question for everyone.does this happen to you

[horsehead]

so last week i had a seizure and afterwords my hearing got so extreme I could hear two sides of a conversation half way down the road i live on. i could hear flapping of birds wings and bugs and just every little sound was like nails on a chaukboard. I couldn't handle any light or if someone touched me it felt like burning . that lasted all day. Does this happen to anyone and if it does do you know why? also sunday i was in a resturant and my hearing went crazy again . Had no seizure that i know of that day. Any ideas? Going to the neuro again in march.

 

[Nakamova]

I wonder if the hyperacute hearing and other hypersensitivity you're experiencing is itself a kind of seizure.

 

[horsehead]

humm can a seizure last almost a full day?

 

[Nakamova]

Hypersensitivity can also be a feature of migraines. Was there anything in the restaurant that might have been triggering, like a particular food or the lighting?

 

[horsehead]

It was kfc. i dont recall anything that would have caused an issue. lighting in some places deffinately cause dizziness at times but that wasn't happening. I have headaches alot but dont think I've had a migraine. however it didn't last all day in the resturant just a couple hours . after the seizure was much worse

 

[kirsten]

Hey, Horsehead. I turned this up: "The clonic phase and the postictal phase probably result from massive activation of inhibitory neurons in the brain." So from what I understand that to mean, you are hearing and seeing normally but your brain is interpreting those senses far more acutely.

 

[kirsten]

Or I could be misunderstanding that quotation entirely. Who knows?

 

[MrE]

These sound like typical symptoms of having a neurological condition in general...the only difference is...your brain may be wired differently than most typical brains exhibiting typical neurological symptoms...but is it upon the acknowledgement of said symptoms within a theoretical probability that creates a sort of "matrix" if you will of a more complex brain structure...in this case hypersensitivity

In other words your unique situation may easily be misinterpreted by a few loose concepts/ideas thus requiring further investigation...

There is always a basis from where the problems originated...but ironically the problems aren't the problem...it's the basis


I for one personally do not see the difference in separating a long term issue with short term effects...not saying that is the case here...just making a statement...

A lot of the time I'd like to know what the heck is going on but it's like looking at 3D without the glasses


I feel that I can only offer you a different perspective in which to view your situation...and I hope that angle can offer you some "enlightenment" and hopefully give you some inspiration...

because believe me it is a slow learning experience...trying to understand things better certainly is no easy task...but we can help each other by utilizing a process of which I like to call "internal reflection"...


I hope your visit with your neurologist gives you some deeper insight so that you can better cope with your life...I've learned a lot over the years and I am grateful every single day for it is truly a blessing in disguise

 

[kirsten]

Well, the more I think about it, the more I think it's a case of the brain no longer cutting out those sounds it doesn't consider a potential danger. There are all kinds of sounds that are going into our ears constantly but that our brains decide are not important enough to acknowledge so we don't 'hear' them at all--think of the white noise of a fridge or the chirping of birds. We know these sounds are consistent, so we filter them out entirely to make room for sounds that might signal danger. A similar thing happens with our vision. The brain changes what we see so that it makes more sense to us. This video demonstrates it best:

When you're post-ictal, your brain is clearly not behaving normally, and it seems to me that it's simply not doing its usual filtering out of what it thinks are unimportant sounds, so you're hearing absolutely everything your ears pick up.

 

[MrE]

Well, the more I think about it, the more I think it's a case of the brain no longer cutting out those sounds it doesn't consider a potential danger. There are all kinds of sounds that are going into our ears constantly but that our brains decide are not important enough to acknowledge so we don't 'hear' them at all--think of the white noise of a fridge or the chirping of birds. We know these sounds are consistent, so we filter them out entirely to make room for sounds that might signal danger. A similar thing happens with our vision. The brain changes what we see so that it makes more sense to us.

When you're post-ictal, your brain is clearly not behaving normally, and it seems to me that it's simply not doing its usual filtering out of what it thinks are unimportant sounds, so you're hearing absolutely everything your ears pick up.

Thank you Kirsten for elaborating on a point I was trying to make in one of my sentences...I just couldn't figure out exactly how to phrase it "correctly"...but yes I understand exactly what you are saying...however I am still curious as to know the underlying cause of such occurrences...if it is based on a certain individuals genetic makeup and/or a more broader spectrum of theoretical probabilities...I know the brain is indeed an infinitely complex enigma...or should I say the human mind...but in essence they are the same exact thing...think of one as existing in an unconscious state and the other being consciously aware of the unconscious state thus creating an alternate sense of "awareness"...as to say one persons perception of reality may differ from another's but in reality perception is a universal illusion...like looking at a ceiling of stars and thinking they are far away when in reality they are right above you...I totally embrace the concept of "filters" and how they may not be working effectively enough or too effectively...sometimes I think I am experiencing something but I have found a way to isolate myself internally from the experience I think I am having...and upon that isolation I analyze the situation...almost like I have set up an entire "security system" within myself...cameras, motion detectors, antennas...etc....upon my study I have found some very interesting things including capturing thoughts and feelings that seemed random and unstable when I had believed they were completely fluid and balanced...then I realized that the mind has it's way of establishing it's own "belief system" and it seems to work on a certain "frequency" at certain times...almost like it is in constant motion moving in a certain direction...like a planet rotating and revolving simultaneously...it reminds me of a clock and I tell you that I am sometimes seem to be perfectly "in sync" with time as I experience the "time code phenomenon" which some call a "higher sense of awareness"...I see the same numbers on the clock a lot...my wife always tells me it is because you are expecting to see the same numbers...I agree with her to a certain extent but I also feel that something is trying to tell me something...possibly that my internal alarm is telling me it's time to "get up"...my wife for one does experience her own share of "phenomenon"...in reality we all do...some of us are just simply more aware than others...but the question remains...why?

However taking into account that time is not a "fixed variable" but in fact an impetus occurrence we must apply a different set of "rules"...I have once heard that the faster we move the faster time moves...the slower we move the slower time moves...which is why time seems to fly when we are busy and doesn't seem to go anywhere when we are constantly watching the clock...

Here is an interesting read:

http://www.crystalinks.com/11.11.html

 

[horsehead]

Very interesting. My husband agrees that i must have lost the normal filter as you said kirsten and that i always hear those sounds but i dont pay attention to them. wow mre you are very deep . I had some trouble understanding what you are saying maybe you can put it a bit simpler for me.

 

[horsehead]

ye the question is why. i have in the past had post ictal issues as many others have had on this board and did this time as well. such as crying, extream tiredness, feeling of bliss and paranoia ect. i once had these for a full 3 weeks as i have said in my prevous posts. Please excuse my spelling i know its aweful.

 

[Nakamova]

Hi horsehead -- you may want to give KFC a pass in the future. Of all the fast food places, it's foods contain the highest amounts of MSG. MSG can be triggering for both migraines and seizures. Check out: http://www.msgtruth.org/whywe.htm

 

[kirsten]

Horsehead, I relate to all those feelings you speak of. I have them way less intensely these days, thankfully, because once I found out what it was like not to have them I realised how much I felt I was a slave to my moods. My psychiatrist fills in the gaps with those where my anticonvulsants fail.

MrE, another possibility is that you are very much in tune with time and so you are checking it at the same time every day. I keep a really strict routine most of the time and I fall asleep and wake up at the exact same times every day, right on the hour. Even when we're sleeping, it seems we're capable of keeping time, but I think that only happens to those who do wake and sleep and eat at the same times every day--I think it's melatonin that keeps us on track?

 

[horsehead]

really nakamova i'll keep that in mind.
i've gone to a psychiatrist before but it made no difference in the issues

 

[MAB]

humm can a seizure last almost a full day?

I've had simple partials that I am convinced last all day, usually when I have a sinus infection.

 

[horsehead]

maybe they are just happening alot and i think its all day. One day i'll figure out this crazy brain of mine

 

[MAB]

maybe they are just happening alot and i think its all day. One day i'll figure out this crazy brain of mine

Sometimes that's what I think too, they either last all day, or they arejust coming fast and furious and they leave me completely worn out.

 

[kirsten]

To be more specific, Horsehead, my psychiatrist uses mood stabilisers and adjusts them according to my anticonvulsants. Mood stabilisers aren't always the best for epilepsy but I've personally not had a problem with them and they've helped me tremendously. Also, they're not necessarily a fix for every epilepsy-related mood. My most dramatic mood changes mimic bipolar, which makes me a good candidate for them.

 

[horsehead]

i have taken lexapro which was recommended due to the doctors thinking i had non epileptic seizures. after a while on that i didn't want to get out of bed anyone and couldn't wait till i was asleep again when i did have to get up. After getting off even when getting off very slowly i had horrible withdrawls. the only med I'm on is klonipin which i believe is a mood stabiliser as well. Sadly i dont think its working anymore. had two seizures last night.