Meniere’s disease is an inner ear condition that can lead to hearing loss and vertigo, or dizzy spells. Meniere’s illness typically only affects one ear.
Meniere’s illness can strike anybody at any age. However, it typically begins in the 40s to 60s. It is believed to be a chronic illness. However, there are therapies that can help reduce symptoms and the long-term effects on your life.
Symptoms
Meniere’s disease symptoms include:
Frequent episodes of vertigo. You feel as though something is spinning, and it stops abruptly. Vertigo can strike suddenly. It rarely lasts more than 24 hours, usually between 20 minutes and 12 hours. Severe vertigo may make you feel sick.
Loss of hearing. In the early stages of Meniere’s illness, hearing loss may fluctuate. Hearing loss might become permanent over time and not improve.
An ear ringing. Tinnitus is the term for ear ringing. The word for the noise that accompanies ringing, buzzing, roaring, whistling, or hissing in your ears is tinnitus.
An ear fullness sensation. Meniere’s disease patients frequently experience pressure in their ears. We refer to this as auditory fullness.
Following a vertigo attack, symptoms usually improve and may even disappear temporarily. The frequency of your vertigo episodes may decrease with time.
Causes
It is unknown what causes Meniere’s illness. Meniere’s disease symptoms could be brought on by endolymph, an excess fluid in the inner ear. However, the reason behind this fluid accumulation in the inner ear is unknown.
Problems affecting the fluid that may cause Meniere’s disease include:
- Inadequate fluid removal. Ear irregularities or blockages could be the cause of this.
- Autoimmune conditions.
- Infection with a virus.
- Genetics.
Meniere’s illness most likely has multiple causes because a single cause has not been identified.
Complications
The most challenging Meniere’s disease side effects include:
- unexpected episodes of vertigo.
- perhaps suffering from permanent hearing loss.
- the illness could strike at any time. Stress and worry may result from this.
Dizziness might make you unbalanced. This may make you more susceptible to mishaps and falls.
Treatment
Meniere’s disease does not have a treatment. Certain medications have the potential to decrease the severity and duration of vertigo episodes. However, there are no cures for irreversible hearing loss. Your medical professional might be able to recommend therapies to stop the progression of your hearing loss.
Medications for vertigo
Your physician may recommend the following medications to take during vertigo episodes to lessen their severity:
Medications for motion sickness. Medication like diazepam (Valium) or meclizine (Antivert) can help reduce nausea and vomiting and lessen the spinning sensation.
Medicines that reduce nausea. Promethazine is one medication that can help reduce nausea and vomiting during a vertigo attack.
Betahistine and diuretics. You can treat vertigo with these medications alone or in combination. Diuretics reduce bodily fluid levels, which may reduce the surplus fluid in the inner ear. Betahistines increase blood flow to the inner ear, which reduces vertigo symptoms.
Long-term usage of medications
Your physician might advise reducing your salt intake and write a prescription for medication to help with fluid retention. For certain individuals, this helps regulate the degree and severity of Meniere’s disease symptoms.
Noninvasive treatments and operations
Some patients with Meniere’s disease may benefit from non-surgical procedures like:
Recuperation. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy may help you regain your balance if you experience dizziness spells.
Assistive listening device. Your hearing may be enhanced by a hearing aid in the Meniere’s disease-affected ear. To discuss the best hearing aids for you, your healthcare provider can recommend that you see an audiologist, also known as an ear doctor.
In the event that more intensive treatments prove unsuccessful, your healthcare provider may recommend them.
Injections into the middle ear
Treatments for vertigo that are injected and absorbed into the middle ear may be effective. The setting for this treatment is the doctor’s office. Among the injections are:
Gentamicin. This antibiotic is poisonous to the inner ear. It acts by causing harm to the area of your ear that is sick and responsible for your vertigo. That’s when your healthy ear steps in to help with balance. Yet, more hearing loss is a possibility.
Hormones. Some people may find that steroids like dexamethasone can help manage episodes of vertigo. Gentamicin may function better than dexamethasone. However, the likelihood of further hearing loss is reduced.
Operation
Surgery may be an option if other treatments are unsuccessful and the vertigo attacks from Meniere’s disease are extremely severe and difficult to handle. Among the procedures are:
Surgery on the lymphatic sac. The endolymphatic sac aids in the regulation of inner ear fluid content. By releasing pressure from the area surrounding the endolymphatic sac, this process can raise fluid levels. An ear tube may occasionally be inserted by a medical professional to remove excess fluid.
Removal of the labyrinth. During this operation, the surgeon removes the parts of your ear that are causing dizziness, which results in total loss of hearing in that ear. This lets your healthy ear take control of communicating balance and hearing information to your brain. Physicians will only recommend this procedure if the diseased ear is completely deaf or has poor hearing.
Area of the vestibular nerve. In order to prevent the brain from receiving information about movement, this procedure involves cutting the vestibular nerve. Your inner ear provides information about movement and balance to your brain through the vestibular nerve. Vertigo is typically lessened and the diseased ear’s hearing preserved after this procedure. Most patients require both an overnight hospital stay and general anesthesia, a medication that induces a state similar to sleep.
