We all age. no  one likes to think about it much.  But think on it we  should.

 

I was  manhandling some 20" wide  slabs of 2 and a half inch  walnut on the band saw.

I did a pass  following  a chalk line.

There was a lot of core strength and  upper body work  to it.

I finished the pass  hit the kill switch set the slab so it was stable  and  suddenly the lights started to go out the room swam around and around and I  grabbed something to stand upright.

There was no  warning sign  no nagging feeling  nothing to let me know something  was going to happen

It is called  benign paraoxysmal positional vertigo.   There are these calcium carbonate crystals in your ears and as you enter your mid 60s  they can come loose for no reason at all and get lodged in a place that causes these symptoms.

Takes you completely by surprise.

It didn't just go away.  I was woozy  for a while.

 

I had to lie on my back  head hanging off the bed and tilt my head  to one side and hold it there   for a while then  hold the head flat to my body  and then the other side. 

I did this a few times and  it went away.  The experts call this the canalith repositioning procedure. It gets those pesky  crystals out from where they are making trouble and  jiggles them into a more harmless location  where the body can resorb them.

 

Just be aware that this can happen at the most inconvienient  of times.  Like running machinery.

 

 

 

 

There are several things that can cause this such as cold, flu and other infections. Think of the ear canal as one of those key chain dohickys with glitter in it, When it is turned the glitter moves. The ear canal is a sophisticated version without the glitter and when the flakes occur it slows the movement of the fluid and bingo. Hope it is not a regular thing for you.

Sounds aweful.  My Mother suffers from some sort of Vertigo.  She cannot sleep laying down in a bed.  Has slept in a upright position for maybe 8 years.  Have no idea what meds she is on but it generally isn't too bothersome as long as she doesn't lay down, or fall down and not get right back up.

Geeze, Cliff. Hope it doesn't happen again.  BTW, 60's isn't old!

Edited January 15, 20215 yr by lew

BPPV, I got it too.  If you want to check and see if dizzyness is caused by BPPV, lie down, facing up,  on the edge of the bed with your head hanging over the edge a little.  You get a vertigo that puts you in orbit, and that confirms BPPV.  It's easily offset as Cliff noted (there are instructions on line how to move/hold the head).  I only had it once, and after chasing the little BBs around, I haven't had it again.  My symptoms also came with "ladder disease":  as I descend a ladder, I get vertigo, so now I limit my ladder work to 2 rungs and tilt my head forward.  And as I recall, I was about 60 when I discovered all  this.

 

Pretty soon your sense of smell will disappear too (ever wonder why old ladies in church use too much perfume?).  See, lot's of adventures in store.  It's a sort of bucket list.

41 minutes ago, lew said:

BTW, 60's isn't old!

 

Old enough for crap like this to start happening.  A whole lot of crap only came on me after I was 60 and it keeps coming.

Glad nothing worse happened Cliff, and thanks for the warning

46 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

 

Old enough for crap like this to start happening.  A whole lot of crap only came on me after I was 60 and it keeps coming.

Pace yourself, buddy, you ain't done yet with the surprises.  As we used to tell the new scouts:  everyone else has gone through this, you'll be ok, too.

12 hours ago, Cliff said:

The experts call this the canalith repositioning procedure.

Or Epley Maneuver. Just Google it for full instructions.

Cliff there is another possible reason for your symptoms that is not uncommon in our age group which a vaso vagal response which can cause hypotension and essentially the same symptoms. The sensation of the “lights going out” is usually more associated with hypotension than vertigo. One question to ask is whether you had the sensation of the room spinning around you or were you spinning around. You need to be evaluated for this by your physician. 
Paul

41 minutes ago, PeteM said:

Pace yourself, buddy, you ain't done yet with the surprises.  As we used to tell the new scouts:  everyone else has gone through this, you'll be ok, too.

 

I know!  I'm to the point that one year without a "new surprise" would be nice.

You young whippersnappers are starting to scare the bejeebers out of this 60 year old!

1 hour ago, Artie said:

You young whippersnappers are starting to scare the bejeebers out of this 60 year old!

 

...I guess we don't age like wine Artie, but I so far made it to 62.  

...Eyes gone, SWMBO swears I'm deaf, can't eat things I used to.....

Edited January 15, 20215 yr by Larry Buskirk

2 minutes ago, Larry Buskirk said:

 

...I guess we don't age like wine Artie, but I so far made it to 62.  

...Eyes gone, SWMBO swears I'm deaf, can't eat things I used to.....

I had some pretty bad wine, that was old. Not listening to SWMBO does not necessarily mean your deaf, you just might be SELECTIVE. 55 days til 61 for moi.

4 minutes ago, Artie said:

I had some pretty bad wine, that was old. Not listening to SWMBO does not necessarily mean your deaf, you just might be SELECTIVE. 55 days til 61 for moi.

 

...What did you say? 

You gotta just keep moving forward. Suffered from meneres disease for many years but in my later years it seems attacks have subsided to where it is much less severe and less often. You young whippersnappers don't know what old is. 60 is just the tip of the iceberg. But yes, pay attention to those warning signs. Funny, my "daughter in law" turned 60 today. Wait till the ears stop detecting to sounds. HUH, WHAT, SAY AGAIN .

 

 

Edited January 16, 20215 yr by Al B

Not listening is not a symptom, it's a defensive maneuver.

I have a friend who tells people he’s deaf in his right ear, and can’t hear his wife with the left one.

I had a co-worker years ago who had an uncle, a farmer, who had been deaf in his left ear for most of his life. One day, while plowing the back 40, he was knocked off his tractor by a freak bolt of lightning. He recovered, and found that his hearing had been fully restored! His only regret was that he could no longer turn his deaf ear toward his better half when she started nagging him!

You never know.   My one grandfather was profoundly deaf as i think he had been an artillery trainer in WWI.   I always remember him with a hearing aid - it was one of those big things that he clipped on his shirt that had a wire going to the earpiece.   When he didn't want to hear anything (erm, like my Grandmother or...?) he would either turn it down or pretend he couldn't hear her (I'm not sure which, but both aggravated her and got a smirk out of him, so...)