The balance organs and the hearing organ sit side by side in the inner ear, so it is common for dizziness and ear symptoms to come together. This article explains the main ones in plain words. It is general information and cannot diagnose anything.
Tinnitus
Hearing a sound that has no outside source, such as ringing, buzzing, roaring or hissing. It can be constant or come and go, in one ear or both. A sound that beats in time with your pulse (pulsating tinnitus) is worth mentioning to your doctor specifically.
Ear fullness
A feeling of pressure or blockage in the ear, as if you were on a plane or under water. In Meniere's disease it often affects one ear and may build before an attack.
Hearing changes
Hearing may dip, sound muffled or distorted, or become sensitive to loud sounds. In Meniere's disease, hearing can go up and down at first, often in the lower pitches. Vestibular migraine can also bring ear symptoms, though lasting hearing loss is less typical.
Why logging helps
These symptoms come and go, and they are easy to forget by the time of an appointment. A record of which ear, how often and how they relate to your spins gives your ENT or audiologist much more to work with. A hearing test (audiogram) measures your hearing objectively. Keeping your own log alongside it shows how things change between tests.
When to get help
See a doctor urgently if you have:
- Sudden hearing loss, especially in one ear.
- Dizziness with a new severe headache, weakness, numbness, slurred speech, double vision or trouble walking.
Make a routine appointment with your GP, ENT or audiologist if you notice tinnitus or fullness in one ear only, hearing that keeps getting worse, or pulsating tinnitus.
