Fluctuations in hearing or dizziness
Timothy C. Hain, MD
Content last updated: 2/2003
Often people wonder why their dizzinesss is sometimes gone and sometimes not,
or why their hearing symptoms come and go. There are a number of generic explanations
for these things, which are outlined below.
- Biological Oscillators
- Processes with long delays in feedback loops
- There are no obvious examples in the otologic framework, but neurology
has several -- for example, Cheyne-Stokes respiration.
- interaction with external oscillators
- allergy (pollon counts)
- seasons (for example, certain Migraine
syndromes occur seasonally).
- SAD -- seasonal affective disorder
- Interactions with other disturbances
- other diseases such as colds may cause the vestibular or hearing deficit
to worsen
- fatigue and stress
- foods
- medications (many medications impair balance and several also impair
hearing)
- heat (i.e. in MS)
- allergy status
- change in glasses
- Diseases that have their own timing for reasons that are not entirely clear