Hearing loss and vertigo.... (Not sure where to post but am scared!)

Hey all... I'm worried and I need to vent.

I have been a member of the Ulcerative Colitis board for quite some time. I was diagnosed with it 4 years ago this month....

Since February I have had back problems that have restricted me from playing basketball and working out... It has gotten to the point where in April and May I have hardly been able to do any physical activity whatsoever. For 3 to 4 months I have had loads of trouble transitioning from sitting to standing, walking and even putting on socks. I've even had to cut my shower time in half because standing is too painful, shopping? Not without benches around...And I'm hoping it is some sort of balance issue which explains the real problem I write about here...


Now, something new has arose. Tuesday, May 6th, I woke up with sudden Vertigo. I had never had anything like it before and wasn't really sure how to react to it. My ears felt clogged and I figured it was due to allergies, sinus pressure, or wax blocked in the ears... Wednesday it felt worse and I started getting headaches so I scheduled an appointment with my PCP that day. He said that sometimes the hairs in the ears have a negative allergic reaction that causes the vertigo. He said there was no infection but there was some inflammation and redness. He put me on a taper trial of meclizine (3 25mg tabs day 1 and 2, 2 tabs day 3 and 4, and 1 tab day 5 and 6). Thursday the vertigo, head aches, and ear pain was unbearable. I couldn't hear much out of my right ear and I went to Urgent Care. Needless to say they didn't help me at all. I had a chiropractor appointment that night and he said my neck was out of align and there was a lot of tension. So he was able to relieve the pressure and get rid of the headaches. I went back to him on Friday and Saturday with no help on the vertigo. Over the weekend and over the next week I tried sitting in hot steam from the shower, humidifier at night, netipots, allergy medicine...I was waiting for my ears to finally drain or released (these home remedies felt good)...But, No luck.

Around Monday or Tuesday (May 12th and 13th) the vertigo had resolved itself...However I still could no longer hear anything out of my right ear. Nothing. When people spoke in a room I got a darth vadery, muffled echo sound in both ears. I went to the school nurse (where I work) and she said the same thing as my PCP, swollenish, bit of redness, inflammation but no infection. She said there was still wax there but again, I needed to see a doctor.

I made an appointment with my ear, nose and throat doctor and he gave me the tuning fork test, looked in my ear, sucked out the wax and declared me a "medical emergency." He put me on a ten day taper trail of prednisione (starting at 60mgs), anti biotic, and an anti viral...The "shot gun" effect in order to try and save my hearing...He rushed me in for an audiotest, as well as bloodwork....

This was Friday and today its Monday. I am on my third day of my preds and 2 antis and quite frankly I am just worried. My hearing in my right ear has gotten no better and now I feel like my hearing in my left side is getting worse as well. Everything sounds like that muffled, darth vadery tone, different frequencies are harder on the ear than others and it has gotten worse over the weekend. I have played WedMd and have looked at Labyrinthitis, Meneires disease, among other possibilities. I have read that with "Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL)" that if you start treatment in the frame of 2 to 4 weeks you MIGHT be able to regain some of your hearing with the shotgun style treatment. Or in some cases vestibular activity returns to form on its own in 6 weeks, while other cases not at all!... With my ten day trial ending May 26th and my next appointment May 28th (for follow up and another hearing test on which I may be referred for an MRI)..... I am trying to be patient but am also very nerve wracked and worried. Has anybody else had, dealt with, or seen this type of anything whatsoever? Today i start Physical Therapy for my back and I'm hoping that maybe the equilibrium is all out of whack everywhere and they can do something to resolve it.

Thank you for reading my novel and letting me vent! Anything you all have would be greatly appreciated!

He just said there was acute inflammation of the ear and I had acute hearing loss. I've been playing WebMd which is a terrible idea now I think I have everything under the sun. But there are a few things that it looks like it may be...I hate the wait and am just wondering how fast, if at all, others systems have cleared up on similar treatment.