if you haven't already, please see a ENT doctor about this (or your GP who will hopefully send you on to an ENT doc). could be a host of things. hope its nothing serious but i had a student recently who kept complaining of similar symptoms; by the time the doctors took her seriously, the tumor was quite large. thankfully it was benign and looks like she'll be ok, though she is probably permanently deaf in the ear on that side. if it had been detected sooner, that possibly wouldn't have been the case. not saying its a tumor, that would be worse case scenario, just saying it could be a number of things and should be looked at. sudden hearing loss is nothing to brush aside. if you're already going to the doctors, good, and hope they figure it out soon.

Keep on pursuing your dream. I can assure you most musicians deal with hearing issues. My husband and I are both musicians (I'm a vocalist, and Ron as well plays guitar and drums-he suffers with hearing loss due to several years on the road with bands in his mid-twenties, but he is not in need of hearing aids at this point-he's in his mid-50's now). Sounds like you need to get down to resolving your recurrent sinus issues - do you irrigate with a neti pot at all? I would encourage all suffering with recurrent sinusitis to irrigate with saline water in a neti pot...

Thank you for these links - they were an interesting read, although I had difficulty loading the second link...

Shari,

Thanks for your encouraging words and insights. I know that the frequent illnesses are due to what the children bring home. I've learned not to share food or utensils with them.

Going off the Enbrel is not an option for me-it has restored a great quality of life, and the thought of going back to my pre-Enbrel suffering is not something I could fathom. Right now, the children really need both of us there for them-their mother's illness is one of the reasons they are with us presently, but that may soon change.

We are consistent with discipline, but I fear their parents undo it every weekend so it's like wading through mud sometimes-plus we're dealing with 2 kids that are broken, that we did not break. The 11 year old is quite helpful and easy to live with.

I'm hoping I don't have to go on disability through the government-for one, it's very hard to get approved in Canada, and we could not afford to survive on that basis either. Plus, I'm not sure how much longer we will have the children - we'll see...

That's a long time to be suffering with these issues - I hope your doctors can get down the the bottom of it for you...

Wow, that's a lot to deal with - you certainly have my compassion for this. Before now, tinnitus was a long-standing issue for me, but I realized it came with long-term NSAID use, so I took it in stride as a trade-off to less pain. The only time I had reduced hearing came with head colds and lasted a very brief time. Being deaf in my right ear for 6 days now has been a real trial...

All the best...

Shel, Thanks for the link. I found the further link to Meniere's Disease quite compelling and can relate to the sensations that is described therein.

I've been taking the Serc 3 times per day since Wed. night, but still find the room spinning, sometimes even upon rolling over in bed. I'm also taking Gravol. I've even resorted to having my hubby put a drop of the Pred-Forte in my ear at bed-time, which is prescribed for my iritis. I'm hoping I'm not hurting myself-I'm just so desperate to ease this condition. I figure that if oral steroids are prescribed for some of these conditions, that a single drop of ocular steroids can't hurt (sounds crazy, but after my eyedrop, if I blow my nose, I can actually taste the Pred-Forte, since it gravitates into my sinus through my eye-wierd, eh?). Eyes, ears, sinuses are all connected-so I'm hoping it'll help in the meantime, but have not noticed a difference yet.

I am concerned about the hearing loss, and what would happen if I lost hearing in my other ear??? I'm a receptionist in a busy dental office, so hearing is essential to my career.

The referral to the ENT doc was given to the medical secretary on Wed. evening after my appointment, so I went to the ENT's office after work on Friday to see about an appointment. Would you believe that that medical secretary had still not fax'ed over the referral yet? It had been sitting on her desk, marked Urgent for 2 business days... I did not have kind thoughts toward her lack of professionalism, and my doctor will hear about it at my next appointment for sure... At least it was faxed over while I waited at the request of the ENT docs receptionist...

My hubby is my hero-I could not have made it thus far without him. He's doing the heavy lifting of laundry baskets and whatever he can to help and be supportive. I am a blessed woman...

I am looking into Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia - possibly a pituatory gland cyst - this will also cause - vertigo - sinus problems - lack of ability to smell - hearing problems.

I don't think anyone should have to deal with what your dealing with.

There is so many things (what we are dealing) could be.

Hopefully you get answers.

Hugs
Gerri & Makaylah

Thanks for your reply. I don't have much time to surf these days, but may take a visit to the pages you suggest. Enbrel has been a God-send for me. The only side effects have been an occasional injection-site reaction, which doesn't happen any more since I've become quite adept at injecting myself with it (sometimes I nick a small blood vessel). I prefer the pre-filled syringe over the sure-click pen-that one hurts too much - I can't control the speed of the injection with that one...

The only other side effects have been an annual headcold (which most healthy people usually suffer with anyway), and a long-standing issue with a rash of impetego (it's a bacterial skin infection) that took nearly 6 months before it was diagnosed, then another year to clear up-that I would say was Enbrel related. The recent spate of sinusitis are related to having children in the house, and I usually find that using Oregano Oil drops subligually is quite effective at holding most sore-throats at bay from becoming anything more serious

In the meantime-I await improvement... At least last night I had about 2 hours where I wasn't feeling queasy...

I suspect you may be right about AIED being underdiagnosed-it sounds like it's a hard one to pin down through lab tests, etc.

I really feel for your nephew. That's a lot to deal with... I'm glad coeliac disease was ruled out for me-I was tested both by blood-work and biopsy, so I know I don't have that issue.

Young people should be having fun with sports and many other activities. I feel so bad for young people with chronic disease. I wish you and your family well...