TINNITUS (ringing in ears)

[huldafolk]

Hi;  I just am wondering how many people on D have a problem with tinnitus /nausea after dialysis.  My left ear has lost almost all hearing and has a constant loud., ringing to it.  My right ear is what I depend on , and recently I have been losing hear acuity on that side during dialysis and it will last for days. Of course I don't get a break from the D , so I get put on and the symptoms intensify.  I only hear certain frequencies now, and all the back ground noise makes it very difficult to hear and understand anyone speaking to me.  I have seen an ENT in the past and was diagnoses with a variant of Menier's syndrome due to the fluid shifts brought about by dialysis.  I take CERC daily for this but does not seem to be helping with the hearing loss.  I have had total room spin in the past for hours that keeps me in the bathroom vomiting and in a total full body sweat. I have to be careful how fast I turn my head or I can cause the spinning to start-up.  Even have been taken from dialysis to the ER due to this complication.

[knittingdan]

How is your blood pressure after dialysis?  After a lot of sudden blood pressure drops on dialysis, one of the warning signs I learned to look out for was rapid onset hearing loss (my term), like everything got muffled all of a sudden.  The nausea, dizziness, and full body sweat are also some of my own warning signs that I'm dangerously dry.  In my own case I think the sweats have to do with body temp spiking and the body trying to compensate by sweating, which of course can make a dehydration problem worse.

[noahvale]

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[Hemodoc]

Hi;  I just am wondering how many people on D have a problem with tinnitus /nausea after dialysis.  My left ear has lost almost all hearing and has a constant loud., ringing to it.  My right ear is what I depend on , and recently I have been losing hear acuity on that side during dialysis and it will last for days. Of course I don't get a break from the D , so I get put on and the symptoms intensify.  I only hear certain frequencies now, and all the back ground noise makes it very difficult to hear and understand anyone speaking to me.  I have seen an ENT in the past and was diagnoses with a variant of Menier's syndrome due to the fluid shifts brought about by dialysis.  I take CERC daily for this but does not seem to be helping with the hearing loss.  I have had total room spin in the past for hours that keeps me in the bathroom vomiting and in a total full body sweat. I have to be careful how fast I turn my head or I can cause the spinning to start-up.  Even have been taken from dialysis to the ER due to this complication.

I don't have any direct knowledge of Meniere's from dialysis, but if the ENT says it is from fluid shifts, I would want to know if you are subject to a sodium profile with your dialysis and whether anyone has tried more frequent hemodialysis which has gentler effects on fluid shifts. Not sure if avoiding a sodium profile would improve matters, or simply lengthening your treatment so it can be done slower and gentler. Medicare allows a fourth treatment right now on a medical basis as well.  Perhaps something to have the ENT and Neph talk about between the two of them. 

Just wondering, once again, not from any specific knowledge myself but if it is from fluid shifts, there may be some ways to mitigate how severe those fluid shifts are with each dialysis.  I know that my headaches from fluid shifts disappeared once I went to home daily dialysis.  Not sure if this is an equivalent situation, but since your symptoms are so severe, exploring any option with your medical team that might mitigate fluid shifts is worth at least discussing with them. If the symptoms are worse after your long weekend off of dialysis, then more frequent dialysis might just help.  My worst headaches were always Monday night after dialysis.  Peritoneal dialysis usually is associated with less aggressive fluid shifts as well.

Not much on the internet for dialysis related Meniere's.  It looks like it is pretty rare. The question would be whether there is someone in ENT who has more experience with dialysis related Meniere's.  Often, with rare conditions, someone does have a specific interest and they accumulate a larger number of patients than the ordinary ENT doc would in the course of their practice.  I know some people with these rare conditions have been able to hook up with the right doc which made all the difference for them.  Once again, just sort of rambling, not from any personal experience, but I believe that these are all questions I would ask if I was in your position.

Perhaps an expert in Meniere's may have some experience with this issue.  Probably would have to go to some medical school that does research in vertigo to find such an expert.  The Mayo or Cleveland Clinic would be the sort of place to have such an expert on vertigo and Meniere's. If you live near a medical school, it wouldn't hurt at all to send a letter to the head of the ENT section to see if they have any doctors that are there with such an interest.

Here is an article on dialysis and meniere's:  Case report of one patient, once again, not much written on this subject that I could find other than to document it's occurrence:

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=1095072

I do know that Meniere's is not a fun condition at all, and my prayers are with you.

God bless,

Peter

[huldafolk]

Thanks for the input from everyone.  I do not take any ASA products. I depend on Hydromorph for pain control.  Symptoms do not seem to be at all related to timing with the pain meds, but rather ALWAYS with dialysis. Yesterday I was half way home /driving from morning dialysis and the vertigo set in as well as nausea and full body sweat. I made it home to just lean out of my car door to dry heave. Made it up to master bedroom bath and spent 2 hours spinning and vomiting.  I know I am at risk when driving like that ,but I left the clinic with a good blood pressure and felt ok,  It just takes about 20 mins for the full symptoms to come on sometimes.  If I tell at dialysis ,I know they will pull my drivers lic.
 How do you adjust the treatment regarding the sodium profile???

[mogee]

All of the symptoms you describe are consistent with too much fluid removal.  I too experience them sometimes.  I've recently discovered that it is possible to be too dry and yet not have hypotension.  When it happens to me I get nausea, sweats and dizzyness when I stand up from sitting or lying down.  It might be advisable to raise your dry weight even though your blood pressure is in the normal range.

[FineWhine]

I have had tinnitus for several years. Never related it to PKD. It gets worse if I am dehydrated. I get dizzy if they take too much fluid and the sounds get louder then too.

Two things that help me BUT I AM NOT A DOCTOR nor do I play one on tv: Zinc and Magnesium. Since I take Calcium binders I have noticed I need to take a bit more zinc and magnesium. If I don't get zinc, I can't taste food as much. If I don't get enough magnesium, I get crampy, headachey, nerves are on edge. The OTC brand with Cal-Mag-Zinc I get says to take 3 a day - I only take 1. My nephrologist just told me I could take more zinc, since my fingernails are curling and breaking.

[Jie]

I have had ringing in ears for more than 25 years. It started when my kidneys were losing functions.

[Bajanne]

I have lived with this about all my adult life.  I hardly even think about it.  The only time it is a problem is if I am in a room with no noise whatsoever.  I must have a fan, or radio, or something.  then I don't hear it.

[amyloid man]

It started for me when I started taking metropolol for SVT (tachycardia).  It is sometimes a buzzing and sometimes a ringing and sometimes a knocking like someone is hammering on something.  I am on so many drugs that who knows on this one.  Does anyone know if there is a type of hearing aide that can help block this without losing all hearing?

[FineWhine]

It started for me when I started taking metropolol for SVT (tachycardia).  It is sometimes a buzzing and sometimes a ringing and sometimes a knocking like someone is hammering on something.  I am on so many drugs that who knows on this one.  Does anyone know if there is a type of hearing aide that can help block this without losing all hearing?

Uh oh. I take same drug for same condition and have tinnitus!  Are you PKD? Twins from different mothers?

[mogee]

Is the ringing in the ears accompanied by permanent hearing loss?  Is it like ringing after exposure to extremely loud noise?

[Phil]

I've recently joined the tinnitus club! I have alports syndrome...so I new hearing loss was coming my way...but some loud music last week at a club was the death stroke for my ears! Now I have permanant 'music' in my ears 24/7! Sucks.

[huldafolk]

I have almost complete hearing loss in my left ear, along with constant BUZZING in the left ear. I get passing loss in the right ear depending on the dialysis treatment and my final dry weight.  Take CERC 3 to 4 tabs/day.  Have difficulty with balance and true vertigo making me nauseous and locked in the bathroom for hours(vomiting). Never know when it will start.

[peleroja]

My tinnitus started long before dialysis, after I had ear infections in both ears one after the other.  Mine is more like the hissing of a radiator.  I usually don't notice it until it gets very quiet.  It does not seem to have affected my hearing.  I asked the audiologist if there was anything I could do and she said no.  I'm sorry to hear yours is affecting you so badly.