Post-Meningitis Symptoms

Meningitis is an infection of the membranes that encase the brain and spinal cord called the meninges. Viruses or bacteria cause the initial symptoms of meningitis, which include severe headache, neck stiffness and fever. A person who has meningitis also may experience symptoms similar to the flu or a rash. Although most people with mild cases of meningitis recover, other people with meningitis experience post-meningitis symptoms.

The Facts

• Post-meningitis symptoms depend on the type and severity of meningitis a patient developed. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke reports that people with meningitis caused by bacteria (also known as bacterial meningitis) are more likely to experience post-meningitis symptoms, compared with people with viral meningitis.

Hearing Impairment and Loss

• Hearing problems are the most common post-meningitis symptom. People who have had meningitis may experience tinnitus (ringing in the ears), mild to severe hearing loss or deafness. Damage to the inner ear caused by meningitis infection also may result in problems with dizziness and loss of balance.

  Because hearing is often impaired in children with meningitis infection, speech development may be adversely affected.

Brain and Nerve Damage

• Because meningitis causes inflammation and infection in the brain and spinal cord, post-meningitis symptoms commonly involve damage to these areas. A person with post-meningitis symptoms may experience recurring headaches (which may be severe), memory loss and problems concentrating. Because of brain and nerve damage, a person recovering from meningitis may experience clumsiness and weakness or paralysis on one side of the body. He or she may also develop learning disabilities that range from temporary and mild to permanent and severe.

Behavioral and Emotional Changes

• According to the Meningitis Foundation of America, for months after meningitis infection, a person may be clingy, moody, aggressive and depressed. Difficulty sleeping, frequent nightmares, mood swings that result in temper tantrums and depression also are common after a meningitis infection. In addition, a person who had meningitis may develop bed-wetting, fears of doctors and hospitals, and other emotional and behavioral problems.

Seizures

• Seizures or epilepsy also are post-meningitis symptoms. When a person experiences seizures after the fourth day in the hospital, it usually predicts that he or she will have more complications while recovering from meningitis.