Thread: Hearing Loss, Vertigo, Meniers, and Dance

So I have just been diagnosed with Meniere's disease. I get awful attacks of vertigo and hearing loss, have constant buzzing and often tinnitus in one ear. It's still manageable, I've cut out all caffeine (except for a bit of chocolate here and there) and have drastically cut out salt. Currently, I am still able to hear music (though it sounds different now... tinny and missing some tones/some tones are difficult to hear anymore) and dance (though I cannot tolerate spins anymore and have balance issues due to the disease that I've been learning to live with over the last year). I have been told that I will eventually have total hearing loss in one or both ears, but the timescale for everyone is different. It could take a year or half a lifetime.

I've already reached out to Aradia, who has hearing loss in one ear, but would like to hear from other dancers with this disease or who have hearing loss or severe vertigo.

I want to know how these things have affected your dancing and perception of music. Have you been able to continue dancing or continue professional careers? Any tips, things to look out for, or just personal stories? Want to point me to videos of your performances?

ETA: I'm actually feeling fairly positive about this. I had been having these horrible symptoms for a year and was afraid that it was a tumor or something really bad or that I was just crazy or sick all of the time. I'm glad that they've finally put a name on it, and that it's something fairly manageable, annoying and incurable, but manageable at least. I'm just nervous now about how it will affect dance more than it already has, because dance and music are such a big part of my life.

Not to scare you..Mom was misdiagnosed with this till a few weeks ago. She actually has a sever blood flow issue to her brain due to a blocked artery. It creates the same issues.

There actually is a kind of progressive, though non-cancerous, nerve tumor that can cause all these symptoms, called an acoustic neuroma. This type of tumor is diagnosed, or ruled out, by MRI scan with gadolinium contrast. I had one and was misdiagnosed with Meniere's at one point in the saga. I hope you've seen a specialist - an otolaryngologist, also know as an ear, nose & throat ("ENT") doc - and that you either have had an MRI or a very good explanation as to exactly why they are positive this is Meniere's and not something else.

Possibly you've already done all these things, in which case, ignore me! I went through hell for a year before getting to the truth and getting the surgery I needed to make it all stop and to save my life. I lost my hearing in one ear and my balance was poor for a long time, but over the years (the surgery was in 1994) I've continued to adjust more and more and more, and now I can do just about anything without undue difficulty, including doing long spins while dancing. (hurray!)

I hope all will be well with you.

Rosette

Thanks gals. I haven't been able to see a specialist, or do an MRI because I am uninsured. So I was just told meniere's and that was that. Since I don't have any numbness or other sensations, I was told that it's likely just meniere's and not acoustic neuroma, ms, or lyme disease which can all produce the same symptoms as meniere's. I'm hoping I can get a job as a full time physics teacher starting in the fall, so I can get health insurance and see a specialist. In the meantime, I have to deal with it with not help from docs or modern medicine though.

Moms problem was discovered with a portable sonigram. A good doctor may also be able the hear it with a stethasope or feel it with the fingers. She was misdiagnosed with Meniers and Myastenia Gravis for over 20 years.Low blood pressure caused her to loose blood to the brain and it created really bad vertigo and weakness, auditory and speech complications.