Medical Testing

I went to many doctors during the three years I suffered from Meniere's disease. At first I saw doctors to confirm that my symptoms were not caused by serious or life threatening ailments such as a tumor or other growth. I had x-rays, a cat scan, neurological and audiology tests done to rule out the more serious causes of my disorder. After the doctors were satisfied that my condition was benign, I went to several ENTs and neurologists specializing in balance disorders to find a "cure". Each specialist ran me through essentially the same set of tests to discover the extent of my disorder. The doctors I went to, the tests they performed, and the reason they performed them are listed in the table below.

Specialist	Test	Reason
Internist	"Look at the tip of this pen".	Initial diagnosis of vertigo. Rapid left and right eye movement is a classic indicator of a balance disorder.
Neurologist	Checked the movement and sensation in my, head, neck, limbs and eyes.	Checked for additional nervous system damage that may could be caused by a growth in the brain. This test was done prior to taking any x-rays.
Neurologist	Checked hearing and the noises produced by the bones of the middle ear.	Checked for possible growth on middle ear canal or auditory nerve.
Audiologist	Complete hearing test.	Checked for hearing loss which can accompany a balance disorder.
Ear Nose Throat (ENT)	Examined my ears, nose and throat.	Checked for ear damage, sinus abnormality/ infection and presence of past or existing virus that may have caused the damage.
Ear Nose Throat (ENT)	X-ray and cat scan of sinus, middle ear area.	Checked for abnormal growths in the middle ear and sinus area.
Balance Specialist Neurologist	MRI of brain.	Checked for any growths in the brain.
	Falling test: with one foot directly in front of the other and my eyes closed, checked in which direction I would tend to fall.	You tend to fall towards the side that the damage to the vestibular organ occurred in.
	Straight line walking test with my eyes open and closed, normally and lifting my knees up as if I were marching.	Checked to see if my gate (or stride) was effected by the disorder and confirm the side of the damage. With your eyes closed you tend to "march" to the side of damage when your eyes are closed
	Electronystagmography (ENG)/ Caloric Balance test	Checked to see the extent of the damage done to the vestibular organ.
	Rotating chair test	More accurate check to see the extent of the damage done to the vestibular organ.
Balance Specialist (ENT)	Checked for ear damage	Checked for ear damage, sinus abnormality/ infection and presence of past or existing virus that may have caused damage.
Allergist	Scratch test and Immunoglobulin/ Rast blood test to determine an immune response cause for my disorder.	Attempted to discover an immune/ allergic cause for my disorder.
Biochemist Nutritionist	Standard blood test to measure my blood chemistry and a sophisticated blood test to measure my neurotransmitter levels.	Verified his theory that the cause of my disorder was based on biochemical problems exacerbated by my diet.

Medical Test Results:
I was completely normal (medically) in every way, except for a loss of balance and an insignificantly minor hearing loss on my right side. Tests failed to detect any allergies. My right ear drum has had a small perforation for many years which might have had something to do with my disorder, but its contribution if any was unknown. The results of the biochemist nutritionist are discussed later on.