Neck/Spinal Strain

What I suspect is happening is that either tension or inflammation are aggravating the original ear trauma from the boxing match. That was my initial hunch when Ero told me about it in private awhile ago, and it remains the case after reading this thread today. Hopefully a few good specialists will have him quickly sorted out, but regardless of what the neurologist says I would still seek out a second opinion from a ENT professional.

And yes, we have very primitive diagnostic and treatment options for inner-ear trauma in established conventional medicine, however there are numerous gene-therapy-based treatments in the pipeline and available overseas for some forms of ear damage. And who doesn't enjoy spicing up their life with some medical tourism in a tropical paradise?

On a side note, when I was nineteen my moron father fired a compact .22 next to me ear while I wasn't wearing ear protection and caused immediate and permanent tinnitus, vertigo, and floaters during certain head movements that I still live with today. The best ENT guy in my area told me it was physically impossible for a single loud noise to do that, yet there was an immediate and obvious long-term causality between the event and symptoms.

 

Try having a SASR (.50 cal. rifle) firing right next to your ear without any ear protection. :cry:

The first shot on a SASR sends a percussion wave in your face that makes you feel like you just got socked in your nose. That stuff has to do something to your inner ear.

 

I'd be so mad if someone setup beside me with one of those. Do they stress the importance of maintaining firing line distance for hearing preservation in the Marines?

 

In training, of course. Not so easy in country, especially when you're trying to get the drop on somebody. The distances we were firing at were so far away you had to have an observer right next to you to adjust your fire. It just sucks when you're the observer. You can't wear ear protection either because then you can't communicate effectively. Most of the time I was just assisting the observer, so I ended up being right next to the SASR or 240, which really sucked.

 

I also assume once a firefight starts it's natural instinct to ignore training and group up closer than necessary to teammates, both for instinctive group safety reasons and being eager to return fire quickly from what was seconds earlier travel formation.

 

Yep, the inner issue is likely. There are small crystals in the inner ear that can become displaced (initial injury then reaggravated by the deadlifts) and irritate the small hair cells located in the semicircular canals in the inner ear. The migraines are probably at least in part cervicogenic i.e. stemming from the neck injury and also due in part to the vertigo issue. Sorry to hear all that. I dealt with a bit of vertigo due to an inner ear infection when I was young and it was a sucky experience. If the neurologist confirms a problem with the inner ear, there are treatments out there. Drugs do provide relief but are not recommended long term, I reckon. Some of most effective courses of action entail performing specific head movements in order to reposition the displaced crystals within the inner ear. This in turn causes less irritation to the inner ear and symptoms can resolve. Obviously, this should be done by/with an experienced health care professional or physical therapist only as the movements can initially worsen the vertigo. There are other exercises that involve eye and head movements in order to decrease the sensitivity of the nerves in the inner ear make resolve the vertigo issue. Like all rehab stuff, they need to be practiced regularly for the condition to improve.

Anyway, like I said it's just my $0.02. I am not a physician and don't want anyone to think I am trying to pose as a specialist. Trust your health care professional to diagnose the issue and steer you in the right direction. All the best!

 

I couldn't tell you really, I've never been in the traditional firefight involving close proximity to the enemy. You're generally not too worried about getting shot when you're 500-1200 meters away from the enemy on a ridge line, although I've had two close calls with lucky shots by the guys firing at us.

The only experience I've had where grouping may have become an issue was in infantry training doing a simulation patrol through an Iraqi village. Our patrol was ambushed by an RPG. Me and another dude went one way, everyone else the other. Me and the one guy ended up attacking the ambushers alone successfully and getting intel off of them. About 10 minutes later we found everyone else, lol. I tend to look at the surroundings and see what the ideal action is rather, so my instincts may be different from others. I got a lot of high praise for that training exercise. The instructor gave me that, "did you really do that? That's awesome" talk on the side. SOI instructors treat you like dirt no matter how good you do, so I guess I did real good.

Doesn't matter though, it wasn't live with lives on the line.

 

I hope so man. 10 months of being restricted to the home is just not cutting it! I appreciate your input, it's been helpful and in line with what the neurologist and PT were saying.