Ear Pain Side Effect Connecting the Dots

[Guest guest]

Hello,

I didn't sleep much last night. I keep thinking about the hearing loss

I experienced. I looked up the side effects again and the Ear Pain

jumped off the page at me. I thought this was from another darn ear

infection but...I never had severe pain with the ear infections

before. This is what happened.

Last year, Feb 14, 2006 I had Meningitis so I had an MRI.

After the first two shots of Xolair I had horrible ear pain, so bad

that I had to take Norco several times. I had a script for my back.

Thank God I had it. This went on for a few days then I called the On

Call doctor on March 4, 2006. She put me on Omnicef and Floxin. It

cleared up and the tube came out but now I think it would have passed

on it's own. I don't think it was an ear infection. Three more shots

and 6 weeks later on April 13 I woke up at 4:30 am with the sound of

an old tractor engine really loud in my left ear. The right ear didn't

feel right either. I had a job scheduled so I went to work anyway,

dizzy and out of balance. I had a little hearing but not much. The

next day when I went to use the phone I was entirely deaf in the left

ear. I did panic but I called the ENT not the Allergist. I wasn't even

thinking of the Xolair being the culprit. I was placed back on Omnicef

and Floxin. Saw the ENT the next week and another MRI was ordered. It

showed that the Mastoid region had cleared from last years MRI so no

diagnosis for the ear problems were evident in that.

I called Genentech and was told the report had to be filed by a

professional so my pharmacist helped me. My doctor's office was

uncooperative and denied any ear problems with Xolair. Finally they

called too and found out about the two older folks had experienced

hearing loss. The nurse said she was told they had other health issues

too so it was not conclusive. The number I was given: 888-669-6682

tell your doctor to hit the professionals prompt.

I now have forms to fill out and be sent to Genentech Clinical Safty

Associate Kayla Jayaram 1-800-626-3553 ext. 78935 I haven' been able

to see a Neurotogist and the ENT didn't give a diagnosis I haven't

been able to fill out the forms and send them in. I go Sept 14 to the

Neurotologist and will go from there.

I do have some stinging in my right ear which had subsided when I went

off the shots for 6 weeks or so. It is back but milder since I went

back on them. I feel like I am between a rock and hard place. I need

to breath and when I went off the shots I was going downhill again,

coughing and phlegm that was thick and didn't want to clear, Heavy

chest, short of breath.

I DO NOT want to alarm everyone with my story. We are all different

and drugs affect everyone in a different way. I do feel obligated and

responsible to share my story so that if there is a problem then it

can be dealt with. I am trying to make a long story short so I won't

go into the ordeal with doctors, trying to report this and U Of M

which I canceled, it was just too far away and we couldn't afford all

of this. It seems like if an odd thing happens it happens to me. Don't

know why that is. The old Hee Haw song; If it weren't for bad luck I

have no luck at all " . My husband and I sing this as a joke to lighten

up things in our lives.

I hope this helps, I thought if I don't tell my story then others will

have to go through the same bureaucracy that I did in order to let the

company know what is happening to a few of us. If no one reports there

is no record and therefore no possible investigation into this.

At this point I am doing Singular, Flovent, Allegra and Xopenex neb

occasionally. I was doing it everyday when off the Xolair. None of

these were linked to ear pain or toxicity that I could find.

In Hope,