I had a meningitis brain infection when I was 12. I am now 71.
6 months ago I collapsed at my house, wound up in the ER, where they ran all the tests, didn't find anything wrong, so I was released. That began a 6 month odyssey of of visits to various doctors, all the while dealing with dizziness. Long story short, I went to a neurologist, had a MRI, and he asked me when did I have a meningitis brain infection. My reply was that I didn't know what he was talking about, but I started thinking about the time I was 12 and became gravely ill...
I was down for several weeks, in and out of consciousness, bleeding from the ears, etc. The doctor told me my inner ear sustained extensive damage, and now that I'm getting old, am no longer able to navigate as well. Since the illness I've been dealing with very loud tinnitus, which recently has gotten louder.
I'm 3 weeks in on 10 mg's of amitriptyline, to no avail as yet. The dizziness seems to be here to stay. I'm still trying to process this (to me) amazing story.
Howard Miller
August 2020