Basic Facts About Meniere’s Disease

Three of the more recognizable indication of Meniere’s disease are tinnitus, vertigo, and fluctuating hearing loss. This disorder affects your inner ear, causing you to experience symptoms that disturb your hearing and balance. While there is no known cure for this condition, there are steps that you can take to lessen the impact it has on your life.

The symptoms of Meniere’s disease tend to occur in clusters of episodes. A common starting point of these episodes is a feeling of fullness in the ear that leads to tinnitus and mild hearing loss. Vertigo is likely to come next, causing you to feel as though the room is spinning around you. You may feel nauseated and your balance may be impaired. An episode can be as short as twenty minutes and as long as four hours.

Many people who suffer from Meniere’s disease experience several such episodes in a short period of time with long periods of remission in between. Individual symptoms can vary a great deal in both duration and severity from episode to episode. Since these symptoms are not unique to Meniere’s disease, it’s very important to check with your physician to rule out other potentially serious health problems.

Researchers are still working to determine the cause of Meniere’s disease, but the leading theory is that its symptoms are caused by abnormalities in fluid in the inner ear. Your ear relies on very specific levels of fluid volume and pressure to function as it should. Allergies, head trauma, improper drainage, and viral infections may act as triggers for these fluid abnormalities.

Even though there is no method to cure Meniere’s disease, there are ways to manage the symptoms. People who experience nausea as a result of vertigo can use anti-nausea medications to alleviate their symptoms. Physicians may also prescribe drugs that reduce fluid retention as a way to control the disorder. Rehabilitation and hearing aids can help manage vertigo and hearing loss. The effects of vertigo may also be lessened by sitting or lying down as soon as possible after an episode starts and by avoiding triggers that seem to make vertigo symptoms worse.

Although there are some unpleasant symptoms associated with Meniere’s disease, there are steps that you can take to manage your episodes and reduce the impact they have on your life.