New hearing aid molds and sudden onset of vestibular dysfunction

I wonder how the OP is doing now.

Hearing aid can cause dizziness in rare instances. When they do, the dizziness subsides when they are removed (though this can be a slower improvement over a few hours) and returns when they are put back in. If this is not the pattern of dizziness, the hearing aids are a red herring and it’s something else. If it is, it can be either the physical fit aggravating a nerve, or in the case of severe profound loss the sound pressure level. It can be one ear and not the other or both. Wearing them in the ear while off rules in or out a sound issue, wearing one then the other can help identify a fit issue.

Wow, this is a fascinating topic! I totally empathize with your condition and the frustration of treatments that don’t seem to nail it down. I’m also intrigued cuz you mentioned that your gut instinct suspects a “pressure” issue from the fit of the mold. You may be on to something! That said, I read and learned more about your condition here12, and that seems to list MANY MANY things that could result in vestibular dysfunction.

For me, even atmospheric pressure can affect my hearing. Granted, I have sensorineural hearing loss, so I’ve never had good balance. But when the weather system changes (sudden heat, cold, rain, etc.,) my tinnitus gets much more musical. For you, that physical pressure of the mold pressing on a point in your ear is what could be exacerbating the issue.

I also think my sense of balance is getting worse as I age - no matter that I have a healthy diet and exercise regularly! It’s as if some physical mechanism in my body’s balance system is just plain getting OLDER. I notice that when going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I’ll totter down the hall (flashlight in hand) like a drunken sailor.

So perhaps your condition is multi-factorial. I would just keep searching and trying things to manage the symptom and try to achieve the best possible outcome. Keep us posted, cuz you have a very intriguing condition to share here.

@Sandra1 said:

I think it’s weather related in severity, but daily even if it’s mild.

Per my post above, I can totally relate, cuz I’ve had that condition … well, since I was in my teens, I’m thinking? I’m like a weather vane, with my tinnitus making certain tunes depending on if we’re in store for HEAT, COLD, RAIN.

Thanks so much for everyone weighing in! I have basically given up trying to find “the” reason, since I’ve gone from doctor to doctor, including vestibular “specialists.” who either treat me like I’m a little cuckoo for coco puffs or just send me for more physical therapy that does nothing for me. I’m pushing myself to walk daily – still trying for my 10,000 steps, albeit a bit wonky and zigzaggy – and try to have as normal a life as possible. Some days are better than others, some I just have to give myself a break and wait out the dizziness. I’ve come to the opinion that most doctors just don’t know much about balance disorders and unless I happen to find that magic specialist who has seen this before, I’ll keep getting these responses. Life is just too short to spend in pursuit of answers that, so far, nobody seems to have for me.

I’m not so lucky. Lol.

I have a problem with some models of HAs causing me dizziness and affecting my balance. I started with the Widex as my first trial of hearing aid. I almost immediately became dizzy and felt slightly disoriented. My trial lasted 3 weeks and I quit wearing them for the last few days and my symptoms resolved.

I told my audiologist about it and she said she had heard of that, but had never had a patient that experienced it.

It was not my imagination either, I actually got a message from my Iphone that my walking steadiness and balance had dropped from good to low.

I then had a trial of the Oticon real miniRITE R. My balance and walking steadiness returned to normal stayed normal during this trial.

My audiologist next gave me a trial of the Signia hearing aids because I have trouble keeping the Oticon HAs on and in my ears. I immediately experience dizziness and unsteadiness while walking. Again, my phone detected the change. It was not as severe as it was with the Widex, but it was not something I could live with.

I am now back in Oticon and trying the Intent to see how it affects my balance. I hope i do well with this one, as I really like the sound quality in the Oticons. I have just started a two week trial of these, but so far it seems good.

I noticed relatively mild new-onset balance problems when I started using Widex Moment Sheer 440’s with a somewhat snug-fitting tulip dome. Switching to open domes solved the problem. So I’m wondering if pressure on the inside of the ear canal might be the culprit.

I may have misunderstood what the OP meant by the term “pressure”…and indeed I thought of air pressure, because I have Eustachian tube dysfunction, which can block the release of air/liquid pressure. On reflection, I’ll say that I’m probably off base here. Others with more knowledge may have more informative things to say. But I wonder: ETD can cause the build up of fluid in the middle ear. Possibly this may have an impact on the semi–circular canals in the inner ear,and so balance? Cholesteatoma is an indicator of ETDysfunction. My ear architecture was highly modified in my youth to treat cholesteatoma. Maybe the suffers here have had this condition? Or not.

I have inner ear problems with vestibular / balance symptoms.
My ears always have pressure/aural fullness.
Like I just got off a high-rise elevator.
Yet the Audiologist reports that my measured pressures are good & very good.

@Candice
Your original post could be by me written today. For the first time (domes for 15 years) I was fitted with custom ear molds yesterday. Like you I found myself at the ER today I could not walk even the dysfunction was so bad and I had to be carried down the many stairs in our house and yard by the EMS guys. Like you I tested out fine including an MRI and I am now home walking but feeling groggy after anti nausea and dizziness meds. I have a prescription for both.
I have contacted my audiologist and we will see what she says. To date I do not feel my hearing loss is any less with the molds and we are using the same Phonak aids I have had for 4 years so it is only the molds that are different.

Thanks Candice. It will be interesting to see what my audiologist says.

I did ask with the molds what to expect but she didn’t really suggest anything. If she had mentioned some balance issues I likely wouldn’t have gone to the $$$ hospital ER but it was pretty bad as I couldn’t stand up much less walk.

I felt OK after the impressions but the fitting of the molds took fair amount of time what with REM using a very high tech I gathered machine. This was after lunch and I wore the molds and aids until about 10 pm with no dizziness. I hadn’t even got them on in the morning when I couldn’t lift my head off the pillow it felt like a dead weight and I felt very very dizzy and nauseous. We didn’t want to go the ambulance route but we have lots of stairs both inside and I couldn’t stand up much less walk. And two hefty men with difficulty carried me to the street level and I am not that big.

As to similarity of molds with the OP

I’ve had a similar experience since getting the Philips from Costco with a mold. Fortunately, I only wear a mold in one ear and I don’t have to wear them all day, so it’s just been an annoyance. I wore a flesh colored mold with a Unitron and a titanium mold with Phonaks, no issues with either.

I didn’t waste my time with medical appointments because I knew it would be useless. Besides, common sense told me it was the mold. Didn’t happen before, goes away when I don’t wear it. I suspect it’s causing havoc with my Eustachian tube. When I wear it, I periodically pull it out slightly and push it back in, and that seems to help. I need to get back to Costco and get a replacement.

This is my mold.

This is an update on my vestibular issue which occurred the day after having new molds fitted.
After the ER visit my Internist wanted me to visit an ENT. I wasn’t too keen to go as I thought I knew what I had despite the ER hospital pushing a BPPV diagnosis but I went.
Although again the ENT Physicians Assistant for vestibular issues was pushing BPPV I was insistent that it wasn’t that and the audiologist who did the requisite hearing tests for such a visit did the Dix-Hallpike test which tests for BPPV so in the end the diagnosis was by default Vestibular Neuritis which is what I had figured it was as BPPV does not involve nausea and patients with that can usually walk.

I know this forum is not for medical information but since this seems to have been related to a hearing mold fitting (although no medical professional I saw had heard of that) I quote below from the Cleveland Clinic website which notes the difference between the 2 vestibular events;

"Vestibular neuritis and BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) cause many of the same symptoms. But these are very different conditions.

While vestibular neuritis results from an inflamed vestibular nerve, BPPV happens when tiny crystals (otoconia) in your inner ear become displaced. Otoconia generally stay in your utricle (a fluid-filled cavity in your inner ear). But these tiny crystals can become dislodged and travel to your semicircular canals (fluid-filled tubes that help with balance). When this occurs, it can result in vertigo, dizziness and balance issues".