I have been diagnosed as having labyrinthitis causing vertigo (caused by an inner ear virus) ... very dizzy for 11 days (easing up) with bouts of headaches, neck pain and nausea (tho still able to eat). I am feeling much better after having been to my chiropractor yesterday (and acupuncturist last Thurs)... so not sure if the virus is making it's way out of me or if my chiro/acu treatments helped.. perhaps a bit of both.

I am seeing my doctor (a different one from last week) who I will ask to take my blood pressure (sitting, laying and standing up directly after laying), and test for diabetes..... both of which can cause dizziness.

Good luck all.

dannyzgirl88 ... get to chiropractor before your trip!! Most health plans have 12 visits/yr for co-pay. Very worthwhile.

My husband has been suffering from a viral inner ear infection for 3 and a half months now. It took almost 3 months before his doctor referred him to a specialist, always just sending us home with the message that it would "clear up on its own, take gravol for your symptoms in the meantime."

My husband was a very slim, fit person to begin with but has lost over 30lbs and was throwing up/not able to keep any food down every 3-4 days for the past 3 months. Then for 2 weeks it seemed like he was getting better. No throwing up, appetite increased. On Friday he woke up feeling dizzy and nausous all over again and this time he couldn't hear out of his right ear. We were able to see the specialist on Monday and he confirmed that my husband has total loss of hearing in his right ear (hopefully temporary) and that he seems to have started with ANOTHER virus! He started him on prednisone as well as an anti-viral drug and he is supposed to get an MRI someday (in Canada the wait is several months) but he is just so fatigued and wasting away. It really worries me.

Has anyone else had severe nausea/vomitting during their infection?

Hi i havent updated here for a while.Hope everyone is feeling alot better.

I still am having problems whith this viral infection. Its been going on since the beginning of May so for 4 months now.Its not as bad as it was but i am still getting daily headaches and dizzyness as well as being very tired.I went to the neaurologist in august but he didnt think there was anything wrong with my head and tried to convice me i was having migranes even tho i told him i didnt think so.
Anyway my gp has asked me to wait another month to see if it goes or gets better and if not come back and see her.

steph xx

Masks, masks, and more masks. Hard to find nowadays but I am buying them.

Hi Fern,
It's dizzy girl, how are you feeling?

I read all these comments and wonder if there is something going on, I have had an earache with headache and vertigo at times since May 28th, I have heard of 3 other women, that I know of, that started with the same thing, same time. I myself have had MRI's cat scans, been to 3 Dr 2 ENT a neurologist,eye doctor, dentist and no one can find anything. I have a temperature every other day and no one can figure out what is going on. All tests came back negative-I have been on every med possible and nothing helps-dizziness is gone now but ear is still warm and have pain-Thinking of a brain and head clinic in Ann Arbor, MI-anyone else started with this since May of this year?

Hello All!

I've read this whole forum and can also contribute my story. I am a 23 year old female and started feeling sick over 3 weeks ago. I had a sore throat, headaches and dizziness. I was concerned because I went swimming less than a week before and dunked my head under water (stupid)and I felt fullness in my ears and didn't do anything about it.

I went to a naturopathic doctor and had 2 med students and 2 doctors work with me and said both my ears were infected. I was on Amoxicillin for 10 days and I have stopped. I went in for a checkup and the doctor said it was improving but fluid was still behind my ears. The week before I went in I had a temperature of 100 and my pulse was high (nervous). Now my temperature is down and yet I still feel dizzy. I'm prone to migraines and it might have something to do with that.

It really sucks, I feel for all of you. The naturopath has me on lots of immune boosting pills. I also worked at a supplement store and might start taking some oregano oil (that stuff is so potent, its anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-biotic..everything).

I am booking an appointment today to see an otoneurologist. I don't have health insurance, I don't want to waste money. Do you think I should just wait it out?

Also, I have some antivert medication. I took it twice and saw no difference. Has anyone had success with it? Should I keep taking it?

I'll keep updating....well wishes to everyone!

Hi cheryltreasurers , This started in may for me to.

I just found this forum and am, unfortunately, sharing symptoms with a lot of you. The story started 5 days ago when I woke up, sat up, and the room started spinning like crazy. I've never felt this way other than if I'm extremely motion sick from an amusement park ride, or back in my earlier years when I've had too much to drink. This just happened out of the blue.

The spinning/dizzy sensation made it difficult to walk. I kept wanting to fall to the right. It also made me very queasy. As the day wore on, the spinning got slightly better but a headache set in. As a migraine sufferer, I thought maybe it was a migraine so took Imitrex which helped some.

My husband insisted on taking me to the walk-in clinic (it was a weekend so that was the best available). No fever, BP was fine, ears looked fine. My sinuses are constantly a bit stuffy - I think I may have constant allergies - but nothing new here. I've not had so much as a cold in the last 12 months. The doctor said that headaches/stuffiness could possibly be a sinus infection even though I had no symptoms out of my norm. He felt the spinning was positional vertigo and totally unrelated to the other issues, and told me it just happens, and sent me on my way.

Though the intense spinning has subsided, I have progressed to generally just feeling off-balance/dizzy and cruddy. I have a constant low-grade headache (I've had times where I've had stress/migraine headaches before for days, but without any other symptoms), I have indigestion, I feel queasy sort of like constantly slightly motion sick or slightly hung over. I'm not sick enough to vomit. I start out in the mornings not feeling too bad but by afternoon I'm exhausted and all I want to do when I get home from work is lay in bed. However, when I lay down and close my eyes, I'm dizzier than if I'm just up walking around where it isn't too bad. I have no appetite. And things like going up the stairs and then sitting down make my heart race and pound for several seconds to minutes. It also seems to pound more as the headaches come on, which seem to be happening as the day progresses.

I don't have an ear ache, ear pressure, or anything I can pin to one ear or the other. Just a general feeling of illness and the off-balance stuff.

I'm paranoid I have a brain tumor or something horrible because I just feel so "not right" and with no fever or ear pain, it's hard to believe it could be my ears. But sounds like some of the rest of you have similar experiences to mine.

I have an appointment set up with my GP on Monday. I'm sure he'll just blow it off as anxiety or something because he knows I tend to jump to the worst conclusions. But I truly am SICK. I do not feel right! And the dizziness, which came out of nowhere, is real.

Is it normal to have a viral inner issue and not have it affect your hearing, or cause fever, or pain? Can it happen without having been sick...like totally out of nowhere?

Hey tcrafty,

I think mine definitely has something to do with my migraines. About 2 years ago, I was having a lot of bad migraines and I took some Imatrex and I felt dizzy for a few weeks after (not as bad as I am now). I think it was the migraine that made me dizzy, not necessarily the Imatrex.

Anyways, I went to an ears, nose and throat and that was completely useless (sorry to say). He said my ears were fine, and also said to go to a neurologist. I have an appointment with a really good neurologist, still have to wait for over a week (asked to be put on the waiting list too).

Well, I REALLY know how much this can worry someone. I'm going through it. What makes me relieved is when I hear my doctors say, this WILL go away. Plus, I went to Mayo Clinic online and they say dizziness is RARELY anything serious.

My father had vertigo and went to a balance clinic and did everything his neurologist told him to do and he said he went up to visit my brother in colorado and it just disappeared. Can't wait for that day for me!

If anyone wants someone to talk to or vent, totally here-- it's hard to find people who relate to you even a little bit.
my name is nicole by the way.

well mine started about a week ago, on a monday. i have ringing in the left ear normally. but this one felt different. throught the week i was ok. then on friday went to the movies, when i left i used the elevator. thats when it started... i felt dizzy when i got out, but it went away. on the drive home it came back hard, really dizzy. when i got home i started throwing up. but i had no fever, just the chills & sweats. the next day i just stayed in bed the whole day. thinking i would just sleep it off. but the fatigue, nausea, & diarrhea (from the stress i think or maybe a bug on top of it). still feeling down i called my ENT. went in for a visit and she said that most likely it was an inner ear virus. she said it should clear up in couple weeks. the strange thing is...she said that 10 add ons that monday morning, all with ear problems & a few were the same as mine.

by reading the stories on here. i am in for a long haul before i feel myself again. it seems that recovery time is roughly 3 months.

There is HOPE for ear virus suffers!

Hi, back in January 2009, i was out in the cold and got a blow to my ear and head by cold air, minus 14 weather in toronto and when i got home, i felt extremely dizzy, no spinning, but I had a side to side swaying motion as if being on a boat all the time! I had major pulsing headaches, vomiting diarea, etc. If your seeing doctors, belive me it's a waste of time! I went to the ER twice, and all they told me was that it was a virus and needs to run it's course. Since then, I had seen, 2 ear doctors, 4 neurologists, 2 fmaily doctors, 3 different ER clinics. it's very scary and you feel like you need to see a doctor but the best thing you can do is relax at home. My doctor gave me circ, which helped a bit. The responses i got from all these docs were, it's a virus, it could be migraines, it could be stress etc.. none were helpful. Mri, catscan, blood work, all clear. I'm telling you, there is nothing you can do. Just recently i saw a chiro who told me it could be my tmj joint so he says. I'm curretnly working with him, and my headaches have diminished. 9 months later, my dizziness has really calm down, it's a very light dizziness, i'm back to regular daily activities, working full time, planning my wedding, going out and doing stuff... things are so much better.

My advice to all of you is to sit through it, do what you can, if you can't, take it easy and relax. I take a lot of breaks at work and i feel better when i do. Most of all be POSITIVE! You will get through this!

Thanks,
Dizzygirl99

I was diag. with inner ear inf. and got 874 mg amox. this was 5 days ago. I still have pain and stuffyiness and have been so tired. I don't want to get out of bed. I feel exahausted after taking a shower. I have been using Theraflu powder. That seems to help and chicken soup. If I eat anything solid i have a coughing attack. Hoping to feel better soon. I've already missed two days of work.

It's crazy that I found this forum i am also experiencing most of the symptoms that most of you are describing for me it feels like i'm not necessarilly dizzy but like off balance constantly and im getting constant ringing in the ears accompanied by blurred vision does anyone here see what looks like swarming flashing lights or fireworks in the backround of your visual field when your looking at a bright surface or experience increased floaters in your vision??

Wow. This makes me feel way better to no I am not alone.

I had a CT scan yesterday and my sinus was clear. The ENT informed me that once you are dizzy the virus is over. Antibiotics will not do a thing. He said typically it takes up to 8 to 12 weeks to clear up.

I can tell you that I have had severe panic attacks with this as you feel that you are going to pass out. However, you never do...your mind plays tricks on you. I am starting to feel like Rambo where I have to tell myself that everything is going to be ok.

Over the last four weeks I have gone to the ER twice, two ENTs, and my primary care physician twice. During the ER visits the did a EKG.

During my panic attacks, caused by vetigo, I will get tingling in my body. They explained this is the fright or flight response that your body exudes while under pressure. It feels as though you are going to die.

This is by far the worst experience ever!

UGH! I too have been having all of these symptoms. I am now on 7 weeks...I see a nutritionist that does applied Kinesiology (muscle testing) It keeps coming up viral. The thing that helps the most is good nutrition. And building the immune system up. Viral infections can't be treated with antibiotics because it won't touch them......viruses are so small and they are encapsuled in a protien like shell. That is why they tell us we have to wait it out. Lots of garlic, oragano oil and coconut oil. (the oils can go in the ear, but be for warned you will get die off reactions and you may end up with panick attack like symptoms) Anyway, sorry you are all going through this, however I feel better knowing that I am not in the alone!

I just read thru all your comments and although still frustrated with no easy quick cure, it's comforting to know that i'm not alone with this annoying virus.
I've had loss of hearing for about 6 weeks. sore throat on and off. My eyes are really annoying me as well. They're always ichy, sore and tired. i got these ugly bags under my eyes and dry skin under my eye. my eye lids are so sore, red and ugly... seen the eye dr and gp and no help.
I may try the chiropractor as someone mentioned in here. Has anyone tried the dry sauna or ear candling? what about reflexology? i can't just do nothing and hope it clears up, but don't think any Dr or specialist will be able to do anything. i'm hoping there is a natural cure...??
Thanks for all your comments in this forum.
ps. could it be that i smoke?