Contributed by Denise Arceneaux, MCD, CCC-A

Dizziness, imbalance, vertigo, crystals….what does it all mean?  Dizziness is one of the most common reasons patients see a doctor.  Dizziness will affect approximately 40% of the population at one time or another in their lifetime.  Why do people get dizzy?  There are many answers to that question.  The answers range from migraines, viruses, buildup of fluids in the inner ear, to tumors on the hearing nerve, and the list goes on.  It is not always a simple and straight forward reason why you get dizzy and diagnoses can often be challenging. 

 

A thorough history is necessary for your doctor to determine the cause of your dizziness in order to treat it.  Generally speaking, vertigo is described as a true sensation of spinning. Likely causes of vertigo are from the inner ear.  Feelings of imbalance and lightheadedness can often mean the symptoms are caused by something other than the inner ear.  A very common form of dizziness called BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) is one reason nearly 20% of all dizzy patients see an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) physician.  This form is dizziness is often referred to as free-floating crystals in the ear.  These particles are freely floating calcium carbonate particles that get dislodged into the wrong canal in the inner ear.  Balance specialists can easily put those crystals back in place with a simple maneuver in the office called an Epley Maneuver, or repositioning procedure.  It is important to correctly identify which canal is affected for the proper procedure to be performed.   

Sometimes the cause of dizziness is a little more complex and patients are sent to an ENTphysician, like the physicians at the Lone Peak Hearing and Balance Center in Draper, a part of ENT Specialists with offices in Salt Lake City, Cottonwood, and Tooele.  The ENTs at ENT Specialists are highly skilled physicians and surgeons trained to treat disorders of the ear, nose, throat, head, and neck.  The physicians work closely with audiologists on staff who are trained to assess hearing and balance problems and assist in the diagnoses of diseases of the ear that affect hearing and balance. 

At the Lone Peak Hearing and Balance Center in Draper, our specialists utilize state of the art balance equipment to assess hearing and balance problems.  If a patient comes to us for balance problems, they will often first be given a full diagnostic audiogram (hearing test) by an audiologist.  Our audiologists are also trained to provide a full balance assessment that test different aspects of the balance system.  Our physicians might order a videonystagmography (VNG) evaluation which is a video recording of the eyes to determine if the cause of your dizziness is coming from the central nervous system or one of the inner ears.  The test is quite in depth and can give the physician quite a bit of information regarding the likely cause of your dizziness. 

The specialists at Lone Peak Hearing and Balance/ENT Specialists also have the ability to test for a disorder called endolymphatic hydrops.  The test that is often ordered for that is called an electrocochleography, or EcochG.  This test assists the physician in the diagnosis of an inner ear disease that causes dizziness, called Menieres Disease.   

If your physician suspects another disorder to be the cause of your dizziness he might order a Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential, VEMP.  A VEMP is a nerve conduction test that looks at a muscle reflex in the neck and directly points to a disorder in another portion of the inner ear.  This is a relatively new test that is now available which many clinics are not doing.   

If you or your loved ones have been plagued with dizziness of some sort, you might want to call the physicians, physician’s assistant or audiologists at the Lone Peak Hearing and Balance Center or at any one of our Salt Lake offices.  Our physicians include, Dr. John Butler, Dr. Justin Gull, Dr. Josh Yorgason;  our physician assistant Kristin Hoopes, PA-C and our audiologists Denise Arceneaux, MCD, and Stacey Snow, AuD - doctoral candidate.  We are here to help you resolve your dizziness and are confident we can do that.

Contributed By: Anne Lobdell, MS CCC-A

As the audiologist employed at ENT Specialists-TOSH Tower, I work very closely with Dr. Justin Gull to provide the best possible service for my patients. Emphasis is placed on making sure the patient is well-informed about their hearing health and to provide a safe, friendly, low-pressure environment, in which to meet all of their audiological needs.

Services include: diagnostic evaluation of hearing disorders for adults and pediatrics, dispensing and servicing of hearing aids, noise conservation products and assistive listening devices. I also work with Dr. Gull and Dr. Yorgason in the area of implantable auditory prosthetics such as the Baha and cochlear implants. People of all ages can be affected by hearing loss; at ENT Specialists-TOSH Tower we make it our highest priority to serve all of your hearing health care needs.

Contributed by David Lodzins, Audiologist, MS CCC-A


Many people have come to the realization that their hearing may be getting worse. They may notice difficulty hearing on their own or, more commonly, they receive feedback from friends and loved ones that they are missing things others are saying.  Surveys have shown that 3 in 10 people over 60 have a hearing loss and 1 in 6 baby boomers have hearing problems.

A large majority of these people will wait an average of seven years before getting help. Perhaps they don't want to acknowledge the problem, are embarrassed by what they see as a weakness, or believe that they can "get by" without using a hearing aid. This may be for many reasons. 

The first may be that the individual with hearing loss may not feel that the loss is bad enough.  At ENT Specialists, patients commonly tell me that they can hear people just fine but they can’t understand them because they mumble.  Another reason people don’t get help with their hearing may be the perceived cost of hearing aids.  Hearing aids range in price depending on technology level and the patient’s need.

There is also negative word of mouth about hearing aids from those who have had negative experiences.  Often, these individuals were wearing hearing aids that were either inappropriate for their hearing loss or were not properly fit to their hearing needs.  My patients at ENT Specialists have told me that they, too, felt negative about hearing aids, but when they finally tried a properly fit, appropriate hearing instrument, they wished they had done it many years before.

Another reason my patients waited so long to get hearing aids is that they had no idea where to get them.  They tell me that they receive advertisements in the mail daily for hearing aids and they were not sure where to go because of the negative experiences their friends have had.  Many people are not sure where to go and who they can trust. 

I suggest making an appointment with an audiologist at ENT Specialists for many reasons.  First, patients will receive a comprehensive audiological evaluation by a certified audiologist to determine the type and degree of hearing loss.  An accurate, thorough hearing exam is crucial to get the best outcome when fitting a hearing aid. 

The second reason to visit an audiologist is that he or she may uncover medical concerns that need to be treated by a doctor.  The audiologists at ENT Specialists work closely with the ENT doctors to address any medical issues discovered during testing and can set an appointment for an individual, usually for the same day.  Some medical issues that I see that need medical attention are:

·         Active drainage from one or both ears

·         Ear wax impaction

·         Fluid behind the eardrum

·         Middle ear infection

·         Ear canal infection

·         Sudden decrease in hearing

·         Ringing in the ears

·         Hole in the eardrum

·         Difference in hearing between the right and left ear

·         Differences in speech understanding between the right and left ear

·         New onset of dizziness

·         Ear pain

A third reason to visit an audiologist with ENT Specialists is that you will be seeing a hearing healthcare professional that has a Doctorate or Masters degree in audiology.  The audiologists on staff have had many years of training and experience to help you find the best solution for managing your hearing loss.  Our comprehensive hearing evaluation includes a needs analysis to determine the best hearing aid style and technology level to best meet your listening needs.  Everyone is different, both economically and socially, and together we will determine what solution is best for you. 

Our goal as audiologists at ENT Specialists is to help those with hearing loss reach their hearing goals.  If you think you or a loved one suffers from hearing loss, don't delay another day. Visit a hearing healthcare professional at ENT Specialists and take the first step toward a world of better hearing.