of these inner ear issues. It’s easy for us to say reduce stress but like a prescription we are advising time off, rest, relaxation techniques, yoga, therapy, or other techniques you find helpful for you to reduce stress.
- ALLERGIES create inflammation in the nose that travel up the Eustachian tube to the ear. This can inflame the inner ear and worsen inner ear inflammation. It can worsen these inner ear complaints. Allergy drop therapy is the most effective and holistic way to suppress and eliminate this issue. We provide allergy drops based on painless skin testing we can do in our office.
What if that is Not Enough?
If the patient has an exacerbation despite following these guidelines, they can usually be successfully treated with Trans-Tympanic Dexamethasone Therapy (TTDT). In this simple office procedure, a small amount of numbing gel is applied to the surface of the eardrum. After the eardrum is numb a small needle can painlessly be placed through the eardrum to fill the middle ear with Dexamethasone. This medication diffuses across the permeable round window to deliver a strong dose of anti-inflammatory to the inner ear. This will provide the best chance to reverse an episode of vertigo, dizziness, hearing loss, tinnitus, or a combination of these symptoms.
Schedule A Consultation
For treatment when these symptoms do occur, come see us for a consultation! He will perform in-depth evaluation and determine the best solution for you! Contact us today at 512.601.0303 to schedule an appointment!
Tagged with: Dizziness, Meniere's Disease, ringing in ears, Sudden Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, Vertigo
Posted in: Hearing Loss
