# DP & Ear Disturbances



## tengent (Apr 22, 2012)

Hey guys. I've been doing pretty well in regards to my DP/DR. I mean, it can still come and go but I know that I'm going to be perfectly fine.

Now, I'm pretty sure there are plenty of threads like this, but I don't want to bump any and I'd like to discuss my own symptoms to see if anyone else has experienced it. When I was in the worst of my DP I was trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. I read a bit on labyrinthitis. This seemed to be a constant problem for people, with the vertigo. And my symptoms would come and go, the dizziness in particular coming in little panic attack type things. So it wouldn't be that. I cannot help but think something is wrong inside my ears. I have tinnitus, cracking when swallowing (or at will), and when I get an attack of DP/DR, I feel as if I'm "breathing" through my ears. It's a sensation similar to ears popping, but it's weird and I don't know why the hell it happens. Plus the clogged sinus feeling. Anyone else have any luck with talking to doctors about their DP and their ear issues?


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## kate_edwin (Aug 9, 2009)

it's not ear related...... dp can mimic many medical conditions, but most people's tests all come back negative


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## Mel anie (Jan 10, 2012)

I've also read articles saying that DPDR or anxiety and depression can be related to head problems, pressure and ear issues. When I first got DPDR, I noticed that my ears were so incredibly clogged and they would pop so loudly when I would swallow; I was frantic and actually asked my brother if his ears popped as much as mind and if it was 'normal'. Perhaps this is totally unrelated, but a couple months or so later I got my first ever ear infection, in both ears. However, that could very well be a total coincidence.

I still have quite blocked ears, sometimes it is much worse than others. I do believe that ear disturbances can be related to DPDR.


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## Amelie (Jul 24, 2007)

kate_edwin said:


> it's not ear related...... dp can mimic many medical conditions, but most people's tests all come back negative


It's generally not a good idea to make blanket statements like that. While it's definitely true that DP/DR can mimic some medical conditions, it's also true that a person could actually HAVE a medical condition that has nothing to do with DP/DR.


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## Amelie (Jul 24, 2007)

tengent said:


> When I was in the worst of my DP I was trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. I read a bit on labyrinthitis. This seemed to be a constant problem for people, with the vertigo. And my symptoms would come and go, the dizziness in particular coming in little panic attack type things. So it wouldn't be that. I cannot help but think something is wrong inside my ears. I have tinnitus, cracking when swallowing (or at will), and when I get an attack of DP/DR, I feel as if I'm "breathing" through my ears. It's a sensation similar to ears popping, but it's weird and I don't know why the hell it happens. Plus the clogged sinus feeling. Anyone else have any luck with talking to doctors about their DP and their ear issues?


I'm VERY familiar with the 'breathing' through my ears feeling! However, for me, that never happened until after my craniotomy to remove a brain tumor. The tumor was on the 8th cranial nerve and affected various nerves on the right side of my brain. During the surgery my neurosurgeons took a small bit of fat from my abdomen and used it to plug the area left vacant by removal of the tumor and the vestibular nerves. From that point forward I've had the breathing feeling, but only in my right ear. It's really weird--and really hard to describe to anyone who's never experienced it! I also have tinnitus in my right ear, but that started when I had the brain tumor, and got worse after its removal.

Are you CURRENTLY experiencing symptoms of labyrinthitis, such as vertigo? Or is it ONLY related to your attacks of DP/DR? (I envy you, by the way! My DP/DR is 24/7 and has been since I was 17.







) If you're experiencing such symptoms, I'd suggest seeing an ear/nose/throat doc to have things checked out. It's very possible that all of what you're describing is related to your DP/DR, but it's also possible that there's a physical problem. There's nothing to lose by checking it out.


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## tengent (Apr 22, 2012)

I am not currently feeling any DP/DR. The very first time I experienced the "breathing through ear" feeling was at a marching band practice, and I was having some trouble with DR at that time. The next few times I felt the weird ear feeling were during DP/DR episodes. The last time I felt DP was two weeks ago, at an art museum. I started feeling overwhelmed and felt as if I was about to get a migraine, and my vision was getting increasingly static-ish, but it subsided with time. I saw an ENT for the tinnitus, and I did not mention any of my DR/DR. It slipped my mind just because it wasn't bothering me at the time, I guess. He basically told me I could take some herbal supplements for it, and that's really all I could do.


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## Amelie (Jul 24, 2007)

tengent said:


> The last time I felt DP was two weeks ago, at an art museum. I started feeling overwhelmed and felt as if I was about to get a migraine, and my vision was getting increasingly static-ish, but it subsided with time.


What you're describing is very similar to what I experience in strange places, only for me it's an exacerbation of my DP/DR, since they're constant, whereas for you they come and go. But it seems like the same type of situation triggers it for both of us.



> I saw an ENT for the tinnitus, and I did not mention any of my DR/DR. It slipped my mind just because it wasn't bothering me at the time, I guess. He basically told me I could take some herbal supplements for it, and that's really all I could do.


Don't waste money on any so-called 'tinnitus cures' because there is no such thing. The brain surgeon who headed up my neurosurgery team, Dr Derald Brackmann, happens to be THE world's most famous, accomplished, and revered brain surgeon for the type of tumor I had. He said that tinnitus, first of all, has nothing to do with the ears or hearing, because it even happens in people who are, and have always been, completely deaf and, two, there is no cure. They don't know what causes tinnitus, but they do know that, so far, nothing has been found that can cure it. I said in another thread that there are strategies I've found that help, such as always having background noise. The absolute worst thing for tinnitus is dead silence, because then it becomes all consuming and you can't help but concentrate on the racket in your head!


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## forestx5 (Aug 29, 2008)

tengent said:


> Hey guys. I've been doing pretty well in regards to my DP/DR. I mean, it can still come and go but I know that I'm going to be perfectly fine.
> 
> Now, I'm pretty sure there are plenty of threads like this, but I don't want to bump any and I'd like to discuss my own symptoms to see if anyone else has experienced it. When I was in the worst of my DP I was trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. I read a bit on labyrinthitis. This seemed to be a constant problem for people, with the vertigo. And my symptoms would come and go, the dizziness in particular coming in little panic attack type things. So it wouldn't be that. I cannot help but think something is wrong inside my ears. I have tinnitus, cracking when swallowing (or at will), and when I get an attack of DP/DR, I feel as if I'm "breathing" through my ears. It's a sensation similar to ears popping, but it's weird and I don't know why the hell it happens. Plus the clogged sinus feeling. Anyone else have any luck with talking to doctors about their DP and their ear issues?


I also developed cracking/popping in my ears following a cannabis provoked temporal lobe seizure. My MRI shows areas of small lesions. I believe they are located in an area of my brain stem which is responsible for vestibular functions. Such lesions can develope post seizure, because the brain is temporarily unable to regulate high intra cranial pressure following a seizure. Following my seizure, I had a lot of strange head pain and sensations. I had the sensation that my ears were being "baked" when the popping/clicking commenced. I also developed a form of myoclonus/spasms where my ears flutter in response to bright lights in my eyes, certain sounds, or certain jaw movement/positioning.
The fact is, the brain is yet to be completely mapped to its functions. I believe labyrinthitis is synonomous with vestibular neuritis.

here is a link explaining a few things: http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/unilat/vneurit.html


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## tengent (Apr 22, 2012)

I used to have constant DP, but not anymore. And it's interesting you mention it happening in strange places, since I was in the Museum of Modern Art and it was getting very, very weird, and uncomfortable. A visit to Monet's Water Lilies made me so peaceful.









forestx5, I'm hoping I don't have any physical issues with my brain, but I'm still functioning and I'm shaping my own life.


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## tengent (Apr 22, 2012)

Also, felt the "breathing through ear" thing today, with no other disturbances. I'm sure it's (mostly) unrelated to my DP.


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## doritocakes (May 20, 2012)

I have every ear/ dizziness/ balance problem possible. I was checked for vertigo, had an MRI and had blood tests. Everything was negative, other than I was a little anemic. I would still get checked out, though.


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## Amelie (Jul 24, 2007)

doritocakes said:


> I have every ear/ dizziness/ balance problem possible. I was checked for vertigo, had an MRI and had blood tests. Everything was negative, other than I was a little anemic.


A negative MRI does not necessarily mean there's no tumor. In my case, after I started having mind-numbingly bad headaches AND kept losing my balance, my doc ordered a brain MRI, with and without contrast--and this is considered the definitive test for brain tumors. It was negative. After that she plowed on trying to figure out the source of my problems, sending me from one specialist to another, and I had test after test... After multiple falls [from losing my balance], multiple broken bones from the falls, multiple orthopedic surgeries to fix the broken bones, and dizziness that became so bad I really could barely stand up, I had another brain MRI, again with and without contrast. The next day the doc called and said I had a brain tumor. Turns out the type of tumor I had grows VERY slowly, approximately 0-2mm per year, and when mine was diagnosed it was 12mm long; backdating it led right back to the first brain MRI and the onset of my symptoms, but it was too small at the time to show up on the MRI. (Ironically, it was big enough to cause awful symptoms, but too small to be seen.)

If you have more tests and everything comes back negative, I'd suggest waiting a while and then having another MRI, making sure that it's with and without contrast.


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## doritocakes (May 20, 2012)

Well, part of the problem is I have extreme anxiety in tight spaces so I was already shaking and I don't trust doctors with injections and stuff. They make me feel like they suck the life out of me and I get really woozy and I didn't want to do it. So... I didn't do it with the contrast


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