Anyone Experience Benign Positional Vertigo?

[rideit]

Been dealing with this for a month, finally got a doc to diagnose it today. If any of you have experienced this, did you get it to go away with exercises?
It is REALLY annoying, and is keeping me off my bike/board...

[Kenny Satch]

I have Meniere's which caused a constant ringing in my right ear and serious vertigo. Spent a year and a half confined to home because I couldn't function due to the constant vertigo and tossing my cookies.
3 top specialist did 2 things for me.
1. Jack and 2. Shit
Only when I started using biofeedback did things change for me. Sounds absurd but I used start sweating then 20 minutes later I was puking and couldn't move an inch without major spins.
When the sweating started I would tell my body to fight. Not to give in. Visualize getting better. It worked. 2 months later the vertigo was gone completely.
My ear still rings to this date and that was 30 years ago.

Now it seems there are better treatments but back then there was much.
I wish you luck.

[4matic]

I had it and it never completely goes away but here's my story. I was driving to Kirkwood and my ears clogged and I could not get them to clear. My next trip to Kirkwood a week or so later I started to feel a little sick on the lift and had to hang on to the chair. After my day I could not stand up and the whole world was spinning. It was everything I could do to not be sick. Fortunately I had someone to drive back with and after literally bouncing off the walls my gf took me to urgent care. As I suspected, vertigo. Nothing they can do about it with medication. As time goes by you get used to it but it never goes away so basically I was dizzy all the time. I went to the doc a couple times and he tried the Epley Manuever but it didn't work for me. Doc recommended PT where they know better how to do it but I figured I'd just handle it and try on my own. In hindsight that *probably* was a bad decision. Two years later (still dizzy) I was driving back from Tahoe and since getting vertigo I was always trying to keep my ears from getting clogged as I went down in elevation. You know, the thing you do in airplanes like yawning? Anyway, at around 2500 ft. that trip i get a sharp pain and hear loud gurgling in my ear. Suddenly my dizziness was 90% gone. The fluid that was stuck had finally rebalanced. What a relief! That said, I'm still a little dizzy but it is not a constant battle.

Even with no relief your brain will adapt eventually so you can function but it will always be there. Forget weed or booze if you are struggling. Especially weed.

In retrospect and if I get a severe case again I would probably try professional manipulation of the epley manuever. It is almost impossible to do it effectively on your own.

I keep Afrin in the car to keep sinuses clear for mountain travel.

[Kenny Satch]

4matic
my problems started at Jay Peak. Not any serious altitude but high enough it made a difference. After a 3 day trip I couldn't hear out of my right ear. 2 years later all hell broke loose.

Something with the change in air pressure must of aggravated my inner ear.

[4matic]

I still get dizzy flashbacks on chairlifts and can't get anywhere near a high ledge or cliff unless I'm hanging on to something (not necessarily a bad thing. Sort of a built in safety feature). Chair 23 at Mammoth with no bar is an adventure..

[reckless toboggan]

All of this sounds terrible and I really feel for you guys...


...but honestly, I keep reading this thread title as "Benign Prostitutional Vertigo".

[liv2ski]

Chair 23 at Mammoth with no bar is an adventure..

Glad I don't have it as bad as you guys have described, but yep, ears are often ringing and I occasionally get mild vertigo. And chair 23 seriously fucks with my head, so I am a gondi guy

[iceman]

I haven't had that but I have a lifetime of sinus and inner-ear and some fairly minor vertigo issues behind (hopefully behind) me. If you can keep your sinuses clear then your eustachian tube can drain. Neti pot helps. Alkalol makes the Neti more effective, it's good stuff. Lately I'm a big fan of Xlear.

Guaifenesin is an OTC drug that used to be prescription. If your clogged do about 1000 mg of immediate-release Guafenesin with a couple big glasses of water, it does wonders. Not with cough medicine in it, and immediate-release is much much better than the time-release stuff you see most places, don't waste your money on the extended-release shit. I don't know this brand but this is the type you want, straight Guaifenesin: https://www.amazon.com/Guai-Aid®-600...fenesin+1200mg

[schuss]

I have labyrinthitis (basically mennears without hearing loss). First time lost all equilibrium at a urinal and thought I was doing as I struggled not to piss on myself.
Get some emergency meclizine for the attacks, that stuff is magic for me. You do have to give yourself to the ride, I find the key is as much body contact with hard surfaces as possible as your brain can figure up out from there.
If you feel mentally tired for no reason, it's usually a sign an attack is coming as your brain is fighting to compensate.
Stay away from too much salt or caffeine.

[KQ]

I haven't had that but I have a lifetime of sinus and inner-ear and some fairly minor vertigo issues behind (hopefully behind) me. If you can keep your sinuses clear then your eustachian tube can drain. Neti pot helps. Alkalol makes the Neti more effective, it's good stuff. Lately I'm a big fan of Xlear.

Guaifenesin is an OTC drug that used to be prescription. If your clogged do about 1000 mg of immediate-release Guafenesin with a couple big glasses of water, it does wonders. Not with cough medicine in it, and immediate-release is much much better than the time-release stuff you see most places, don't waste your money on the extended-release shit. I don't know this brand but this is the type you want, straight Guaifenesin: https://www.amazon.com/Guai-Aid®-600...fenesin+1200mg

Neilmed is a good neti because it's more active than passive (recommended by my ENT). Make sure you use distilled water!

Woman Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba After Improperly Using Neti Pot

[iceman]

NeilMed is a company, they make a bunch of products. I do use this product of theirs, it's much better than the traditional pot, (maybe this is what you meant?):

[rideit]

Thanks guys and gals, your replies are both hopefull and terrifying in equal measure.

[KQ]

NeilMed is a company, they make a bunch of products. I do use this product of theirs, it's much better than the traditional pot, (maybe this is what you meant?):

Oh oh oh.... yes.... their squeeze neti/rinse.

They make a starter kit:

NeilMed Sinus Rinse Starter Kit

[cmcrawfo]

There is always a challenge in a diagnosis with inner ear / balance problems. I had vertigo that basically confined me to my home for about a year, and I still have some remaining symptoms.... its brutal, and I would never wish this upon anyone. vibes. In that year I got a cat and we became best friends, and I wound up applying to a masters program (as the outlook for continuing with my work was bleak) ... in the end, I have an awesome cat, a better job and the symptoms have subsided to a manageable levels.... and I am skiing and biking just as poorly as I did before.

If its truly a Benign positional vertigo, the funny exercises they have to help move the debris out of your cochlea will probably help. If you cant pay for the manipulations, you can get a non retarded friend to watch a few min of youtube and you will be golden. No harm in the sinus rinsing and the decongestant (drixoral was what was recommended to me), its awesome when its as simple as that. Ultimately a biofeedback type therapy was really helpful, and just getting out side and trying to push myself, its amazing what you can retrain your brain to do.

Last ditch treatment option is a cranial nerve ablation, where the sever the never to your inner ear. Pros and cons to this ... the major con being you will be stone deaf in that ear and if you ever develop a problem on the other side of your head, you are probably fucked. And you still need to do some type of biofeedback / sensory training to get your other ear to compensate properly.

I will still randomly fall over when touring in flat light conditions... its kinda funny... and I am glad I can laugh at it now.

.... just clean your netipot properly , you dont want a brain eating amoeba on top of everything.

[TBS]

I had several attacks this summer. First was on a solo mtb ride an hour away from the trailhead- took me 2.5 to get back to TH. Thought it was bad water in the camelbak. Second one was about 10 days later at my home office. Wife calls the doc who tells her to take me straight to ER for a brain scan Nothing of concern in the scans. Then two other attacks about a week apart.

Doc prescribed meclizine and an anti-emetic and A nasal spray to dry me up. She noted the attacks started during juniper blooming season and thinks I have an allergy which causes sinus swelling and fucks with inner ear. Since using the Flonase I’ve only had one attack. I carry the meclizine/anti-emetic in my car and all of my packs.

The head shaking maneuver to re-position the inner ear stones doesn’t work for me- with a plate&screws holding c6-7 together I don’t have much range of motion.

Good luck. It’s no fun.

[Kenny Satch]

One tip the helps with keeping my ringing from spiking is to avoid any water clogging the ears. If that happens to the mess up one I do get dizzy
I shower with plugs and swim plugs. I wear both because if I clog my good ear everyone sounds like Kenny McCormick
Any outdoor activity accept for hot dry weather my ears are covered when on the move or its a windy day. Becomes like the new normal. I don't give a second thought. It's just a must.

I should ad that during the worse part I had lost about 90% hearing but now it's about 20% with high pitch sounds and 50% loss with low bass sounds. The flip side is can feel bass more than I can hear it

[rideit]

Well, talked to one of my friends that owns a few PT clinics...she immediately knew the drill, says they see it all the time, and will have me fixed up in 1-3 sessions. Here's to hoping that's true!

[Kenny Satch]

Well, talked to one of my friends that owns a few PT clinics...she immediately knew the drill, says they see it all the time, and will have me fixed up in 1-3 sessions. Here's to hoping that's true!

I wish you success
Keep us updated

[old goat]

Speaking of inner ear stones (otoliths) it sounds like the symptoms reported by diplomats in Cuba are due to damage to the otoliths, although the cause of the damage is still unknown.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/w...y-attacks.html