Have you ever felt spatially challenged, off-kilter or dingy? You may have ear rocks. It’s a condition common for those of us over 50. Ear rocks are tiny crystals that form in your inner ear as a result of a head injury or virus.
Inside of your inner ear is a pouch called the utricle. It contains about 1,000 tiny rocks made out of calcium carbonate. The rocks stimulate our nerve cells when we move our heads. They help our brain determine our sense of up and down.
This condition is called BPPV (Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo)
BPPV can be treated by a series of head movements designed to knock the ear rocks back into place. This technique is called the Epley maneuver.
Other conditions besides ear rocks that may cause similar symptoms of dizziness or imbalance
Meniere’s Disease is an inner ear condition that causes vertigo, hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or fullness in the ears. These sensations may last for 20 minutes or several hours. It typically presents between the ages of 20 – 50 and is caused by an unusual amount of fluid in the inner ear. If you have this disease, you may be more sensitive to fatigue or stress. A physician will usually do a battery of tests that may include a hearing exam, an ENG, balance testing, and possibly an MRI.
Acoustic Neuroma – This is a non-malignant tumor that develops inside a section of the inner ear that helps you balance and transmits sound information to the brain.
Age-Related Imbalance or Dizziness – This may be the result of problems with the vestibular, center and vision systems and is often caused by a fall. The vestibular system is a complex system of fluid-filled tubes and chambers in the inner ear. Nerve cells and blood flow tend to decrease after age 55.
Virus-related – If you have a weak immune system and it malfunctions after the onset of a virus, the virus can attack other parts of the body including the inner ear.
For more information and detail about inner ear disorders, click here.
The reason I felt compelled to write about this is that I’ve been feeling fullness in my ears since I fainted a while back. I’m not dizzy, just a little spacey. I can walk up and down hills for over an hour in the morning and feel fine. But when I sit in front of my computer for a while, I start to feel pressure in my ears and sometimes my blood pressure spikes.
I told my regular doctor what was going on and he recommended that I take a Sudafed. Later, when it became more annoying, I went to urgent care and told the doctor about the Sudafed. He told me to stop taking it because it causes blood pressure to spike and was surprised that my regular guy had recommended it.
It’s always fun when doctors disagree, isn’t it?
I’m convinced my current condition is a combination of a car accident a couple of years ago, jogging for 6 months at a gym (not always a good idea after the age of 50) and then fainting and falling on my head. Each year between 20 – 40 percent of adults over 60 falls for some reason and between 12 and 67 percent fracture a hip. It’s important that we learn to prevent falls as we grow older.
I’ve also noticed that I feel spaced out and have ear pressure when I’ve been staring at a computer so it could be that too.
If you fall, have balance issues or just feel spaced out, make sure to have your doctor give you a referral to an ENT. I’ve had everything from a neurologist to a cardiologist check me out and tell me I’m perfectly healthy. You may just have ear rocks but find out so you don’t fall and can’t get up.
Do you feel like you have rocks in your ears or have fallen recently? Please leave a comment below.