Viral Ear Infection- How Long?! (Page 1)

Hi,
i found your message when I was desperately trying to find a cure for this viral ear infection. I was diagnosed on july 3rd. I feel the same way you do. A few days ago, I actually thought I was better. I drove somewhere.... Luckily, my husband was with me because I couldn't drive back. My progress has completely turned around over the last couple of days, and i'm dizzy again. I've gone to the doctors twice .. They just seemed annoyed that I came because there is nothing they can do. I don't have any pain in my ears, so it is difficult for me to believe that I have an ear virus. Is this the same for you?

Anyway, to answer your question (i hope you still don't have this awful thing!) the doctor told me it would last from a day to 10 days. From research i've been doing, i've found people who've had it for 3 to 5 months. I am so scared of that.
I hope you're feeling better by now. Erin

I was just doing some reaearch on a viral ear infction, which I have been diagnosed with, and came across your posts. I was hospitalized the beginning of Dec. with strep throat and an inner ear infection. My imune system is lower then most due to me having lymphoma in my spleen in 2009. I am STILL trying to get over the viral ear infection....dizziness and the pressure and ringing in my ear and was put on a prescriptin of prednisone and have only about a week left of it. Am really feeling depressed and wondering if I am ever going to get any better.

I am going through this right now. Dizzy, nauseous, so tired that if I get up and move around I have to lay back down again. I have a racing heart and get out of breath if I move.
The good news is I get this about once or twice a year, and it will go away! I have a doctor that realizes it is
actually alot of fluid behind the ear more than an ear infection.
The only thing that he prescribes to me that works is a 5 day prescription called zithromax. The doctors used to think I was nuts when I when in, They didnt realize how bad it can be. Dont give up. It can take some time, but it will go away. He usually tells me to also take antihistamnines along with my zithromax. Tell your doctor you want to try that as along as you arent allergic.
Hope this helps.....but it is a terrible feeling

Thanks egyptrobin...I wrote the name of the meds down. I'm not much better since finishing the prednisone and, I dont have another ear dr appt. unil the end of next month. I did call them this past Fri. to see if I should be taking any meds until then. They are supposed to call me back tomorrow so will ask them about the zithromax then. This is really getting old..been feeling this way since Dec. now.. You are so right about it being a terrible feeling..I cant drive and dont feel like doing much of anything. Thanks!

Your welcome,I am positive you have what I get, You cant
wait for an ear specialist, I wouldnt be able to move for a month! A regular doctor can diagnose and prescribe
the zithromax. Dont let them shoe you away, they are always
looking for some swollen red ear, and they never find it.
It is a grayish look to the ear if they look. It is hard
to diagnose inner ear. I was always turned away. Prednisone, would never even touch mine, I would be right back at the doctor;s office. Zithromax dries the
fluid and that fluid is what is causing all the problems. I used to bump into walls at work and be sick! It is awful. I would love to hear how you are doing in a week, I think that will do it!
back s

wow! I am thankful to know that I am not the only one. It was a week ago today that I started this vertigo and finally realized that it has to do with my ear, the left ear because when lying down or turning in bed, it is this side when I get the dizzy. Somedays are better than others.. Today I was set back again.. Yesterday, i thought it was over. I am getting tired of this. and literally I am so very tired and have to sleep like I have mono. My head and eyes hurt and when looking up to the ceiling the dizzy will start. Tomorrow I go to my dr. and I will tell them about zithromax. Hopefully I will get some relief soon. I feel useless...

I have had this now since Dec....Just took the zithromax a couple weeks ago and no help from it. I feel even more dizzy yesterday and today then I did in the beginning. Am scheduled to see the ear specialist again in the morning. I even have spells of stabbing pain in my right ear. This is driving me crazy and there HAS to be something they can do for it!

I have had this now since Dec....Just took the zithromax a couple weeks ago and no help from it. I feel even more dizzy yesterday and today then I did in the beginning. Am scheduled to see the ear specialist again in the morning. I even have spells of stabbing pain in my right ear. This is driving me crazy and there HAS to be something they can do for it!

I sure do hope the zithromax works for you. It seemed to have no affect on me and the past two days have been worse then the others. Its enough to cause a person to be depressed! One specialist even told me that taking meds for the dizziness would prolong the healing of the viral infection! I'm at the end of the rope here..

Just wanted to let you know that I took the zithromax but it didnt help me...I wouldnt be that lucky. I go to the ear dr again in the morning to see if he tells e anything new.

This is exactly what happens to me. Four doctors in er treated me for anxiety and depression. The fifth doctor looked in my ears and saw fluid and prescribed what you had. Now when it starts to return, I take claritin and sudafed or Benadryl to dry up the fluid and it quickly goes away. When it originally happened I thought I was having a heart attack or panic attack.

My ENT doc said there is no fluid but that I do have a viral ear infection. Started March 17th. I will try the sudafed and see what happens. I go back to him in 5 weeks, if it is no better he wants to do an MRI. Really sick of being sick. Thanks for the post.

Hi,

i wanted to let you know that yes, I am finally feeling better. I never had any pain in my ears so I was pretty skeptical of it being an ear infection too. I have talked to other people who were having dizzy spells that would make their heart race that were diagnosed with the same. Because I wasnt convinced I started looking at the side effects of my other medications and did switch my bc to a new one. Once I did that all my symptoms went away. I wont really know for sure if it was an ear virus or if it was the pills side effects- but either way I dealt with the dizziness for about 6 weeks and now it hasnt bothered me at all for about three weeks. If your on any medication you might just want to check the side effects out (webmd.Com is a great source for that). I was on yasmin and the insert packet didnt say anything about the non-normal side effects, but web md listed almost every thing that I had wrong, dizziness, fatigue, flu-like symptoms, inability to wear contacts, nausea, so I gotta say it seems like the more likely culprit than a random virus in my ear. Hope that helps and that you are starting to feel better- I know how horrible the constant dizziness is, I felt so useless and sick all the time- good luck!

Hi,
thanks for your reply. I'm definately going to switch bc and see if that helps. I'm so glad you're feeling better. Erin

I got a severe case of vertigo on august 4th and spent two weeks severely dizzy. Its now been four weeks and I still get dizzy here and there. Can someone that has had a viral ear infection answer a few questions so I know if you had the same thing?


Did you get a tightness in your head that made your neck hurt for a whole month?


Loss of appetite?

Cold flashes?

Hot flashes?

A bit of paranoia only when head was very tight?

A funky draining in your throat?


Im just curious. I have no pain cept the pain in my neck for a straight month and suffer bouts of dizziness, nasea, hot sweats, heart racing, and confusion, and sometimes paranoia. Urgent care didnt know what was wrong with me.

Yes to all of these. But I recently had a complete hyster and found info that said hormonal changes could cause all the symptoms. But my doctor told me today it was a viral ear problem...I'm really confused, and I am a nurse!

hi, 7 days ago i was fine, late at night i was just reading daily paper, felt fine, then all of a sudden every thing started spinning, couldnt walk, next thing i know im sitting on ground throwing up non stop, was rushed to hospital, spent 3 days there, they suspected inner ear viral infection, but by 3rd day had to have a mri scan to ruloe ouit stroke causing it, very scary few hours waiting for results, and the way i felt like your symtoms i expected it to show up something bad, but was shocked scan came back clear, then was released from hospital even though still filling as bad, 7 days later writing this i still fill so wierd in the head, cant beleive your inner ear can make you so bad but they said to me the part of the ear that was infected controls balance, hearing and vision thats why i feels so wierd and bad, but those words dont help when 1 day feeling like this feels like a month, even thiugh on tablets for dizziness and other one to stop me throwing up i still feel so wierd when i walk, just getting a lift home from hospital in car made me feel so sick in stomach, doing 50klm feels like there doing a 100. the first night in emergency they had to put a heated blanket on me in between throwing up cause i felt so cold, i actually thought i was about to snuff it when it first happend, it just came out of no where but doctors said itr does and reading on internet says same thing, but in saying that have to get off here now cause looking at the screen and typing makes me feel like im going to vomit, scaryest thing ive ever had. (leigh) bye.

Hi, ddiizzyygirl, as or your symptoms- I didnt have any tightness in my neck, but I had a really strong headache that would come and go that was focused in my left temple. I had a really strong loss of appetite because each time that I got dizzy and my heart would race then my stomach would be upset for hours. I didnt have and cold or hot flashes, but I did take my temperature a few times at night and found it was in the 99-100 range which probably explained some of my chills. I didnt have any paranoia or any draining in my throat. My doctor put me on dramamene (the pill for motion sickness) and told me to take it two to three times a day for about 5 days and see if I felt any better- he said it wouldnt cure anything but would get me through the symptoms until the infection healed on its own. I took the meds for two days but they made me so drowsy I couldnt function and didnt really stop the dizzy spells. Might be worth trying though. Good luck and I hope you start to feel better soon!

Just wanted to write to say that I was having the same symptoms. I went online to forums like this and it scared the daylights out of me, because people were complaining of symptoms of the ear virus lasting two years!! I was so scared I went to the emergency room, and then finally to a specialist. I did, indeed, have an ear virus. Dizziness, nausea, feeling weighted to one side, feeling extremely fatigued..... But the forums about ears scared me so much that I thought that if I ever got better I swore I would return to the forum and say that I was feeling better and there was hope. So here I am. The whole thing lasted about ten weeks, but I feel better, and there is hope. I started going to sleep at 9:30 every night, eating plenty of veggies and drinking water. I was prescribed to meclizine but that made me super sleepy. I feel better!!!! Yay!!!! Don't let these sites scare you as they did me. There is hope.

Feeling extremly dizzy and light-headed for 2 months or so...Some days not so bad..Dr ran blood test all ok no signs of infection but still dizzy any ideas..

I happened to stumble upon this forum as I was searching for viral ear infection info.
I have the exact thing everyone is describing, and that's what the Dr. Told me I had. It stinks that all one can do is put up w/ the misery and it eventually goes away on it's own.

How did we get it?

How can we prevent loved ones from getting it?

Is there really nothing we can do but endure?

The fatigue or lack of energy is terrible, the neck pain and headaches. Loss of appetite, racing heart and feelings of extreme worry or dread. It all stinks. Also the slight dizziness makes it all worse.

Why isn't this more publicized?

Is there no help? :?:

Just wanted to share my experience since I found the comments on this forum very useful.

I believe I picked up my ear virus after a couple of weeks on antibiotics for an eye infection. Apparantly you are much more likely to pick something up after antibiotics since your immune system is low.

It started with tinnitus in one ear, a buzzing/ringing noise. Initially I thought it was a build up of ear wax so I had it syringed but that did not help and the tinnitus was still there. There was no dizziness/vertigo at this stage. About two weeks later the dizziness started. For me it was like experiencing a side to side swaying motion as if standing on the edge of a cliff. Not enough to fall over but unpleasant enough.

About 12 weeks on I would say I am 90% better. The dizziness is much improved and the tinnitus is now a very quiet, barely noticeable tone, still in one ear only.

Mine was bad enough that I couldn't drive and walking required a lot of concentration.

A couple of other things I noticed were sore throat/neck glands and also it travelled to my gums and made me think I had a mild tooth ache. Over time the sore throat and aches in my gums have also gone. Both viral related apparantly.

My parents neighbour, who is in her 70s, had an almost identical experience to me. However, it affected both her ears and she sould barely stand up. So I count myself lucky. She had lots of tests with her doctor including an mri scan and the conclusion was an ear virus. Her's has lasted a year but is finally noticing a recovery.

During my 12 weeks of dizziness I tried to eat healthily and drink plenty of water. I also took a vitamin c suppliment. Vitamin c is supposed to be strongly anti-viral. I also took vitamin a betacarotene supplement for anti-viral reasons. Not sure if any of those actions helped or it may have cleared up in 12 weeks without taking anything.

Its a really unpleasant illness and nobody really understands because you look healthy on the outside. Its also infuriating because there is no pill or medicine you can take, you just have to let it take its time to work its way out of your system.

I think my message is that if you are suffering from an ear virus, hang in there. For most people it seems to pass in time ( from research it seems to take 3 months on average), you just need to be patient

all the best

paul

hello im only 16, i suffer from tinnitus had it since i was about 14-15, it hasnt affected me since the last 5 days, were when i go outside i feel dizzy and very lightheaded like im going to faint at any time, i sometimes get shooting pains in my ear and temple and head allround aches sometimes, my tinnitus is loud and makes me very anxious, i keep yawning all the time and my ear pops a little pretty much every time i yawn, do you think this is an ear infection and left ear seems a little blocked, again this has only came up in the past 5days? thankyou im desperate to know this is just a virus in my ear inflaming my tinnitus and will reduce in time, i would be ok aslong as i know it will go and pass, please read, conor.

Hey there....Ive had viral ear infection for nearly 5 months now...It is living hell...Dizziness, lightheadness, u name it ive got it..Cant seem to shake it off... I some times wake up at night all dizzy and it would not let me sleep for hours... I feel like im a completely diffrent person...But I will work through it cause my specialist does not have a clue!!! Wat I wanna ask is that has anyone had panic attacks or depression due to the cause of an viral ear infection....I just got me some pills (aropax) I hope it does the job....

I was just wondering if you are still having the ear problem and if not...how long it took to finally go away? I have been to two ear specialists and they both say its a viral infection in my inner ear but its been going on since the beginning of Dec. I go back to one of the ear specialists in the morning but am doubting he's going to tell me anything new. Thanks!

Hi everyone. I wanted to add my 2 cents worth into this convo if you all dont mind :) if you have an ear infection with dizziness, that is pretty common. One way to help this would be antibiotics. Also, when getting to the up right position, get up slowly, this should help also. If it continue's to bother you, I would ask to see an ent specialist. Btw, there is a tube that goes between your ears and throat called the eustation tube. So sometimes, if you have ear problems you tend to have a sore throat or throat problems as well.. If your ears are really bothering you (pain)..One thing you can do is warm up a wet wash clothe in the microwave, lay your head sideways (with your painful ear up towards the sky) and lay the washclothe on your ear. (this will also work for sinus pain) there are also numbing drops that you can buy over the counter that you can place in your ear and that should help too. Good luck toyou all!
Jeannine

Months? Months of this terrible feeling?!? Months of turning over in bed and feeling like i'm on a rollercoaster. I was diagnosed with a viral ear infection yesterday. I suppose that is ok news because I could have sworn I was having a panic attack. (from my research, it looks as though they have a lot of symptoms in common.)

my doctor was very concerned about the heart racing. I had to have an ekg. No worries, though. The ticker is still fine.

However, my head is not fine. I work in a law office and need to spend my entire day reading. That is nearly impossible with the dizziness. I feel like my eyes are constantly rolling back in my head. My heart races and sometimes, it is difficult to breathe. Do I really just have to power through this like you all are saying? Has anybody found any good home remedies that provide even the smallest relief? I am taking motion sickness pills, and now, I can at least drive. Not dramamine though. That stuff makes me too drowsy.

I wasted money on seeing a doctor, but peace of mind is worth something. At least I know I am not having a heart attack or stroke. In closing, how did anyone who has been through this get through it? Months of not eating/sleeping/moving around/reading is not going to be possible. Any tips for coping?

hi i really dont know, been to to a regular MD doctor she looked in my ears she say she dont see anything, but she say sometimes there can be a ear infection hidden where she cant see so i have to go to a specialist i am planning on call the the specialist tomorrow to make an appointment i am really scared right now about it, i feel like the side of my head is tight, axiety, nausea ocassionally, hot flashes cold flshes, fatique, light headed, flue like symtoms, ringing in the ears hardly thou for that, discomfort in the neck ocassionally, and the paranoia feelings, i feel lost sometimes, dont know what to do, been having the light head feeling for a little over a year, i need to know whats happening, anyone can help please

I hear you, I hate the ear ringing and dizziness; never experience pain. Dr prescribed amoxycillin and my body laughs at me - hahaha, you know it wont work. But there is a blue pill that does work, and I call him on it all the time now when he goes to prescribe amox that does not work for me. I also learned a cool trip; I use hydrogen peroxide and put a few drops in each ear 1-2 times a week.Also use nose drops, what works for me is Zicam. I have an inner ear attack now, and the ringing and dizziness drive me to drink (OJ of course or water).
Hope this helps someone.

Muenlana

sorry to hear that you are suffering with this. You asked about how people coped getting through this.

I had panic attack symptoms such as a racing heart beat and feeling very up tight / stressed. I found reading difficult, could only watch small amounts of tv at a time, couldn't drive, found walking an effort, felt very tired and was in bed by 10pm each night.

The one thing I did find that helped with the symptons were relaxation techniques. I had not tried these before but I found they helped and found I was able to have more mental control over the balance problems which in turn made me less stressed. I listened to audio tapes "empowered breathing" by eli bay and "relaxation" by perry lonsdale. I was very skeptical at first but they did help especially in the early stages when symptons were worst.

My personal situation is that I now feel 95% better, still feel slightly off balance and have a very quiet buzz in one ear. But i'm very thankful that my virus has pretty much moved on. I am back doing normal things again.

All the best

paul

Well i've come to the conclusion that what I had was not a viral ear infection, but perhaps problems w/ the tmj joint. Tmj or tmd problems can cause many of the same problems.

Find out if you have tmj and then get the help you need.

I was diagnosed yesterday with a viral inner ear infection and can't believe how debilitating it is and how I had never heard of it before at my ripe age! The doctor said it could take a few days to a few weeks but that he leaned towards the few days. After reading the posts here, I believe he was trying to be encouraging. It is great to have a forum for this as it is calming to find your symptoms are similar to everyone elses. I take cold-fx (canada) during the winter for cold and flu. We'll see if it helps this. Has anyone experienced a short duration, i.E., a few days? I'm afraid the neighbours will think i'm tippling during the day when i'm out staggering around walking the dog. I am guessing like most illnesses, rest is a large component of getting well but it sure is boring. I wish everyone at the forum a speedy recovery and if I find something that seems to work will post back.

Hey everyone, lets say am experienced with this infection, am only 22 and last year I lost 9 months of university due to a viral ear infection,which was vestubular neuritis, I experienced intense vertigo, dizzness and nausea and migraine for 2 months, anyway that happened because I already came back from holiday having lost one whole stone and that contributed to the length of the viral infection, it apparently took me a yr to recover then I developed anxiety bcos of it...Anyway I went to my specialist and I began vestibular physiotherapy which I all suggest you do as apparently the head movements cause the brain to compensate for the wrong information coming in about movement and so helps speed up recovery. Well I became all fit and well again back to normal only that today I got diagnosed with it again, but this ones different I think from last yrs one, now I have the symptoms that u guys have, fatigue, dizziness and nausea and that lightheadedness oh and to the person that said had tight head I had that last yr, I kept explainin to the doctor that my head feels tight like there is pressure or somthin..No they dnt understand...I cudnt sleep at all I felt my head all tight and it kept makin a clickin sound.

Returning to today, apparently I was in the taxi going back to my uni halls from hospital and I felt so drowsy and nauseous..I get so scared when am like this, im literally scared of feeling ill in front of everyone..That last yr I didnt get out of the hse bcos of that and I got depressed...This yr I cant make it happen, everyone go out as much as u can, even with someon e accompanyin u...Keep ur mind active and try the vestibular physiotherapy...Am a neuroscientist student u can trust me!

Keep doin the exercises completely until everything subsides, at first ul experience a worsenin of symptoms which is normal then as u keep doin them ur brain will learn to compensate...

1. Stare at an object in front of u and move ur head left and right while keepin ur eyes fixed on the object, do this slowly at first (30x) then as u get used to it after a few weeks try it faster...The aim is to get less dizzy as u make ur brain adjust to the dizziness...Its called vestibular rehabilitation...

2. Do the same thing as above but movin ur head up and down 30x

3. Shut ur eyes and move ur head left and right 10x

4. Do the same as n.3 but movin head up and down

5. Stand on one foot and move ur head left right 10x aswell as ur eyes (hence, no need to fix on anything) this is for the balance

6. Stand on one foot and move head up and down 10x

7. Stand str8 and move ur eyes up and down, slowly then fast as u get used to it

8. Do the same as 7 but move eyes left and right

u will get dizzy at the start, thats normal, after few weeks it will start to see the effect...

I talk of experience, I did the therapy last yr december and for 2 weeks I was worst, then slowly slowly I was able to travel as I got used to it so by february I slowly slowly got on buses again

we have to fight this..I started my exercises today cos theres no way am gonna let it stay more than a month

lara

I use to get about 2 to 5 colds every year.They use to last for days and were very not good. Somebody told me nutrition is the key. I eat a lot less enriched flour products,butter and oil,sugar and milk.And eat more veggies and natural nutritional supplements. Thats just me though.



Since I started eating right getting the proper nutrition in my body, almost a year now and I only got 1 cold. But it was mild and I got over it in 2 days quick.And that week I got it I wasnt eating right and was under a lot lot of stress.

There are some things out there called super foods. I have been using wheat grass for months now maybe u can look it up.

Hey plus I read garlic is one of the most potent natural antibiotic. Maybe for now u can research see if that is true also.

I tend to stay away from synthetic multivitamins and get nutrition from food not man made copys of the real thing in nature.

Hi just wanted to share my experience. I also have a viral ear infection, and my symptons are exactly same, constantly feel dizzy and sick, blocked ear, my eye keeps watering and runny nose, pain in my ear and all the way down my neck, and I have had this for three weeks now. My doctor prescribed me with Amoxy 500mg tablets, which I have only just started taking, so will see how quickly it will go away, as it is so anoying. I will let you know how I am getting on with the pills, I only hope it will go away fast as I can't afford to take time off work.
Cheers
LK

i been having these symptom for 2 month,off balance,vertigo,lights headness,drowsy,fatigue,and tight head (headache come everynow and then).i went to 2 doctor and they seem not to know what's going on,no sign of ear infection,got my sugar blood test came out good.can this be some kind of brain tumor?should i go get an mri scan?anyone have experience this before please write back to me please this thing is making me paranoia.

yes.... I was just diagnosed with a brain tumor under the same circumstances.

After reading thru all the above posts, I am feeling a bit more confident that my ear problem will eventually go away...being patient is the hardest part. I am anxious to see how the exercises work for me and thank you for posting them. My last trip to an ear specialist, he mentioned me going for physical therapy to help with the dizziness or to do exercises at home but, I left the office without them mentioning either one to me again. I was also given my 3rd hearing test and was told that I was going deaf in my right ear. Funny thing was...I could plug off my left ear and hear what was being said to me and can listen to the tv and my mp3 player in that ear. I have found that using the ear bud in that ear and listening to the radio for a while, tends to calm the noise down some but it doesnt last for long. I have had this problem sine Dec. now and had an mri done with it coming back normal and just being told it would have to run its course. I have 4 more days of prednisone to take and then, we will see.