General Category > AN Issues

Differential diagnosis?

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Moodygnome:
Hi all,

Have many of the symptoms of AN (Unilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, occasional dizziness, weeping left eye etc.) and have done lots of reading on the subject. Got an appointment with the ENT at the end of the month, but wondering what it might be if it is not AN.

Seems like with the above symptoms the incidence is about 1 in 100 but I can't really find anything that suggests what the other 99 people might have. I'm ruling out Menieres as no significant vertigo, so what's left?

If not AN then is it just put down to old age (only 46 here though!), or an idiopathic problem they can't identify? Do you then just have to put up with the symptoms?

Thanks for your thoughts!

arizonajack:
The symptoms are somewhat indicative of an Acoustic Neuroma but there's no way to be sure until you have your MRI with contrast and confirm if you got one or don't got one.

Till then it does no good to speculate.

In medicine if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might not be a duck.

PaulW:
Differential Diagnosis..
Infection of the inner ear or nerve. that's probably the most common.. (Similar to Bells Palsy)
meneires disease.
Reduced blood flow to the inner ear.. (a bit like heart disease but for the ear!)
Heaps of different growths.... many easily removed.
Cholesteatoma and Exostosis comes to mind... they are very common.

Can be many things... many resolve on there own, or require a short and easily recoverable operation.

Speculating that it is an Acoustic Neuroma at this stage is a little premature..

leapyrtwins:
Could be just about anything.

Lots of people have unexplained hearing loss (idiopathic), dizziness, and tinnitus - and have never had an AN.  Plus some with an AN (me included) didn't have dizziness, tinnitus, etc. 

A weeping eye can easily be a blocked tear duct.

With all the stuff you read on the web these days it's easy to try to self-diagnosis.  Try to resist that feeling and don't get ahead of yourself.  Let the doctor tell you what you have.

As arizonajack said, the only definitive way to diagnose (or rule out) an AN is through an MRI with gadolinium contrast.

Best,

Jan

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