“Concern for husband?”
My husband is a 62-year-old, non-drinker, non-smoker, who exercises regularly and is generally healthy. However, he does have a "mini-seizure" disorder, for which he takes a low dose of Generic Tegretol. He describes his seizures as a 'face tingling sensation and says that they do not cause him to feel dizzy, and he never loses consciousness.
He is also functionally deaf --he wears a BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) on one side, and the highest-powered hearing aid available on the other-- and suffers from 24/7/365 tinnitus. The "threshold event" that destroyed his already damaged hearing was almost exactly three years ago. at the time of that event, he experienced vertigo and dry-heaving/nausea.
For various reasons, we sleep in separate bedrooms...I get up very early most mornings (about 4:00 am). When he came out of his bedroom at 7:00 this morning, after steadying himself on the hallway wall, he stated that he woke up at 5:00, feeling a spinning-dizziness that is very unusual for him. He was also experiencing nausea and dry-heaving, much like he did during the "threshold event" 3 years ago...the first time this has happened since then.
As I write this, it is a little after 8:00, and he is still having the symptoms mentioned above.
He is under the care of an audiologist, and neurologist... I'm just looking for an opinion of what might be going on before talking to either of them.
FINAL NOTE: We are both under a tremendous amount of stress, due to a lawsuit we've been forced into, due to my husband's disability insurance being denied in June of last year.
Thank you,
Samantha
He is also functionally deaf --he wears a BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) on one side, and the highest-powered hearing aid available on the other-- and suffers from 24/7/365 tinnitus. The "threshold event" that destroyed his already damaged hearing was almost exactly three years ago. at the time of that event, he experienced vertigo and dry-heaving/nausea.
For various reasons, we sleep in separate bedrooms...I get up very early most mornings (about 4:00 am). When he came out of his bedroom at 7:00 this morning, after steadying himself on the hallway wall, he stated that he woke up at 5:00, feeling a spinning-dizziness that is very unusual for him. He was also experiencing nausea and dry-heaving, much like he did during the "threshold event" 3 years ago...the first time this has happened since then.
As I write this, it is a little after 8:00, and he is still having the symptoms mentioned above.
He is under the care of an audiologist, and neurologist... I'm just looking for an opinion of what might be going on before talking to either of them.
FINAL NOTE: We are both under a tremendous amount of stress, due to a lawsuit we've been forced into, due to my husband's disability insurance being denied in June of last year.
Thank you,
Samantha
Male | 62 years old
4 Answers
Some people have dizziness as part of their seizure. But his significant dizziness is more likely to be from his ear problems, or a toxic level of tegretol (very unlikely since he is on a low dose). It’s possible that he might be prescribed a medication to have on hand to take when the dizziness comes on.
Hi there, I would absolutely call his audiologist and see if they can get him in to take a look. There is no way for us to know unless we physically see the patient in the office. He could have something as simple as positional vertigo which is easily treated as well. Give them a call right away!
Hmm, well it's hard to say for sure over the internet, but it sounds like he's experiencing vertigo. I can't say the cause for sure, but I'll tell you that fundamentally, vertigo is caused by a change in the signals from the vestibular nerve on each side. When we move our head, that stimulates the vestibular organs which sends a signal to the nerve and to the brainstem and brain and that is how we know if we are moving and which way we are moving. The vestibular nerves are always "firing", even if we are not moving. Once we start moving, the firing rate increases and this is how the brain distinguishes between no movement and movement. If there is an "assault" on one or more of the 5 vestibular organs or the vestibular nerve on either side, this disrupts the signal being sent to the brain. This disruption causes an asymmetry in the information being received by the brain from the vestibular system. The brain interprets this asymmetry to mean that the head/body is moving/spinning even when it's not, which causes vertigo and that can result in vomiting and dry heaving. As far as the cause of the "assault", it could be many different things, but the most common is inflammation of the vestibular organs and/or nerve due to viral infection. Sometimes, we are unable to determine the cause. Depending on what the physician thinks, he/she may prescribe a steroid to reduce inflammation, which reduces symptoms of vertigo. In many cases, the vertigo lasts continuously for a few days and starts to calm down as the brain begins to compensate for the asymmetry caused by the inflammation on one side, but the steroid can help reduce the inflammation sooner, so you don't have to experience the vertigo for so long, as it is a miserable symptom. I would suggest contacting the neurologist and being examined as soon as possible.
Hope this helps!
Hope this helps!
It sounds like he might have Menieres, however, other middle ear or midbrain/brainstem problems can be going on. It seems the seizures are fairly well controlled. Talk to his Neurologist and possibly, if he/she doesn't feel comfortable diagnosing or treating what he has, then refer you to a Neuro Otologist. I would contact the Neurologist or, if off for the weekend, whoever is covering for further advice. Also, you mentioned he is on a low dose of Carbamazepine. I would check levels to make sure he is not a bit high. Some of his symptoms are associated with such.
