I Was Diagnosed With Otitis Media At An By An

Posted on Thu, 22 Nov 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 Answered on

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Question : I was diagnosed with otitis media at an by an emergency room physician just over I year ago. Unfortunately, I was seen by an ENT approximately 8 days later and diagnosed with labrynthitis because severe symptoms that left me bed ridden persisted. This has resulted in permanent 100% (single sided) hearing loss, severe tinnitus and severe vertigo with no abatement of symptoms. I was a practicing dentist and forced to sell my practice and go on disability due to severe daily impairment. The ENT attempted nerve rescue, at the time, with a course of prednisone and suctioning of the outer ear and placement of a drainage tube and direct application of corticosteroid. At emergency signs and symptoms included nausea and vomiting, severe unsteadiness and altered gait, pink/straw coloured exudate in the outer ear, slightly elevated wbc count and extremely elevated c-reactive protein. No suctioning was done and the tympanic membrane could not be visualized with an otoscope. No swab was taken to determine bacterial vs viral infection. A course of oral Clavulin was prescribed and I was discharged without being examined by an ENT. My question is what is the long term prognosis for recovery of balance and decrease in vertigo given my severe persistent symptoms and would other diagnostic tests and treatments at emergency presentation resulted in a better outcome.

Answered by Dr. Dr.Dorina Gurabardhi (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
The prognosis is good, treatment of possible vertigo explained below.

Detailed Answer:
Hello dear, welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service.
I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

I understand your concern.

Your symptoms seem to be related to labyrnthitis. As I see through your query you have already treated correctly this diagnosis.

As per your query, the prognosis of labyrinthitis is very positive.

Most people recover completely from labyrinthitis.

You may have bouts of vertigo. In this case I would recommend you to use over the counter medications such as Meclizine Hydrochloride.

It is an over the counter antihistamine used to treat the symptoms of labyrinthitis.

If you have severe vertigo you may go to the emergency room for specific treatment such as diuretics.

There are any specific examinations to confirm labyrinthitis.

The diagnosis is confirmed usually by symptoms. A CT scan is usually done to exclude other possible diagnosis.

Some other advice that I can give to you are to avoid caffeine and alcohol.

I suggest you to drink a lot of fluids and eat well.

Hope I have answered your query.
Let me know if I can assist you further.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D