I have had some dizziness for a few weeks and the nurse (we don't seem to have doctors anymore) didn't know why (she is obsessed with my BP but says it isn't high enough to cause dizziness).
Then over a week ago my ear let out a pop and then I had ringing. I got the privilege of being allowed an actual visit to the surgery where the nurse looked in and said my eardrum was inflamed. I got a spray to use for a week.
Still ringing and dizzy I call again, a day later I get a phone call that there is a prescription to pick up so now i'm taking antiemetics.
I'll give it a few days before bothering them again but is there anyone else out there with ear bother? At what point would one expect anyone to work out *why* there is ringing and dizziness rather than merely fire pills at the symptoms?
I suppose they (and you?) probably suspect labyrinthitis and seeing if it goes away by itself, I do know two people who've had quite serious issues with it over a long period. NHS website does say give it a few days, but I wouldn't let it slide much longer than that ...
Do the cost benefit analysis. A GP's time is with overheads about £165 per appointment. Pills and cream are a lot cheaper.
I had a really nasty attack of eczema a few years ago. They gave me an anti bacterial moisturising cream (Dermol 500 - really good for all sorts of stuff - I now have it as part of the medikit) and it slowly went away. Then it came back again and the doctor wasn't interested. He called it a fancy name for 'just happens'...
A couple of months ago it reoccurred again, and this time I realised it always happened when I was cleaning floors, or in this case a patio, with heroic quantities of Waitrose bleach...
QED
How long would it have taken a highly trained team of dermatologists to puzzle that one out?
My ears have been ringing since my chemotherapy 14 years ago. My brain dialled it out eventually.
I occasionally get extreme dizzy spells - falling over sort of dizzy. But I take so many heart pills that there's no point in taking it up. Usually it signals the start of an infection - virus typically.
OTOH I know know that extreme irritability is a 100% definite signal for impending completely blocked coronary arteries, Doctors like to refer you for 'stress counselling'. But having an angioplasty is way more effective.
It does sound like you have a middle ear infection so I'd be expecting some antibiotics at the very least.
You do need to keep on top of treating it as if not managed properly can leave you with permanent balance issues and/or permanent hearing loss.
BTW, any form of SUDDEN hearing loss is an A&E issue, go straight to to A&E and and insist on treatment there and then.
I had sudden hearing loss in one side one Sunday evening and went to GP following morning on an urgent emergency appt.
He picked up a phone and found me a bed in the head and neck ward at the hospital. I self drove myself to hopsital that lunchtime.
I was there for a week and had prednisolone (anti-inflamnmatories), antibiotics and I also had to breathe in Carbogen (a blend of oxygen and carbon dioxide) every 2 two hours for 10 minutes
Sudden hearing loss (ISSHL or Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss) is a maddening problem for an ENT consultant to treat, they assume its one of four things, bacterial infection, viral infection, inflammation, a TIA leading to poor blood supply to ears and hence they throw everything at it as thats quicker than testing which takes time.
ISSHL is rare but it does require prompt treatment and sadly many patients think "Oh it will get better in time" rather than treat it as an A&E matter.
Eventually, my hearing took about 6 months to come back.
The ear is the most delicate and senstive organ in the whole body and it really does depend on the adminstering of correct treatment in a timely manner to avoid further long term issues
In the case of middle ear infections, if not treated, the build up of pus can cause the ear drum to burst.
Also repeated ear infections can lead to another condition called Cholesteatoma (a build up of cells in the middle ear) or to mastoiditis where your mastoid bones get infected.
In acute cases, a small surgical operation may be needed.
Phone up and say you?re not happy and want to see a doctor. Antiemetics to treat an inflammatory condition is a crap idea. You might need antibiotics or even steroids.
all anti emetics do is apply a "chemical cosh" to your vestibular system to stop it reacting badly to your infection/inflammation which usually results in dizziness/vertigo, tinnutus, vomiting, inability to walk in a straight line or sudden drop attacks.
So all anti-emetics do is make you feel better but fundamentally you still have the same problem which is being left untreated.
You are much better off treating the infection/infllamtion with antibiotics/anti-inflammatories
It would be interesting to see a proper breakdown. Does anyone know the average number of appointments per GP per hour (or whatever), averaged across a practice? I suspect that it is "not many".
I had labyrithitis Dr only knew about it as I was looking a bit banged up when he came to visit my son (I had fallen down the stairs). I was so dizzy at times I couldn't lie down without holding on, I would suspect this dizziness causing nausea is why they recommended the antiemetics. If I had realised the Doc would know what it was [1] would have called him out earlier[2]
[1] Me: explains symptoms Doctor:"Oh a lack of balance eh, probably Labrinthitis" just as quick and easy as that
[2] I wasn't working at the time and the wife had a desire to be a nurse so I had spent a few days in bed bemoaning my fate .
No, Antiemetics act on the vestibular system as a "chemical cosh"
By damping down the response of the vestibular system, you don't then get the side effects of a troubled vestibular system, which gives the classic dizziness/vertigo, tinnutus, vomiting, inability to walk in a straight line or sudden drop attacks.
(The vestibular system is rather complex and sophisticated, no one notices how important the vestibular system is as a 6th sense until something goes wrong.)
Did you know that you have 6 semicircular canals in the head along with
2 utricles and 2 saccules. They are all linked into the vestibular system,
They all have to be presenting coherent information to the vestibular system.
Only *one* of these has got to malfunction and then the whole vestibular system is thrown into chaos tryng to make sense of the now confusing information and ends up tying itself into knots, giving rise to all the vertigo, inability to walk, vomiting etc etc.
Well once you are on the cardiac danger list stress counselling is on offer.
Doctors have noticed that stressed out patients have more heart attacks, They haven't noticed that patients with restricted heart blood flow get angry and irritable...
Cause and effect are reversed. Same with depression. Illness makes you depressed more than psychological crap does.
I can always tell when a virus is on the way. The world goes dark, and I want to watch vampire movies ...
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