Vertigo advice please.

[M.Mouse]

At the weekend I was chatting to a friend who is a member of the same vintage motorcycle club as me. When he learnt that I was a commercial pilot he wanted to ask my advice on his problem and flying.

In short when he was 6 years old (some 60 years ago) he had his ears syringed. It was very painful, he complained that he could feel liquid going down his throat and received a clout from his father for whinging! It turned out that both eardrums had been ruptured during the process, his ears subsequently became very infected and were badly damaged. He has been almost completely deaf most of his life and due to the damage suffers what he refers to as vertigo but may well be labyrinthitis. He has tablets to counteract this problem. He drives but if he is a passenger he has to sit in the front seat and he also rides his old motorcycles but says he has to 'concentrate' to avoid the condition. Sea travel makes him very ill.

His son lives in Australia and he recently missed his son's wedding being too scared to fly in case the condition manifested itself when flying. He tells me that a bad attack can cripple him for several days.

His question to me was did I think flying would be likely to cause the condition to manifest itself. In honesty I have no idea. A reasonably smooth flight I would guess not but moderate or even severe turbulence I am not so sure.

He is a great chap who has stoically and cheerfully got on with life since what sounds like diabolically negligent treatment damaged his ears so badly as a child.

I would love to be able to point him in the right direction to get accurate and sound advice so would be grateful for any experience or advice anybody can offer.

[Loose rivets]

So sad. He is among hoards of people that had their lives altered, if not ruined, by the use of hypodermic syringes being used to flush the outer ear.

There is no way to tell how he will react, but a trial flight might give some clues. He's probably already had a multiplicity of tests to check for his reaction to hot/cold air in the ear, spinning with eye movement logging and numerous other tests. If not, an update on his condition might be appropriate.

[FirstOfficer]

And I was thinking in getting my right ear syringed!!!

I guess I shall have to continue with the warm olive oil drops and hope that eventually it will go away.

I still need to book an appointment to see the GP for some reason (not frequently) every now and then I have these dizziness spells (very brief) out of the blue, and felt unwell during some flying I did (after a long absence from flight training). I wonder if it has to do with having hard wax (my right ear is prone for impact wax, left has no problems at all).

I wish your friend all the best.

[M.Mouse]

I have had my ears syringed a couple of times over the years due excessive wax affecting my hearing. The doctor, in my case, insisted on twice daily warm olive oil being dropped in to the ear canal for a week or so BEFORE he would do it. In my friends case I believe he was subject to a ham fisted and dangerous procedure by a, probably, incompetent doctor who did significant and permanent damage. Today he could have sued but then what price loss of hearing?

[gingernut]

It's a little difficult to unpick your friends symptom's here, and I guess even an ent consultant would find it hard to predict the affect of air travel on his condition, but it's probably fair to say that effect would be short lived.

If it's so disabling, it'd be worth getting a specialist opinion for two reasons, firstly to calm your friends percieved fears, and secondly because modern treatments tend to be very effective.


In my friends case I believe he was subject to a ham fisted and dangerous procedure by a, probably, incompetent doctor who did significant and permanent damage. Today he could have sued but then what price loss of hearing?

I can sympathise with your palpable anger, but we can only work with the knowledge we've got at the time, which, at the time, told us that the best thing we could do for patients with wax in their ears was to syringe them. I used to enjoy syringing ears' it's one of the few times we get to cure patients. Now we know better !!

In what way was your friends doctor ham fisted? And would he be sued if, at the time, he acted reasonably?

[Loose rivets]

I think the gist is that they used a large hypodermic syringe, but did not take the needle off, with the result the liquid velocity was damaging.

[gingernut]

The "old fashioned" method used a large syringe like device. Most damage was cause by the clinician failing to screw the nozzle on correctly, with the result that the thing used to shoot off with great gusto, perforating the tympanic membrane.

[M.Mouse]

gingernut

Thanks for your advice.

You are of course correct I was making assumptions. The doctor may well have been just working competently with the best practice knowledge that existed at the time.

It is a great shame that though that my pal,from the age of six to the present day, he has suffered so greatly through being treated for what is actually a relatively straightforward problem.

[Cornish Jack]

Hmmm! Old-fashioned Hypo syringe causing the problem? - Nope!!! Had mine done regularly for years by syringe - no problem. Then the 'experts' decreed that the electric pump device was to be used. Once OK. Second time left me deaf with a small residue impacted. Enter ENT CONSULTANT with microscopic probe and fine jet delivery. Result? - removal of wax - temporary dizzy spell and PERMANENT tinnitus:mad::mad::mad:. This onset as the procedure was completed and pointed out to the 'expert'. Reply? - "You'll have to get used to it." I have, sort of, (now deaf in that ear and still with tinnitus) but would advise anyone else similarly affected to proceed with caution:=

[blind pew]

Have permanent tinnitus after having my ears syringed when I had an infection.
Company Swiss doctor down the route.
Don't have ANYTHING DONE if you have an infection!