Are dizziness (mainly when turning your head to face a certain direction), nausea, vomiting, & fever common signs of inner ear infections? Is it possible to have an inner ear infection last for only a week with proper treatment? What kind of medicine is usually prescribed for someone with an inner ear infection?
Reply: ---------------------
Not all conditions causing vertigo will fit into a nice and tidy diagnosis that can be found in a textbook. There are wide variations in the manifestation of inner ear disturbance. The symptoms you have described for example may represent what is known as serous labyrinthitis which can be caused by a middle ear infection rather than a direct infection of the inner ear. One theory is that such cases are caused by biochemical disturbance in the fluids of the inner ear which in turn are caused by an infection in adjacent anatomy - the middle ear. Infections that involve the inner ear or inner ear nerve directly typically have symptoms that can last longer than 1 week - typically 6-8 weeks. However, the most severe symptoms are in the first 1-3 days. Cases of serous labyrinthitis may be shorter depending on the duration of middle ear disorder. Inner ear disturbances, whether caused by direct infection of the inner ear or by biochemical disturbance related to adjacent middle ear infection can cause vertigo, nausea, and vomiting.
--
Steve Dankle, MD
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Milwaukee, Wis
NOTICE: OFCN is not engaged in the rendering of professional medical services. The information contained on this system or any other OFCN system should not supplant individual professional consultation. It is offered exclusively as a community education service. Advice on individual problems must be obtained directly from a professional.
Click here to review
previous Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic consultations