Could Meniere's Disease Be Another BAVD Symptom? (Vertigo, Tinnitus, Hearing Loss)

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deogloria11

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I have been suffering through some odd symptoms since about 5 months post-op (Bovine tissue valve and aortic graft). I have episodes of vertigo (dizziness) which are mostly mild, but sometimes severe and lead to nausea and vomiting. There are other symptoms, but that's the most common. Then recently I had a bad episode of mild dizziness and severe tinnitus, followed by partial hearing loss in one ear. It went away mostly in a few minutes, the rest of the symptoms disappeared after a few hours. I still feel, days later, that hearing in my left ear is only at about 98%.

I've had many tests over the last year (multiple ER trips). I was worried it was a brain aneurysm, but I've had 1 CT and 2 MRI tests (8 months apart), and there have been no changes. I've also had ekg's and an echo for some chest pain episodes I've had (still undiagnosed, echo was fine).

Now that I've had the tinnitus and hearing loss, and I know the MRI came back negative, I'm thinking it's Meniere's Disease. I know at least one other member on this forum has this. Does anyone else?

Here's what made me start thinking:

"The most prevalent opinion is that an acute attack of Meniere's disease results from fluctuating pressure of the fluid within the inner ear. A system of membranes, called the membranous labyrinth, contains a fluid called endolymph. The membranes can become dilated like a balloon when pressure increases. This is called 'hydrops'."

Notice the "dilated like a balloon"? I don't know about you, but when I hear something about membranes becoming dilated, I think BAVD. Knowing I'm walking around with stretchy arteries, I'm kinda wired that way, now. :wink2: So it made me wonder if Meniere's could possibly be yet another symptom of BAVD, along with the bicuspid valves and the aneurysms. Maybe BAVD can cause those membranes to be more susceptible to dilating, because they're so stretchy. (Any doctors out there? Would membranes in the ear be considered "connective tissue"? Sounds like it to me, and BAVD is a connective tissue disease.)

The main symptom of Meniere's is the vertigo (dizziness). I've heard many people on this forum talk about dizziness. Now there are a lot of causes of dizziness, particularly in pre-op patients, because that can be a symptom of the valve problem. But I wonder how many people here, that are way out after their surgery (a year or more, like me) and are having symptoms of Meniere's, and it's being brushed off as something minor, or "post-op complications", etc.

I'd love to hear from anyone out there with BAVD who has Meniere's Disease or any of its symptoms, particularly if you are past the post-op healing stage. Also, I'd like to know if any of your close relatives have it, since BAVD appears to be a hereditary disease.

Thanks!

(On a good note, if I have Meniere's, that's way better than an aneurysm, accoustic neuroma, or other possibilities. The possibility of permanent hearing loss sucks, though. :rolleyes2:)
 
Another interesting fact..."the Framingham study found that 2/100 people believe they have Meniere's disease in the US, suggesting that misdiagnosis is far more common than the correct diagnosis." This may mean nothing, but I know that it is believed that 2% of the population has BAVD. If the Framingham study mentioned is any indication, then possibly 2% of the population also has Meniere's Disease. Whether the two diseases are occurring in the same 2% of the population is another question altogether.
 
Here's what the Cleveland Clinic says about dizziness as a symptom. It does not give a connection between Meniere's disease and BAV. Since the CC is the #1 heart hospital/institution in the U.S. (and perhaps in the world), I would think that if there IS a correction, it would be noted here:

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/symptoms/dizziness/hic_what_is_dizziness.aspx

My mother had Meniere's disease several years ago, so I sympathize with anyone who suffers from it. It is something you can be treated for and recover from. She no longer has problems with it.
 
I suspect the connection is more likely related to Connective Tissue Disorders than BAV since it seems that not all BAV patients exhibit connective tissue disorders.

Have you consulted with an Ear-Nose-Throat Specialist (Otolarynqyst -sp?)?

Not all dizzyness is an indication of Meniere's Syndrome (or so I understand)
and there are Several things that can be done to relieve symptoms
including using a Nasal Rinse regularly to clean out your nasal passages and remove allergens,
taking a specific diuretic (Lozol or it's generic) that helps to drain off excess fluid from the inner ear,
take a Med-Dose Pack of low dose steroids (6.5.4.3.2.1 pills of 4mg dosage),
get a steroid shot through the eardrum, and finally surgery (for EXTREME cases that do not respond to any other treatment and are debilitating).

'AL C'
 
catwoman said:
Here's what the Cleveland Clinic says about dizziness as a symptom. It does not give a connection between Meniere's disease and BAV. Since the CC is the #1 heart hospital/institution in the U.S. (and perhaps in the world), I would think that if there IS a correction, it would be noted here:

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/symptoms/dizziness/hic_what_is_dizziness.aspx

My mother had Meniere's disease several years ago, so I sympathize with anyone who suffers from it. It is something you can be treated for and recover from. She no longer has problems with it.
Click to expand...

VERY INTERESTING Link / Info Marsha.
Thanks for sharing!

'AL'
 
Meniere's disease - VERY interesting

Meniere's disease - VERY interesting

OK, so now I am intrigued! Being of an engineering background, I can only imagine what the control group for a study on this and how it affects people with BAVD would look like. Moreover, it will be a difficult group to assemble as the flavor of the posts seem to suggest that many people experience this well after surgery.

Some of the variables would include things like:

• Presents of CTD's like Marfans in the group
• Aortic repairs vs. valve repairs or combinations of both
• Tissue or mechanical valves if valve replacement occurred thus presents of anti-coagulants
• Location of aortic repairs
• Incidence of Meniere's disease among people with normal valve/aorta vs. aneurism and or valve replacement.
• Incidence of Meniere's disease among people who just had aortic repair without valve replacement or repair
• Incidence of people who acquire Meniere's disease after other heart surgeries (bypass, etc)
• The role of anesthetics in Meniere's disease (other surgical sub-groups who had/have or acquired Meniere's disease)
• Medications used pre/post surgery
• Is it the condition or the surgery that causes it or exacerbates it?
• As suggested earlier, was it always there and the surgery or anatomical changes "let it loose."

Gosh, the possibilities are limitless.

My wife experienced a month of vertigo and it hit her out of the blue. She is a lifelong migraine sufferer. I have been hit with bouts of vertigo over the years, but only AFTER stent placement two years ago and am also a migraine suffer. I read often the Migraine suffers are frequently victims of bouts of tinninus and vertigo, but also that people who suffer subtle injuries to their cervical spine like whiplash. Believe it or not, the C spine can take a REAL beating during an OHS particularly at the C1/C2 levels (very dangerous area with central nervous system ramifications).

So what is my answer? This seems to be one of several hot topics on several of the sections of this board (the issue of dizziness and vertigo type issues). Perhaps a sub group area to deal with a few of the specific issues that OHS recipients may more often experience to separate and concentrate the information perhaps?

Having a long history of loving to look for trends and stats, I would LOVE to look at a cross section by producing a questionnaire of OHS participants, but with all the different variations and variables in all of our outcomes and operations, it would be a damn difficult group to manage.

Just in the few things on this posting I have read, and a few others around the other sections like Post-surgery, I am already seeing trends emerge.
 
Interesting you bring this up. I lost a bit of hearing in my left ear in 2007 only 4 months after I had open heart surgery to replace my Aortic Valve (I had BAV, and got Endocarditis). i had seen over 6 different ENT specialists. No one could figure out why I was having a conduction hearing loss problem along with Tinnitus. I found it very odd that no one could explain why this suddenly happened to me. I too did lots of research, and came to the conclusion that I might have Meniere's Syndrome. I am a musician and sound engineer. I take care of my ears so this was completely devastating to me. I am looking for some help and any other information you might find out about this.
 
I am 59 years old and had a bicuspid aortic valve and ascending aortic aneurysm. I had my surgery April 28th 2009 at Cedar Sinai in Los Angeles. Dr. Raissi was my surgeon and did a Bovine valve replacement and a aortic wrap with the Dacron mesh. Since my surgery and have had boughts of dizziness and disorientation. Last Sunday was my worst episode; it lasted about 3 to 4 hours and ended up in ER. Up till that point they would only last about 3 to 5 minutes. I only started having this after my open heart surgery mentioned above.
 
Someone about your age was in the hospital at the same time that i was there. Does that happen to be you? Was Dr. Raissi your doctor? It is interesting that our surgery were similiar and we came away with similar experiences concerning the verdigo. I would love to talk to you sometime. Rich Deveau
 
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