Labyrinthitis is an inner ear disorder that affects your body’s balance & can cause dizziness along with other vertigo symptoms. The inner ear contains two vestibular nerves that send out information regarding spatial position & the body’s balance to the brain. When either of these vestibular nerves become inflamed & are unable to send proper balance & position-related information to the brain, the condition is known as labyrinthitis.
The most common symptoms of Labyrinthitis are dizziness, nausea, loss of hearing, & vertigo. The primary marker of Vertigo is a sensation of the surroundings moving or spinning even without any external stimuli. Vertigo isn’t a fatal condition, although it can affect one’s ability to drive, sleep, & maintain a meaningful social life. Medication, exercises, & some self-help techniques plus vestibular rehabilitation therapy, can usually help treat vertigo & associated dizziness.
Labyrinthitis can be caused by many conditions; inner ear infections, viral or bacterial illnesses, & nerve compression injuries are all possible causes. Treatment for Labyrinthitis generally involves treating the original cause of the condition. For an inner ear infection, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics or other medications, while for other issues, appropriate treatment approaches will be taken.
While there is no way to prevent or predict a labyrinthitis flare-up, the good news is that it is completely treatable. Most people, after proper labyrinthitis treatment including medications & exercises, get relief from their symptoms within a few weeks. Most people completely recover after about two months.
What
are Labyrinthitis symptoms?
Labyrinthitis symptoms often come on quite quickly & may linger for a few days. They may also be quite intense during this period. After the initial few days, they usually begin to fade away, although there may be a relapse if you move your head suddenly. Labyrinthitis doesn’t usually cause pain in the ears.
Some of the most common labyrinthitis symptoms include:
l Dizziness
l Vertigo
l A loss of balance
l Nausea & vomiting
l Tinnitus, which causes a
ringing or buzzing sound in the ears
l Loss of hearing in one ear
that affects the high-frequency range of sounds
l Difficulty focusing your eyes on a particular object
Although it is very rare, labyrinthitis can cause permanent hearing loss in the affected ear in some people.
Labyrinthitis causes:
Labyrinthitis isn’t age-specific, which means that it can occur, & affect people of, any age. As mentioned above, labyrinthitis has many possible causes. Some of the most common causes of labyrinthitis are:
l A respiratory illness like
bronchitis to name one
l Viral infections of the
inner ear
l Any stomach viruses
l herpes viruses
l Bacterial infections of any
kind, including middle ear bacterial infections
l Exposure to infection-causing organisms like the tick that causes Lyme disease
Your risk of getting labyrinthitis increases if you:
l Smoke too much
l Drink alcohol in large
quantities
l Have a history of allergies
l Are increasingly tired
& fatigued all the time
l Are stressed all the time
l Take certain prescription
medications
l Regularly take over-the-counter medications, especially Aspirin
Although experiencing labyrinthitis symptoms aren’t a cause for concern in most cases, you should consult a doctor simply to get the underlying cause checked out in time. Untreated labyrinthitis could lead to permanent hearing loss in some rare cases, so you should definitely visit your doctor with any labyrinthitis symptoms you have. If you experience any of the following conditions along with the above-mentioned labyrinthitis symptoms, it is important to seek medical care immediately, as they could sign of a more serious problem:
l Fainting
l Convulsions
l Slurred speech
l Fever
l Weakness
l Paralysis
l Double or blurred vision
that comes on suddenly
Labyrinthitis
diagnosis:
Your doctor can diagnose whether or not you have labyrinthitis with the help of a physical exam. An ear exam might not be thorough or detailed enough to give your doctor the complete picture of your health, so they might perform a complete body exam, including a neurological examination. A detailed examination is also important as the symptoms of labyrinthitis can sometimes mimic those of other conditions. Your doctor will perform some tests to rule out other causes of your symptoms. The conditions that your doctor will want to rule out before arriving at a definitive diagnosis are:
l Meniere’s Disease, an inner
ear disorder that causes similar symptoms as labyrinthitis. It is caused by an
excess amount of fluid inside the inner ear, as opposed to an infection or
inflammation of the vestibular nerve.
l Migraine
l Transient Ischemic
Attack(TIA) or a mini-stroke
l Brain hemorrhage, also
known as ‘bleeding inside the brain’
l Any kind of damage to the
arteries in the neck
l Benign Paroxysmal
Positional Vertigo(BPPV), which is an inner ear disorder
l Brain tumor
To check for any of these conditions, your doctor might prescribe certain tests including:
l Hearing tests that check
the functioning of your hearing system
l Blood tests to look for any
ongoing infections & other symptoms
l A CT scan or an MRI of your
head to take a deep look into your cranial structures
l An
Electroencephalogram(EEG) test, which tests the brain waves to look for any
abnormalities or evidence of subclinical seizures
l Electronystagmography test(ENG test), which looks for eye movement in response to head movement & abnormal, jerking eye movements, known as nystagmus
Labyrinthitis treatment:
Labyrinthitis symptoms can be relieved with the help of certain medications, most of which are also used in the treatment of vertigo & general dizziness. These medications include:
l Prescription
antihistamines, such as desloratadine (Clarinex),
l Medications to relieve one
from dizziness & nausea, including meclizine tablet, the stugeron-forte
tablet, & others
l Sedative medications like
diazepam(Valium)
l Corticosteroids, such as
prednisone
l Over-The-Counter antihistamines like fexofenadine(allegra), diphenhydramine(Benadryl), loratadine(Cetrizine), etc.
In case of any active infection causing your labyrinthitis, your doctor will likely prescribe antibiotics to help treat the infection. In addition to taking medications, there are other labyrinthitis treatment techniques that can help relieve your vertigo & dizziness. These include:
l Avoiding changing head
positions too quickly &/or any sudden head movements,
l Sitting still during an
active vertigo attack
l Getting up slowly from a
lying or sitting position
l Avoiding TV screens, laptop
screens, bright lights, & flashing lights during a vertigo attack
l If you get dizzy & experience a vertigo attack while in bed, try sitting up in a chair & keeping your head still. Try to stay in a place with low lighting, as compared to a place with bright lights or complete darkness
Your doctor might also recommend vestibular rehabilitation therapy to you if your vertigo doesn’t seem to improve even after quite some time. Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy is a set of specially designed exercises for labyrinthitis & vertigo that help your body compensate for the losses in the natural vestibular system. Over time, it helps your body develop other alternatives to balance itself better in the absence of the natural vestibular system.
These might also include some popular vertigo exercises, dizziness exercises, & other exercises for labyrinthitis. Some examples of exercises for labyrinthitis that your doctor might recommend to you are the Epley Maneuver, also known as the canalith repositioning maneuver, the Brandt-Daroff maneuver, the Semont maneuver, also knownas the Liberatore maneuver, & the Foster maneuver. All of the above-mentioned exercises help your body get its balance back in order. They do so by either treating the cause of vertigo & dizziness, or helping your body get used to the vertigo triggers with the help of repeated motions in the problematic direction.
In addition to these well-known & effective vertigo & dizziness exercises, you can also try other
popular exercises that are known to help a person maintain their balance. These
exercises include Yoga, Tai Chi, some dancing postures, controlled breathing
exercises, posture training, & other popular exercises that help one
maintain balance & posture. Certain new-age & innovative vestibular
therapies like the rotary chair therapy, might also help a patient get used to
the constant spinning & rocking feeling that is associated with vertigo,
& develop adequate coping skills for the same.
With some very effective labyrinthitis treatment options available today,
there is a good chance that you will recover from your labyrinthitis symptoms
in quite a short time & be able to get on with your life, without constant
dizziness, vertigo attacks, nausea, & other symptoms.
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