The Final Word of Shingles — Differential Diagnosis and Odds and Ends
Shingles in and around the ear and face is awful. This post series has belabored the pain and agony problem enough. The other big problem, the subject of this final post on the topic, is that it’s often very hard to diagnose and differentiate from other disease processes, especially in older patients. Here’s where the…
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Ramsay-Hunt, Bell’s Palsy, Herpes Zoster Oticus: How Do You Tell Them Apart?
This is the next chapter in a multi-part Shingles series originally prompted by an obscure link to Red Ear Syndrome. That link lead to posts on shingles in general, shingles in the ear, and the specifically-named Ramsay-Hunt Syndrome Type 2 (RHS/2) . RHS/2 is a horribly painful condition in which the herpes zoster in the geniculate ganglion reactivates…
Read MoreRamsay Hunt: A Focused Attack on the Ear, Hearing and Balance
Today’s post continues a Shingles series that started with an obscure link to Red Ear Syndrome. That link lead to posts on shingles in general and shingles in the ear. The latter co-mingles with the specifically-named Ramsey-Hunt syndrome, pictured horrifically above, the subject of the next several posts in this series. RHS is a Confusing…
Read MoreShingles in the Auditory System, Part 2
Previous posts have talked about collisions and traffic jams in and around the tiny tunnel that hooks the inner ear to the brain via the auditory (vestibulocochlear) nerve. Anything that interferes with that anatomy can cause unilateral hearing loss and other balance or hearing conditions. Besides benign tumors pressing on the nerve, we’ve described…
Read MoreShingles – The Sleeping Monster, Part 1
Some readers may be surprised at today’s topic and wonder what shingles has to do with hearing loss or balance problems. Shingles is a huge topic on its own, not to mention how it affects hearing and balance. Today’s post is a Q&A overview. Future posts will be more specific about shingles, hearing, and…
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