Briefly - several severe vertigo episodes 8-11 years ago, told it was vm, menieres, atypical menieres, etc, basically no real firm diagnosis. Vertigo went away until Jan of this year when I had a very mild attack wake me which was followed by a week of hell. No more vertigo but I had extreme sensitivity to noises and motion. The noise from chewing was intolerable, washing dishes was intolerable, walking was intolerable, touching my left ear was intolerable, as all of this would ājar my brain.ā I would get bad brain zaps, vibrations, pulsions, i honestly donāt even know what to call it. I went to the doctor and found one ear was very impacted with wax and the other quite close to being impacted. Had it removed and in a couple of days I was feeling great!
A month ago I had my hearing tested and there was no wax in my ears, perfectly clean. Suddenly today these ābrain zaps/vibrationsā started again, out of the blue. Now i can barely walk because hitting my feet on the ground sends vibrations to my brain, canāt touch my left ear, canāt chew anything crunchy, canāt tolerate the noise of dishes, have to talk very quietly because I canāt even tolerate my own voice.
Anyone - is there a name for this? I hope to go to the doctor tomorrow, not sure what he will even do. But I need to know what the heck this is called or better yet, why it happens. Any names for this disorder, any ideas what causes it? I feel so frustrated.
The sensations you describe would be described as Autophony I think. May not be strictly an ear thing. If I were you I would go see an ENT doctor or even someone who specializes in Neurotology.
Thank you. I really wasnāt asking for a diagnosis, moreso a name as I canāt find anything that seems to fit and no one seems to have ever heard of this (including the doctors I saw last Jan). It got better after the was removal so we assumed that was the end of it. I checked out autophony (which I hadnāt heard of but I donāt think that itās as iām not hearing other bodily noises and my own voice isnāt especially loud, itās just that Iām very sensitive to it. I thought maybe hyperascusis (sp) and I see there are 4 main kinds of that but none of those seem to fit. Iām at a loss. Feels like Iām walking on pillows, also.
Yeah, I got the walking on pillows thingā¦ most of the day today. Lots of people on here have that as well as sound sensitivity at times. I get sensitive to sound when Iām already feeling a bit dizzy and trying to get somewhere or do something. Itās like my concentration is all used up with the dizzy stuff and sound just puts me over the edge. Ear plugs help a lot in those situations. I never really got it while chewing food, vibrations, walking, talking, etc. so thatās why I suggested Autophony.
I get it with walking, talking, listening, chewing. Hypersensitivity comes in a lot of stripes. Itās worst when Iām already having low threshold issues. Generally, itās about giving my brain time to recover, but Iām also medicated.
Sound sensitivity is classic migraines. Vibrations are possibly throbbing migraine pressure. I get brain zaps where i forgot things and slur. You will morph out of this soon hopefully.
I think you can call it āmigraine variant balance disorderā, āvestibular migraineā or what the neuro-otologist called mine āprobable migraine associated vertigoā (iāve never had a firm diagnosis either, 15 years in!). This condition comes in so many variations individual to individual I doubt they each have a name as such and the only consistent thing about MAV is it keeps morphing.
I saw the nurse practitioner at my doctorās office earlier today and that was a big waste of time, she was so to totally clueless, said āmaybe itās from the humidityā and told me to go see the ENT. I canāt get in there until tomorrow afternoon, what a long wait this will be. Meanwhile Iām on valium and meclizine trying to keep my vestibular system calm. Everytime i talk it get split second jolts through my brain. Walking downstairs is so difficult, not because I feel like I will fall, but because the jarring of my foot hitting the step sends these jolts to my brain.
I wish there was a name for this, a real medical terminilogy so i donāt sound like loony bird trying to explain it to the doctor.
Donāt worry. I expect the doctor wil have heard loonier things from others before! If he/she comes up with an exact term, please let us know. It is all hypersensitivity. I can equate to the feeling the vibration of you feet on the stairs or any hard-ish surface going vibrating through your ears to your brain. Iāve experienced that.
Thank you, Iām sorry youāve experienced this same discomforting system but at the same time am comforted to know that someone else knows what this feels like.
thank you for the articles, Yes, that describes the feeling, a little electrical jolt and I remember that feeling from when I went off lexapro years ago. Mine are a bit stronger than that now but itās the same kind of thing. Somethingās not firing right in my brain.
āBrain zapsā, ābrain rumblesā. ā¦then the difference between āvertigoā and ādizzinessā, we MAVers seem to get all the weirdest of symptoms. Itās no wonder the medics have trouble coming up with a definite diagnosis.
I actually had exactly what you are describing and went to a family friend who is an ENT. He did a test on me to check my tensor tympani muscle. He found that it had quit working so all sounds were coming in extremely loud. I know what you mean about walking on the ground and hear your heels. Every time our microwave would shut I would jump. I couldnāt handle everyday noises. I still have no idea why it quit working but he put me on a high dose of prednisone and by the 3rd day it started working again. There is a test where they play a loud beep in your ear and I almost jumped out of my chair. It was only on one side.
Experienced MAVers wouldnāt hv much problem with āvertigoā and ādizzinessā, I was thinking more of newbies going to medics first time trying to get diagnosis. Itās not necessarily that obvious to them or their GPs. Itās then subtle differences may confuse. I always knew āvertigoā being the room spinning around you, for brevityās sake say like BPPV and ādizzinessā being a more vague, floaty sensation. A friend who once had labs explains it as āswaying like long grasses in the windā. BUT when I was first, er, ādizzyā 24/7 having experienced true rotary vertigo attacks lasting days which were then replaced by this new ādizzyā sensation, then described the sensation to my GP as being dizzy (room steady, me appearing to move) and was prescribed SSRI for āanxietyā. It wasnāt until I saw the neuro-otologist many months later I found out I was wrong. I actually had constant 24/7 āvertigoā because I was experiencing the feeling that I was rotating and thatās āvertigoā, not dizziness. For it to be true āvertigoā itās either environment or self appearing to rotate. Then the consultant said āmigraine causes vertigoā and suggested probable MAV. So, sometimes it pays to dig a little deeper it seems, where all GPs Iāve ever met so far seem to fail. Helen
Let most people said we are not doctors, but you might be having seizures. I had an EEG done and to my surprise there were seizures detected. I had no outward symptoms. Just a thought. And I hope you feel better.
I get exactly that!!! Itās just awful and tbh i find it scary when it happens,my footsteps, crunching food make me dizzy!!
The docs have given me no real explaination to be honest.
Am sorry you get this too but Iām glad Iām not the only one x