I wanted to write this down because sometimes, even when you think you know something, in the heat of the moment, you forget what you know.
My wife and I were just at the beginning of a weekend that we had been looking forward to for quite a while. My sister and brother-in-law were in town from out of state, and we always enjoy our time with them. Unfortunately, when we woke up in the morning, my wife was feeling a little off. “I feel a little bit dizzy” she told me. We figured that maybe she had just got up too fast from bed or perhaps was a little dehydrated. Certainly nothing of any consequence.
As the day went on it didn’t seem to get much better, and at one point we decided to take a ride in the car. On the way to our destination, her dizziness got so bad she felt like she needed to stop to get some Dramamine because she was feeling quite carsick. The day ended with her being a little disappointed in that she didn’t get to fully enjoy the time with our family. We went to bed hoping it would be better in the morning.
The next morning it was not better. If anything it had gotten worse. As we were discussing it, I remember her saying, “If I just don’t turn my head to the left, everything is fine.” I stopped as if I was slapped in the face. I asked her to repeat what she had just said. She did and I saw the realization on her face. You see, my wife is also an audiologist. While we are trained in hearing and hearing loss, we are also trained in balance disorders. She had a classic case of positional vertigo (I won’t bore you with the long, technical name). The good news is that positional vertigo is oftentimes pretty simple to treat. Thirty minutes later, she was 90% better. The next day she was fine.
Just a simple reminder that Audiologists do more than just diagnose hearing loss and fit hearing aids.
If you have any other questions regarding hearing testing, hearing loss, or even dizziness, please give us a call at 320.252.0094, look us up online at amdahlhearing.com or email me directly at info@amdahlhearing.com