The ENT did many tests and determined that Jim had Vestibular Neuritis, a virus in the middle ear. His left side was affected much more than his right. Vestibular Neuritis causes inflammation in the inner ear.
Background on Jim: He is 59 yrs old, very physically fit. Works out on bowflex every day for 45-60 minutes. Eats healthy foods, low-fat, no starches, fresh fruit and vegetables, rarely eats out. Very active outdoors (hiking, rafting, fly fishing, trail/trials bike riding). SCUBA instructor and ex-commercial diver (thousands of hours in the water). Originally from Kelowna BC Canada, now resides in Evergreen with his wife, Karen (me, the author) at an elevation of 8100' (this becomes important later on...)
The ENT referred Jim for PT (physical therapy). The PT gave Jim several mind-training/rehabilitation exercises which he diligently did for the next two months. In early March, we flew to Arizona for a 1-week vacation spent hiking and goofing around outdoors. Jim seemed better, but still could not drive. Any motion on uneven ground was difficult which he described as "bobbly head". If he's sitting or standing still, he's ok. But whenever he moves, everything seems to move around him. We can take the dog on his 1 mile hike every afternoon (thru the woods and hills), but has to look down since the tree motion combined with uneven ground makes things 'swirly'.
By mid-March, Jim actually got worse. He had been progessively feeling better, but then went downhill slightly. Decided it was time to try something else besides PT, so went to a Chiropractic Neurologist. The chiro again did many tests and on the first visit did an adjustment which immediately made Jim feel better! However, on visit 2 the adjustments set Jim back again. Visit 3 did not help either so it was time to move on - Jim was getting impatient since his new Scorpa motorcycle would be arriving from France within a couple of weeks. We wanted to get outside and start having fun!
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