I've been dealing with a moderately degeneration of C5 and C6, but since August I developed a herniated disc after doing strengthening exercises with a PT. I ended up in the ER with numbness down the arm and pain on the back of the neck that made me feeling like I was going to pass out. Ever since then, I would get better and then sudden get worse for no apparent reason. When I get worse, it's usually the occipital headaches that debilitate me. I will get tingling in the back of the head up to the crown accompanied with dizziness. When I get dizzy, I have difficulties eating because of the nausea. Recently, I've been dizzy everyday for the last 2 months. Some days or better and some are worse. The pain in shoulder, neck and upper back is nothing compared to the dizziness! Last week, I had a CT scan done that revealed "a severe biforminal narrowing due to uncovertable hypertrophy" and they found posterior and anterior osteophytes between C5 and C6. Does anyone have similar symptoms of occipital headaches that make you dizzy from C5 and C6 nerve impingement?
Before my fusion of C5/6, I used to get severe occipital headaches. I never had dizziness associated with them.
Have you seen a spine specialist yet?
Best wishes,
Marianne
Hi Marianne,
Thank you for your reply! I'm quite sure that the dizziness is from my trapezius muscles. When I apply pressure on the part of the muscle between my shoulders and my neck, I feel pain radiating to the back of my head and the eye. I get temporary relief and then it slowly comes back. I know that I have nerve root impingement. The muscles around my neck, shoulders and upper back are always super tight and in pain throughout the day and sometimes I feel the muscle spasm when they start twitching.
I have a couple of appointments with different neurosurgeons within the next 2 weeks. I can no longer deal with the dizziness. I feel surgery is my only option, since I've tried PT twice, acupuncture, chiropractor and had my first epidural last week with minimal relief.
Lini
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Gosh, I've posted alot about my "new found dizzyness since having this acdf surgery" I'm glad I stumbled onto your post. I too have extremely tight muscles that start from the left side of my neck, across my shoulders/traps daily and this all started after my surgery. I can only hope that if you have to have surgery that all your symptoms will be gone!
I personally think that I still have some nerve compression and this is causing my dizzyness. I'm going to see an Ear Nose and Throat specialist next week...my dizzyness, like yours has been going on for 2 months 15 days and counting! Please keep posting Lili I'll be watching for your post. My neuro has been of no help regarding my issue. Perhaps I can learn from your experience. thanks in advance
Hi cgm,
I also have an appointment with an ENT in a couple of weeks. On February 1st, I'm meeting with the best neurosurgeon for the cervical spine at EDITED Hospital. Hopefully he will be able to provide some insight for both of us.
Try massaging or pressing really hard on your traps between your shoulder and neck area. It might even be near your clavicle. Dig around that area. When you find this sensitive area, put pressure there. You should feel pain radiating up the side of the neck and behind your head. This is why I think the traps are involved. You might even notice that the dizziness goes away for a little while. Let me know if that works for you!
I think you should meet with the doctor who did your surgery to discuss this new symptom you have. Good luck and keep me informed of any developments on your end!
Standards agreement and posting rules.
Naming specific institution or doctor names is not permitted in the Spine-Health.com forums.
Edited by Authority Member Cath111.
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
I also experienced severe occtipital headaches with severe dizziness. My dizziness would come out of no where. I was afraid to drive or go anywhere alone because when the dizziness would hit I couldnt even stand up. Since I have had my surgery it has all gone away.
Susan
My headaches are here and there...not debilitating. I have never suffered from headache issues but I've noticed an increase. JlrFrye, lucky you...glad surgery fixed your issues! Thats awesome.
My clavicle has a area that is painful when pressed and I can feel that the muscles are very tight thru that area as well.I'm constantly kneading my neck and shoulder muscles and I do not feel relief of dizzyness. Not sure when your ENT appt is, but my PCP told me to take mezinine sp?/motion sickness tables 25mgs 3 x a day so that I can rule out "vertigo". She did a balance test and eye test and saw no indication of vertigo nor any ear infection. By taking them and letting the ENT know, I can bypass this step. Apparently, they will ask you to take this to see if it helps. I just want it to stop. I will say, that I'm not near as off kilter like I was a month ago, but I still have it...and it's a constant. It's hard to explain the sensation. My head feels heavy and any upper torso movement makes me feel an off balance sensation.
Keep the updates coming on what is going on Lili...I'm curious...I'll let you know too.
Hi Susan,
Can you tell me which area of the cervical spine did you have surgery on? I'm so tired of this dizziness that it's impossible to function. I'm lucky that I can take time off from school. I was a full-time student and this is the second semester I had to ask for a leave of absence.
Lini
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
While you are waiting for Susan to get back to you, if you click on her screen name (at the top left: jlrfrye) you will see her medical history that explains which levels have been operated on.
Thanks jellyhall! I'm a new member and still learning.
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
I have many years suffered occipital headaches and occipital neuralgia. It's not much fun. My problems were from C2-C3 as well as vascular issues. I wound up with a vascular injury after surgery at C1 and C2 that damaged the vestibulocochlear nerve, creating horrible vertigo, hearing loss and nystagmus (involuntary eye movement). I also have disc problems at C4-C5 and C5-C6, but I no longer have the headaches or vertigo.
Has your doctor determined if you are suffering dizziness versus vertigo? I used to think the two were synonymous until my experience referenced above.
What type of doctor are you seeing for all of this? It took a team of neurologists to get things figured out for me and get me going in the right direction.
Welcome to Spine Health.
"C"
I had actual vertigo a couple of times. Since then, I know that I have to move slowly and never really had it come on. But I do have dizziness all the time, all day for the last 2 months. I do not believe it's an inner ear problem, but meeting with ENT anyways.
I have appointments with neurosurgeons from EDITED Hospital and EDITED Hospital in the next 2 weeks. I'm willing to wait to meet with the best in the field, even though it is driving me crazy!
How did you ever repair the vestibulocochlear nerve after it got damaged?
Standards agreement and posting rules.
Naming specific institution or doctor names is not permitted in the Spine-Health.com forums.
Edited by Authority Member Cath111.
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
We can't post website here or they will be deleted. Anyhoo, I sent you a private message with a website I just found. Good info. Take care LILI and we'll see ya round.
There was no repair done to the nerve other than what my body did itself. I went through several months of vestibular rehab where I had to work every day to learn to compensate (learn to walk unsupported, learn to balance, learn to stand up from a seated position, learn to turn my head or track someone walking past). Eventually I was able to compensate for a lot of it. There are still certain situations where I experience balance or vertigo issues, but I now know what to look for or be wary of and I avoid falling. The hearing loss decreased some, but as that happened I developed a lot of tinnitus in its place.
Basically the body is capable of tremendous things. With the right guidance and therapy I have been able to overcome a lot of what the damaged nerve caused/s.
"C"
Our bodies are resilient! Glad you are better Sir.
I do agree that our bodies have an incredible capability when it comes to dealing with injury and disease. I am very grateful that despite the abuse I have put mine through, it finds ways to heal that I would never have thought even possible.
Oh and my husband would laugh to know someone called me sir. I too am glad things are much better!
"C"
Just goes to show you that Girls can be football fans too huh. There I went just assuming cuz of your Sea Hawks logo. Sorry Chickadee!
No Worries. I have been a Seahawks fan through thick and thin from the days when they were nothing more than an expansion team.
"C"
Sorry it took so long to get back with you. I have had surgery on c3-c7. My surgeon told me the dizziness was caused by severe stenosis at all levels. The dizziness I had before my surgery was horrible. Once the dizziness started I was unable to stand up and had to put my head down. I also had severe vision problems during my spells.
My last surgery was about 9 months ago and I have had no issues with my vision or dizziness since. I really hope that they can resolve this issue for you. It used to scare the crap out me when it happened and caused me to become housebound. I was scared to death it would happen while I was away from home, which it did twice so I remained home until surgery. Let us know how this turns out for you. Good luck
Susan
Thanks haglandc and jlrfrye,
haglandc glad the rehab for your dizziness helped! It's amazing how neuropathways can be remapped. I took a neurology class right before I became debilitated by my spine issues. Your nerves can relearn how to function in an entirely different part of the brain by rewiring.
Susan: i hope that i will find a solution to all the dizziness. tomorrow i meet with one neurosurgeon and hope to get some answers.
Lini
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
I met with the neurosurgeon and left without knowing more than I already knew. Tomorrow I am scheduled to get my second injection so that I will know if my symptoms are truly from C5 and C6.
I'm really feeling like no one has any answers for me. My pain management doctor said that never operate until you can find out where the pain is coming from. Often what we see as the pathology on CT scans do not mean that the pain is coming from there. It's really like this mystery that needs to be solved!
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Hi LILI,
I go tomorrow to see ENT, They do all the testing at 10a.m then see the doc at 2pm. Hopefully I will have some answers as well. Please post an update when you see your ENT doc.
"I met with the neurosurgeon and left without knowing more than I already knew."
Thats exactly how I have left my Neuro's office each appt as well. Typical I guess.
Please post after your ENT appointment. Mine isn't until Feb. 8th.
Good luck!
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Well, I my results from the ENT test were sketchy. My eyes during one of the test jerked diagonally vs either Horizontal/vertical. He's ordered both a Brain MRi and MRA, he thinks that quite possibly my cerebrial veins are not getting enough blood flow. Said it could be a benign tumor, but we won't know until we get Mri/mra back. He thinking that the dizzyness is surgery related, but doesn't want to rule anything out. I go In on Next Monday for the imaging. So I don't know much more either.
Have I mentioned how I'm over seeing anyone in the Medical field. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Glad you are getting the MRI and MRA done to rule out vascular and tumor possibilities. Hang in there!
I'm also extremely feed up, but I have to be patient. The last injection I received yesterday was in the facet joints. It did nothing for me. I felt the exact same pain before and after. Still more digging around for the site of pain. Anxious for the next injection.
Will post again after next neurosurgeon visit on Tuesday.
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Hi, LiliInu,
Your post and the answers from other fellow C-Spiney friends has been helpful.
I ditto about those Neuro's
sad when it is such a fascinating field of neuro-muscular medicine!
Glad to hear you are getting further along on your diagnostics and getting an MRI MRA of brain - - my dizziness and more so constant balance issues (go into a fall and down before I know it
got diagnosed finally with my MRI with vascular ischemia (narrowing of arteries) in two parts of my brain, cortex and temporal.
Glad to hear they are being thorough in having that MRI done for you.
p.s. Nothing done for my balance issues, other than I turn slower, get up slower laying down, sitting, etc. all compensating for getting easy-off-balance - - no meds.
Met with neurosurgeon from Columbia University Hospital today. He suggested an ACDF for C5 and C6, since the last couple of weeks I've started to develop neurological symptoms and they are progressively getting worse. Thursday I will be getting another nerve block injection for C3 and C4 just to rule out those nerves as the cause of pain. The neurosurgeon is requesting another MRI prior to surgery to see if anything has changed, sot there are no surprises when he is operating.
I will be scheduling to have surgery soon, but want to be sure that C3 and C4 isn't also the source of pain, since I have a slight herniation at both levels at C3-C4 and C4-C5.
I'm so anxious to have this surgery, but know that I still have a lot to do before the surgery. Last night I woke up in pain and couldn't go back to sleep.
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Hi all,
I have Disk C6-C7 a hearnia and C5-C6 degeneracia.
This started in December 2010, I started PT, at first 5 times a week and now dropped to 3 times a week. Hoping then to drop to 2 times a week.
Still get little tingles....pins and needles I call them in my left arm and have lowered alot of my pain medicine.
My question is What sports am I allowed to do? What are the dos and don"t so I never ever go throught the pain I had in the beginning of December before I found out what I had.
I understand swimming is great.
But can I go jogging, running, holidays which involve carrying suitcases...etc...
Hope someone can help me make a list of can do and can"t do.
Wishing all of you a great recovery.
None of us are doctors or specialists, so only your physical therapist can answer that question. Glad to hear that PT is working for you in reducing pain.
Good luck and hope you can avoid surgery!
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Hi Folks,
I'm finding this forum interesting. I've been fighting dizziness for years now. I experience dizziness daily but get re-occurring spells that are dehabilatating. When this happens, I also feel tension in my neck right behind my ear. I get temporary relief by applying intense pressure there. The pressure shoots relief from the back of my ear/head to my temple. Hitting the area repeatedly really hard with an object like a wooden handle brings me relief. You'd think I was insane & trying to knock myself out if you saw me doing this.
I can't drive when I get a spell. Spells last anywhere from 30 minutes to hours. When I get spells, dizziness and brain fog stick around for days. I've had intense headaches that made me believe I was having a stroke in the past because of the numbness that accompanied them. Always on the left side and always accompanied with dizziness.
To date, I've seen an ENT, audiologists and had 2 ENGs. Findings from this were that I have a nystagmus in my left eye induced by certain sounds. I've always had poor hearing in my left ear.
I've been suspecting SCDS because of other symptoms such as:
- Hearing my heartbeat in my head. Extremely loud during dizzy spells
- Hearing my eyes move in their sockets
- Intense dizziness by blowing my nose or inducing pressure in my left ear
But 2 VEMP tests have ruled out SCDS (Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome)
I should note that I had a pretty bad concussion 10 years ago by a blow to the back of the head. I suspect it may be related.
I have an appointment with a Neurologist next. Seeing some of the posts below are comforting knowing that there could be a fix if I do indeed have a nerve issue. I'd be interested in hearing from people that have had a similar combination of symptoms which were relieved via surgery.
Thx
I definitely think you are right to see a neurologist. My visit to the ENT this Tuesday only confirmed my suspicion: no inner or middle ear disorders. In fact, my hearing is just as good as a teenagers! The ENT suspects it's coming from my neck, too.
I'm going into surgery tomorrow morning! Thanks to all you fellow "neckies" for sharing your experience and support.
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Today is the day. I hope that you are feeling as calm as possisble and that all will go to plan.
Trusting you will wake up with good pain control from the surgery, and as many before you, knowing that your pre-surgery symptoms are gone.
Now you need to follow all instructions given to you. Rest and walk when you can. Hopefully things will get easier very soon.
We'll be waiting to hear how you are doing, as soon as you are able to post here.
Your probably resting as you should be! Check in when you can and let us know how your doing....hopefully your not dizzy and your headache free!
cgm
I'm doing well and just went for a walk around the block for the first time since surgery.
Dizziness and headaches were completely gone at hospital, but is coming and going every since I came home. I can't complain, since it's still earlier and pain is better than before.
How is your dizziness?
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Hi everyone!
I am new to this site and new to my symptoms, but reading your posts is giving me a sense of comfort.
I have suffered from neck pain for years, but always assumed it was job-related as I am a professional server and have been for many years, I bear most weight on my left side carrying plates and trays. I have recently been having pins and needles (burning not numbing) in hands and feet which crawls up my arms and legs, blurred vision, dizziness that debilitates me, occasional hearing loss and tunnel vision. After seeing my neurologist, she recommended MRI and EEG. Both came back normal only showing a minor bulging in my C-4 through C-7 disks. Now I realize that these minor bulges are not likely to cause my symptoms, however the dizziness is brought on by turning my head, sometimes just looking down and slightly bending my neck will cause the dizzy spells. Recently after a dizzy spell the bottom of my feet went numb and turned white, numb to the touch and splotchy accompanied by the burning pins and needles on the top of my feet and up my legs. I am having headaches stemming from my neck as well.
Has anyone experienced anything like this before? It's all a little scary and keeping me from driving and working!
Thank you,
Steff
You leg issues might not have to do with your cervical discs. Perhaps you should get an MRI of your lumbar, just to be sure.
Since my surgery 6 months ago, some of the pain I had has left, but some of the symptoms and pain have come back. My acupuncturist says that the complaints I have are not related to my C5/6 disc problems. To make a long story short, I am searching for the cause of the residual symptoms.
Do massages help you at all? Have you tried acupuncture or PT? Does heat alleviate the symptoms? PM me if you want to discuss this more! Good luck!
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Hey wanted to know if anyone who has had a herniated or bulging C5 besides the crippling headaches that make your head feel like someone is ripping it appart, has anyone noticed Sudden Hearing loss at any time. About a month ago I came home from work went to bed able to hear and woke up with a 20% hearing loss, and the only thing I can think of is maybe it maybe my neck. I was fortunate to escape surgery I responded really well to decompression therapy, while at first I wanted to remove my head it slowly got better over the year period, but now I have this new symptom I cant hear anything but muted noises out of my right ear(like when Charlie Brown answers the phone), and I have a mulit-toned tinnitus(ringing in my right ear)a high pitched ringing accompanied with a low humming/buzzing sound. If anyone has heard of this or knows someone who has had something like this please let me know who to see I have already been to a(n) ENT Speacialist but she couldnt find anything wrong, my MRI of my ear came back with nothing... Thank you to anyone who can help me.......
Hey wanted to know if anyone who has had a herniated or bulging C5 besides the crippling headaches that make your head feel like someone is ripping it appart, has anyone noticed Sudden Hearing loss at any time. About a month ago I came home from work went to bed able to hear and woke up with a 20% hearing loss, and the only thing I can think of is maybe it maybe my neck. I was fortunate to escape surgery I responded really well to decompression therapy, while at first I wanted to remove my head it slowly got better over the year period, but now I have this new symptom I cant hear anything but muted noises out of my right ear(like when Charlie Brown answers the phone), and I have a mulit-toned tinnitus(ringing in my right ear)a high pitched ringing accompanied with a low humming/buzzing sound. If anyone has heard of this or knows someone who has had something like this please let me know who to see I have already been to a(n) ENT Speacialist but she couldnt find anything wrong, my MRI of my ear came back with nothing... Thank you to anyone who can help me.......
Hi Lili,
I was wondering if you have found massage helpful.
I am booked to have one on Friday afternoon, I am really looking forward to it. I reckon that if I don't get much long term relief from the massage, at least it will feel good at the time.
Welcome to Spine Health
I have read on here of others who seem to have had their hearing affected by neck problems.
Perhaps it is time to talk to your spine specialist to see what they think.
I have had my vision affected while I was having a treatment on my neck, and was told that my optical nerves were around that area. I think that your nerves for hearing are also in that vicinity.
Massages worked for me before surgery, but only temporarily. Everyone told me if massages work, then it was a muscular issue. Well, my condition was not muscular and now that I'm 6 months post-op, I can say that things have gotten much better. My muscles respond better to massage now than it used to. I had severe foraminal stenosis and still recovering, but do not regret ever having surgery. The majority of my pain is gone, but still lots of burning in the shoulders and back of the neck.
I hope you get some relief, even if it lasts for a day or two! Try to relax and enjoy it!
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
I would get the "muted" hearing loss momentarily before my surgery and I still will get them once in a while. I'm not exactly sure why, but they will last for less than a minute. Once I swallow and "pop" my ears, then the hearing is back to normal. Sometimes I would also experience tinnitus, but that also lasts for less than a minute.
Have you asked your PCP or spine specialist this question? I'm pretty sure that it's from the neck, but there's really no way of knowing for sure. Good luck and let us know what you find out!
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
well I am just back from my massage.
It wasn't the lovely relaxing session that I had hoped for.
She checked with me at the beginning on how much pressure I wanted. I told her that the level she was using should be ok (I wouldn't want it any harder). Well she seemed to get harder and in several places I felt very tender and told her. She kept working on them pressing hard. Not nice!
Then as she worked up my back, it was not pleasurable and relaxing. There were clicking feelings in my muscles and when she got to my neck, again it was uncomfortable. I thought that perhaps she had found tightness or trigger points or something, and that she was working on them to try to deal with them. At one point, my right arm started to burn over the triceps muscle.
I was quite glad when the time was up!
Right now, I feel a bit sore, especially over my shoulders and neck. I hope that I will start to feel the benefit soon, but I doubt I will do that again. I had thought that even if it didn't make me feel better, at least while I was having the massage, it would be lovely. Mistake! It was too hard to be pleasant. I doubt that she has done any harm, but I feel worse than before the massage.
Sorry to hear that your massage was not relaxing! There's good pain and bad pain. Good pain is when during the massage you experience pain, but you get relief afterwards. Bad pain is when you experience pain during and after the massage. Being sore is pretty normal after deep tissue massage.
I went for a massage yesterday and it was quite relaxing. I've been having hip and leg pain, so he worked on my back and hips only. I find that a massage can only give you temporary relief if your nerves are compressed. How long the relief lasts depends on your own situation. When my stenosis got severe, I would get relief for about a couple of hours. Also, there's muscle memory as a factor. The longer you have had muscle spasms, the longer it will take for it to stop spasming.
Does heat or ice work for you? Do you have a TENS unit? How much longer do you have to wait before you consider surgery? Wishing you a pain free day!
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
I have been even more sore today, and had to take pain meds. Even when my husband gave me a hug, it hurt!
I think she must have done deep tissue massage, but I was told not to have deep tissue massage, only swedish massage. She had supposedly spoken to my physio and knew about my problems and what I needed. The physio was one of the people who had told me not to have deep tissue massage!
I do often use heat on my neck, which is soothing. I do have a TENS unit which didn't help my lumbar spine much. It was just a slight distraction from the pain. I will have to look it out and try it again on my neck.
I have an appointment in October to see the neurosurgeon again. He should have the results of the EMG/nerve conduction studies and I am also supposed to be having a full spine MRI before then for him to review.
I am glad that your massage was relaxing. That is what I had hoped for.
Have a lovely weekend.
I went 2 weeks ago and again last week. Cranial decompression is a manual supposed to be gentle maneuver done by RMT and PTs also. Sometimes I was getting my massage and thought of Ron Dilauro(Admin) when he gets his deep muscle massage therapy from his Physiatrist(sports Dr.)
I find the massage helps the muscles but the second one done by a guy was a little rough. I had a hard time getting off the table and still had the usual deep back pain that no muscle massage can help but I was able to move better.
I'm seeing a Chiropractor, not for adjustments, he won't touch my discs, but find inferential treatment pretty good for taking down the tissue swelling in Lumbar spine and he's doing ultrasound on my neck and knee. I'm going to have Medical cold laser treatment also for my lower back pain as I'm done with injections after 3 years of no improvement.
Jelly-sounds like you got a rough Massage Therapist. I hope ice/heat and gentle stretches help you feel better. Charry
DDD of lumbar spine with sciatica to left hip,leg and foot. L4-L5 posterior disc bulge with prominent facets, L5-S1 prominent facets with a posterior osteocartilaginous bar. Mild bilateral foraminal narrowing c-spine c4-c7 RN
I am gratful to your comments though I wish this was a fleeting thing this sudden loss of hearing accompanied with Tinnitus has lasted more than a month. After the ENT dr. couldnt figure out what was wrong I asked my Chiroprator he did some decompression stretches and sent me for another MRI which showed no changes. I work at a hospital and asked a Neurosurgeon I work with, he looked at my MRI and said that the area that my disc herniated I wouldnt experience hearing loss from it. So now I am back to square one... I am at a loss as to what to do now
In my case, I have more than one issue. I had the C5/6 disc herniation/stenosis and I also have a spine alignment issue, which has caused muscular imbalance. My left shoulder/back/neck muscles were overworked over the years of being lopsided and are now fighting to stay tight. Some of these muscles hold the cervical spine for stability. When these muscles spasm, they can cause the vertebrae to pull down together. I'm not suggesting this is in anyway your condition, but I am struggling with this. When these muscles spasm, I get moments of blurred vision, dizziness, headaches and sometimes nausea. C2 or your atlas, when misaligned, can cause lots of neurological symptoms like the ones I mentioned.
The cervical area is a very complex part of the spine and not so easy to understand when it comes to symptoms that do not correlate with the typical clinical findings. I've been doing so much research into this that my doctors are amazed how much I know! You know your body best and will be able to discover what exactly is the cause. Sometimes doctors dismiss what you tell them because it's not a typical textbook case. Don't stop searching for the cause! Consult more doctors for a 2nd or 3rd opinion. Good luck!
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Hi jlrfrye & Lili_Inu - i have been experiencing dizziness and shooting pains from the base of my skull to the crown, sometimes behind my eye and around the temples. I too am afraid to drive. It is so scary. Sometimes it feels like the spot is numb, like from pins and needles. I don't have insurance and am on a govt financial assistant program which is a joke. The PA wrote the wrong dx and 8 months later they denied the MRI. 2 years later finally the New Dr wrote a dcx and went for an x-ray, now MAYBE in April I will see the ortho. It's totally changed my whole personality and lifestyle. I'm sorry you are feeling this way, but happy I found your posts. Good luck in your quests for healing!
Hi JettyCat! Welcome to Spine Health! Did you get any answers from your x-ray? It really is a long process in diagnosing spine problems. I started out with a constant feeling of fatigue many years ago. My symptoms progressed into shoulder blade pain, headaches and eventually dizziness. The flare ups would come and go and I did not know the cause or suspect a cervical spine problem since I did not recall being in an accident.
Please keep us posted on your condition after you meet with your specialist. It might take time, but don't give up!
2011 ACDF C5-6 for Spondylosis with Myleopathy
2012 L4-5 herniation causing short leg on right side; hernated disc at C4/5
Hello Lili,
I have a similar problem like you. I have mild-Severe paracentral disc at c5-c6 and mild to severe spinal stenosis. My Dr.(Neuro Surgeon) suggested me Physical Therapy. I went for initial assessment. Physical Therapist did Initial Assessment and suggested few excersizes for mussel strenthing. Then all of sudden Dizzy ness started when I laying down on bed and rolling side to side. Currently I stopped physical therapy and Excercises. What is your suggestions to go right direction from here?
Pages