New hearing aid molds and sudden onset of vestibular dysfunction

By any chance, are you in Cleveland?

@Beryl1 said:

This was after lunch and I wore the molds and aids until about 10 pm with no dizziness.

This does make the dizziness sound coincidental to the new mold fit. Typically if the mold were, say, pressing on the vagus nerve the onset of dizziness and nausea would come on pretty rapidly and then subside after removal. Similarly, if it were an issue with just sheer gain impacting the vestibular system it comes on with the hearing aids in and subsides when they are out–but I see you have M receivers so it wouldn’t be that anyway.

BPPV can absolutely cause spinning dizziness and nausea, but I agree that it doesn’t sound like what you described. BPPV symptoms come on with positional changes but as long as you stay still they subside after 5 minutes, usually less (although time seems long when you are spinning). Horizontal canal BPPV can be pretty persistent and awful and pukey compared to a more common posterior canal BPPV because it causes dizziness even just turning your head side to side, but it still subsides as long as you hold your head still. Sounds like your episode lasted a lot longer.

Neville
Thank you for this additional information. Doesn’t the Dix-Hallpike test rule out positional reasons? In the long run I am not sure it matters what it was as there seems little that can be done to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Speedskater
Not in Cleveland. In the DC metro area.

3 hours isn’t bppv. Bppv only spins for minutes at a time.

But yes, it’s possible for bppv to clear on it’s own.

Do you have vents on your molds?
it might seem that molds might increase pressure on the middle ear, if like me you had surgery that opened the middle ear to the outer due to cholesteotoma, or another condition.

vents might relieve that pressure. They also might decrease the benefits of molds.

Can’t you simply go back to using rubber tips to see if that solves the issue? And then go from there.

The mold that’s giving me an issue has no vent. When I wear my backup Marvels with a vented mold, I have zero issues.

I’ve had BPPV that was resolved by having two Epley manuevers at my ENT’s office. BPPV episodes were brief and really just annoying. What I’ve experienced since getting the Philips with the unvented mold is nothing like that.

Two weeks ago, I went to my ENT for wax removal. I didn’t wear any aids to the appointment and hadn’t worn the Philips the prior day. I was told my eardrums looked perfectly healthy.

Last week I saw my PCP for annual bloodwork. I wore the Philips to the appointment. The doc looked into my ears. I took the left unvented mold out immediately before she looked in that ear. She said, your eardrum looks cloudy. Pretty much confirms the mold is causing the issue.

Re:REM wire.

as I’ve mentioned, I’ve had several reconstructive surgeries on both ears. My left eardrum is barely there. when I asked about REM, my audi mentioned that that requires a wire to bump up against the ear drum. He does these fittings as matter of routine, even though he thinks REM is oversold. In my case, he cautioned that, since my ear drums are fragile, or practically non-existent, the risk is greater than the benefit. Especially since I’m perfectly happy with my settings.

The microphone should be near, but not touching the eardrum. Perhaps he is afraid the mic might bump the eardrum.

WH

Thanks for this additional information. The REM wire with my new audi who is the area’s expert it seems in REM definitely did touch my eardrum once such that I almost jumped out the chair it was so painful. I have no idea though whether that could have set off the vestibular disfunction the next morning.

On a side issue I am not liking the molds with my Phonak’s at all after 2 weeks. Despite several lowerings of the volume remotely (and I now keep the app at -2) the sound is more than I can bear from TV at my husband’s normal listening level and when he speaks I am accusing him of shouting!. Also his speech is distorted and the only reason to try molds (a son’s suggestion as he loves his) was to increase speech comprehension.

So until I can go back to my audi (handle of one of the molds broke off after 4 days and waiting to get that back although I can still wear them) to perhaps revert back to domes I am taking to wearing my back up Oticons. Wrt REM these were adjusted each time my Phonaks were but never had REM done to them. And although they do not have the sound volume of the Phonak’s with molds they have enough and produce a much better speech sound. All so complicated and taking over my life at the moment.

People come here for information. Post what they were treated with so others can explore the option.

Update on my severe attack. While going for regular ear wax removal chose a doctor in that practice to see afterwards who was on the list for dizziness not that I have it on a regular basis at all.

Explained my September attack that sent me to the ER and he looked at all my audiograms and WRS from 2012 when I first had hearing loss onwards and diagnosed cochlear meunière disease (without dizziness) and said he thought it had caused my hearing loss to begin with (although I was 72 at the time). He said the fitting of hearing aid molds the day before was purely coincidental and not the cause of the attack. I now need to read up on Meunières as he mentioned the attack being caused by a virus.

Hi
I am 77 and have menieres which first began to cause problens in my late 30s. However, I believe I lost most of my hearing in my right ear aged 8 afterscarlet t fever. I honestly never realised this until many years later as I must have adapted by such thibgs as holfing a phone to my left ear despite being left handed and needing to make notes. Right hand with phone to left ear.
I suffered vertigo for many years sometimes ending up on the sraff room floor for hours on end.
The vertigo graduation stopped and I continued my hobbies of long distance walkibg abd playing in an accordion band. I was given a hearing aid through work but as I worked for a while in a noisy prison environment I didn’t use it.
Six year ago my hearing worsened then suddenly I exoerienced severe vertigo again and ended up in hospital for four days. I paid privately for a diagnosis as my GP was suggesting eustacian blockage. Turned out to be bilateral menieres…
I was given nhs aids which weren’t ideal and for months had problems with vertigo but my balance was ok inbetween. Unfortunately I used stemetil too often to help with vertigo and I believe this triggered a numver of scary drop attacks. I stopped the stemetil, the drop attacks stopped but I was left with a fear of using steps with no handrail. Soon after the diagnosis and after trying nhs aids my partner treated me to Signia aids with domes and I’ve been happy with these one to one and have a personal mic if I can’t here some people (I have 80% hearing loss in both ears). Hearing in restaurants is almost impossible and my ears no longer understand music so playing or listening to music isn’t possible now.
Recently I decided to get new aids as mine were 5 years old and Specsavers suggested Phonak which has many improvements in the last 5 years. I have always had domes abd the aids came with domes but I had impressions taken for moulds. The right fits well but the keft made a constant drone and kept sliding out as I spoke. I went back and am awaitong a new dome but currently have one mould and one dome. The tinnitus from which I recovered many years ago has now returned and I feel very off balance again often veering towards the right. I also feel very uncoordinated.
So sorry for lengthy reply but I wanted to put things in perspective by mentioning menieres before saying that I think maybe the domes are affecting my balance. I’ll see hiw it goes when I get a new hopefully properly fitting dome. Jyst to say you aren’t alone and hope you have a successful outcome in time.