Hello doctor,
This started with a red bump in the outer right ear canal. I thought it was a zit or something else. In the beginning, I was told it was impetigo, ringworm, and just a bacterial infection. Over a four-month period, I was on several antibiotics, which is more than five less than ten, and different creams. None of them helped even a little. I told the doctor I could feel something in my ear like a kind of scratching or tickling noises and I heard and still heard noises that I had never heard prior. Sometimes it sounds like a crunching sound, and sometimes it is more like a squishy wet sound. It probably sounds crazy, and it is part of the reason I have just tried to live with it. About nine months ago, I had a borderline positive ANA test, it was 1:80, then four months ago, my PCP ordered the same tests again, and it was 1:640 speckled pattern and flagged for low C3 complement. I had an appointment to see a rheumatologist, and the day of the appointment the doctor was out sick, and they gave me an appointment after two months. I now have knots all over my earlobes. What used to be earring holes I have had since I was five closed-up, and there are just hard bumps there. Around my ears, on my cheeks, and neck, I get spots that initially appear to be a blemish of some sort, but the skin starts to peel around them, and little tiny worm-looking things usually come out after I shower. I promise I have no mental issues. I have never even been on an antidepressant. My left ear hurts the most. It throbs and burns 75% of the time, and it looks and feels almost raw all on the outside of my ear. The whole left side of my face sometimes gets tingly and down that side of my neck gets puffy. The most recent symptoms that are bothering me the most are my eyes burning constantly and my vision getting blurry sometimes, and at work, when the LED lights come on in my control room, it triggers, what I think is a mild seizure. My eyes start to move back and forth, and I have to close my eyes really hard for a few seconds until it goes away. That is the most of my symptoms. Until about a year ago, my health was fine. I had some issues when I was a young teen; our doctor diagnosed it as chiari malformation type 1. My Dad wants me to make an appointment at another hospital, but I have been on mandatory overtime for almost a year now with no end in sight, and the way it has been since COVID started, it is hard to get an appointment. My friend is a nurse and has an endoscope, so she took pictures of both my ears. I will attach all the ones I have. Thank you for taking the time to help me. I feel like I am just stuck living in constant pain. Please help.