Vacationed in Cuba. Got an ear infection, went to front desk "oh, you've been swimming in the pool", sent to pharmacy where we bought ear drops and antibiotics cheaper than in Canada without having to see a doctor. Ear seemed to get better, but by the time we returned home and antiobiotics ran out, earache started up again, as well as numbness. WEnt to ENT specialist who 'vacuumed' out the ear, took a swab (but was unable to culture it in a lab to find out what it was - fungus, bacteria? Anyone ever heard of this? Have now lost 35% hearing in ear and pain is gone, but numbness and swelling have moved to the back of my head. Has anybody ever heard of anything similar coming from Cuba or thereabouts? After we returned to Canada, we emailed the hotel and asked if they knew of any bacteria or fungus specific to there that would be hard to treat with the usual stuff, to no avail. Would appreciate any advice...
Cont'd:
ear infection gone but ear still feels uncomfortable at times and there's tingling and numbness moving to different areas of my head and neck - sometimes it feels like there's a bug crawling on my scalp, strange lump on back of my neck that makes a crunching sound when I bend my head backwards.... any ideas? MRI doesn't show any problem with my ear or nerves, but a couple of white spots showed up on my brain, so now I"m off to see the neurologist, even though the new ENT doesn't think it's a problem.