BPPV

Numbers are such funny things. After all my tests the doctor gave me the results. You have 10% hearing loss in the right ear and 15% in the left. My face must have dropped. He was amused. Don’t worry he said, that’s a very good result. It seems you need a hearing device when you have a 30% loss. When I thought about it some more I could see if he said I had scored 90% and 85% in my test I would have reacted quite differently. I may even have been pleased considering I had to do the test in French. Maybe not, with my Parkinson’s anxiety I am very much a glass half empty girl!

I was referred to the consultant by my doctor earlier this month as I had a couple of very short bouts of my head spinning like a washing machine when I lay down in bed and turned my head to the left. I was really scared that it was to do with worsening Parkinson’s Disease even though the doctor thought not. In the 3 weeks waiting for the appointment the spinning stopped. The consultant looked into my ears with various bits of equipment and then said he was going to put a big black rubber mask on me and use a vibrator behind my ears. I could see a funny side to this afterwards! It was horrible but at least it didn’t last long. He made me lie down then sit up on each side then he rocked my head backwards and forwards for what seemed a long time. No doubt he was trying to recreate the spinning but nothing happened and he said my balance was very good. After that he sent me for the hearing test and gave me the results. He said I have had a bout of Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) on my left side which has cleared on its own. It is caused by calcium crystals moving in the inner ear. I may or may not get it again but if I do there is a physical manoeuvre which can more than likely put it right.

So the BPPV is not serious and has nothing to do with Parkinson’s. It is yet another of these age related things. I had never heard of it but since discussing it with my equally aged neighbours they seem to have had it too or to know someone who has.