Causes | Signs of Arthritis

What is AIED?

“Autoimmune inner ear disease” (AIED) occurs when your immune system attacks the tissues in your inner ears. Your immune system fights infection, such as viruses and bacteria, normally a healthy immune system can differentiate between the good guys and the bad guys. There are many diseases that result from the immune system going haywire, such Type I diabetes, Rheumatoid arthritis and autoimmune inner ear disease which attacks the tissue in the inner ear. Suddenly the immune system starts to attack healthy tissue. Its effects are sudden with progressive hearing loss usually in both ears accompanied by dizziness, nausea and tinnitus. Sometimes it starts in one ear and then progresses to the other.

It differs from Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss in the sense that the hearing deteriorates is not always sudden, it often takes months or even a year to be noticeable. In some cases the hearing loss stabilises at a level and then gets worse for others it just deteriorates steadily. The biggest common problem sufferers’ face is that it’s very hard to understand speech.

Over half of the people with AIED find they have balance problems as well, with dizziness, vertigo or feeling sick when you move and a staggering gait. Between a quarter and a half sufferers have hissing or roaring in their ear which may or may not be accompanied by a feeling that the ears are full.

It is thought to be a trigger for Ménière’s disease as nearly half of Ménière’s disease sufferers have a problem with their immune system. It is rare for it to be only disease present it is often accompanied by other autoimmune diseases.

The majority of the sufferers are women which are not too surprising given that only one in four sufferers of autoimmune disease are women. As it is often a progression from other autoimmune diseases it is not surprising that it affects more women than men. Modern research indicates that the majority of sufferers are between the ages of 17 and 42. Although those most at risk will already have some form of autoimmune disease.

There is some suggestion that there is a correlation between some allergies but more research needs to be carried out to ascertain the connection. It has been established that monosodium glutamate or MSG and other food additives can make the symptoms of tinnitus worse. More medical research is necessary to establish the precise connection between food and AIED. If you are suffering from AIED, ask your doctor about the connection between certain foods and AIED, as new research is being conducted all the time.

In general all autoimmune diseases have a genetic factor and it has been estimated that one in five people are born with the gene that will make the likelihood of auto immune diseases more likely. Despite this genetic disposition is not sufficient to cause autoimmune disease in itself, other factors need to be present before you get the disease. Medical research believes that exposure to certain drugs infections viruses, bacteria and toxins can trigger autoimmune disease. Unfortunately autoimmunity disease in the inner ear is hard to diagnose so doctors generally look for the presence of other autoimmune diseases and then look to see if AIED is present, almost as an afterthought. The diagnosis is often confirmed by your condition improving as an indirect response to steroids diagnosed for another condition. q

The level of hearing loss does differ and in some cases a hearing aid can restore perfect hearing. Aggressive treatment doesn’t necessarily work and doctors are not sure whether the hearing loss would be reversible if nature took its course without the intervention of drugs. Doctors tend to start with steroids because of autoimmune diseases generally respond to steroids but the results vary considerably, some people still lose their hearing even with steroids. Before you go down the treatment route discussed the matter fully with a specialist preferably an otologist or neurotologist. Steroids are not meant for long-term use and they can have some undesirable side-effects so you should explore all the options and take advantage of modern technology before deciding on treatment.

In conclusion the treatment options for AIED are not necessarily clear cut, but it is one of those diseases that you need to make a personal decision based on solid fact and your personal risks.

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Other related topics – Signs of Arthritis and Natural Arthritis Treatment

With sky-rising health care costs, the cost of aging is steadily climbing . It seems the more we make, the cost of everything continues to increase. As a result, medical bills have the power to eliminate most of the money we put away for other things, like vacations or gifts for the grand kids. So, what do you do?

According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute a man who retires at 65 can expect to live until 83. He will need to have around $65k to $109k in those years to cover insurance premiums and out of pocket expenses. That works out to $270 to $450 a month.

For women, the EBRI says retiring at 65 and living until 85 will mean she’ll need $88k to $146k for insurance premiums and out of pocket expenses which works out to $366 to $608 a month. Both men and women will need these amounts on hand to provide a 50% chance of having enough to cover these expenses. If you’re getting $1000 a month from Social Security these costs will eat up about 25% to 60% of those payments alone.

If you have managed to secure a considerable nest egg, good for you. If you haven’t, it might be time get some part time work. Besides, retirement is boring. You know, all that rest and relaxation gets old pretty quick.

Here’s a novel idea that can save you money on healthcare costs. According to the National Foundation for anti-aging, “most aging is premature.” Poor posture, low energy, brittle bones are not aging, but a disease. Sitting around, also known as the Disuse Syndrome causes weakness, frailness and aging at a much faster rate. You can stay out of the health care merry-go-round much better with some good habits. And just how do you do that? Start an exercise program geared towards your needs, abilities or limitations. That means if you have limited mobility, seek seated exercise programs. If your knees are gone, ride a bike or do some gentle exercise programs. If you have asthma, don’t take up hiking in the mountains. Start slow and take walks around the neighborhood. It’s important to find something you enjoy because you’re more likely to do it. The more you do it the healthier you get. If you have arthritis, do an exercise program especially for arthritis and limber up your joints and muscles.

You needn’t strive to be an athlete. If you are just getting started, exercise will make you healthier. You’ll have stronger muscles to lift things, denser bones to absorb shock from falls and a stronger heart to pump more blood and oxygen to all the organs in your body which makes them all work better. Pills, sometimes necessary, are not always an easy fix and can cause many undesirable side effects and mask the symptoms. Exercise can get to the root of the problem and eliminate the cause. There are countless examples of people who were taking a dozen pills a day that went down to 2, 3 or none a day because of regular exercise.

The healthier you are, the less likely it is you will have to employ the skills and costs of doctors, nurses, physical or occupational therapists and pharmacists for whatever ails you. They worked long and hard to acquire those skills and they can’t afford to work cheap. You worked long and hard for your retirement and you can’t afford to lose it all to twinkles and watching TV. Plan for your health now instead of being a patient for your health care plan.