Hello all,
I am suffering from menieres disease since 2014, ringing in my both ear (24 hours), loss of vision,vertigo attacks some time's etc. Please tell me what to do?
I can speak in English but not well, you can answer me in Hindi also. Please help, I am very much serious about that.
Contents
In this article, we will take a look at:
- What is Meniere’s disease?
- How Does Meniere’s Disease Occur?
- Who is Prone to Meniere’s disease?
- Symptoms of Meniere’s Disease
- Diagnosis of Meniere’s Disease
- Complications of Meniere’s Disease
- Treatment for Meniere’s Disease
You can click on any of the links above to navigate to the section of your interest.
What is Meniere’s disease?
Meniere’s disease is a curious condition which causes you to feel as if you are spinning. It is a disorder of the inner ear. Initially, you will experience fluctuations in your ability to hear. Ultimately you will suffer from conditions like a ringing sensation in the ear, a feeling of pressure in your ear, and a permanent loss of hearing. Generally, the disease affects just one ear. The disease can affect anyone but it is most likely to affect people aged 20-50 years. It is a chronic condition, though its symptoms can be relieved with the help of medication and proper treatment to minimize the long term impact of the disease on your life.
How does Meniere’s disease occur?
The exact cause of the disease is yet to be understood and its onset is thought to be a culmination of a set of factors. An abnormal amount of endolymph in the inner ear contribute to the disease. Here are a few of the factors that might contribute to Meniere’s disease by affecting the fluid:
- Migraines
- Head Trauma
- Viral Infection
- Improper Fluid Drainage
- Abnormal Immune Response
- Allergies
- Genetic Predisposition
Who is Prone to Meniere’s disease?
Some people are more prone to the disease than others. Here are the risk factors which contribute to the onset of the disease:
- Head trauma
- Chronic stress
- Smoking – People who smoke regularly smoke or are chain smokers are more likely to contract the disease.
- Abnormal Immune System response
- Illness – Ear, nose, throat, and upper respiratory illnesses may contribute to the disease.
- Taking certain prescription medicines
- Family history
- Allergies – Seasonal and food allergies may lead to the disease.
- Alcohol abuse – Drinking too much alcohol puts you at a higher risk.
What are the Symptoms of Meniere’s Disease? How is Meniere’s disease Diagnosed?
The signs and symptoms of Meniere’s disease include:
- Hearing loss – You may experience recurring episodes of hearing loss eventually culminating to permanent hearing loss.
- Recurring episodes of vertigo – Spontaneous periods of a spinning sensation that usually last for up to 24 hours at a time.
- Ringing in the ear
- Feeling pressure in the ear
Diagnosis
You must exhibit the above mentioned symptoms before a doctor examines you for the disease. A doctor is likely to conduct hearing assessment, balance assessment, and imaging and blood teststo diagnose Meniere’s disease.
What are the Complications of Meniere’s disease?
Meniere’s disease can lead to spurts of hearing loss and eventually culminate in permanent hearing loss. The unpredictable episodes of vertigo can be a pain as well. Vertigo lasts for up to 24 hours at a time and it is spontaneous in nature. The disease interrupts the natural cycle of your life and lead to anxiety, depression, fatigue, and emotional stress. It can also lead to:
- A loss in balance
- Increases your risk of falling
- Increases your risk of getting into an accident
- Driving problems
- Operating heavy machinery becomes a burden
What is the Treatment for Meniere’s disease?
At the moment, there is no cure for the disease. There are several treatment methods available to reduce the effects of its symptoms and help one to lead a normal life. Treatment methods for Meniere’s disease include:
- Motion sickness medication
- Anti-nausea medications
- Rehabilitation
- Hearing aids
- Meniett device
- Middle ear injections
- Endolymphatic sac procedure
- Vestibular nerve section
- Labyrinthectomy
Would you like to consult a doctor for Meniere’s Disease ?
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Did you know?
Meniere's affects people
While the disease affects people of all ages, it is most common in people aged 20-50 years.
Disease cannot be cured
The disease cannot be cured but there are several treatment methods available to reduce the severity of its symptoms.
Meniere’s disease in India
Less than 1 million people suffer from Meniere’s disease in India each year.
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It's managed well medically in most cases. But treatment weather medical or surgical can't guarantee improvement in ringing sound.
Motion sickness medications, such as meclizine (Antivert) or diazepam (Valium), may reduce the spinning sensation of vertigo and help control nausea and vomiting.
Anti-nausea medications, such as promethazine, may control nausea and vomiting during an episode of vertigo.
Long-term medication use
Your doctor may prescribe a medication to reduce fluid retention (diuretic), such as the drug combination triamterene and hydrochlorothiazide (Dyazide, Maxzide). Reducing the amount of fluid your body retains may help regulate the fluid volume and pressure in your inner ear. For some people a diuretic helps control the severity and frequency of Meniere's disease symptoms.
Because diuretic medications cause you to urinate more frequently, your system may become depleted of certain minerals, such as potassium. If you take a diuretic, supplement your diet each week with three or four extra servings of potassium-rich foods, such as bananas, cantaloupe, oranges, spinach and sweet potatoes.
Noninvasive therapies and procedures
Some people with Meniere's may benefit from other noninvasive therapies and procedures, such as:
Rehabilitation. If you experience problems with your balance between episodes of vertigo, you may benefit from vestibular rehabilitation therapy. The goal of this therapy, which may include exercises and activities that you perform during therapy sessions and at home, is to help your body and brain regain the ability to process balance information correctly.
Hearing aid. A hearing aid in the ear affected by Meniere's disease may improve your hearing. Your doctor can refer you to an audiologist to discuss what hearing aid options would be best for you.
Meniett device. For vertigo that's hard to treat, this therapy involves the application of positive pressure to the middle ear to improve fluid exchange. A device called a Meniett pulse generator applies pulses of pressure to the ear canal through a ventilation tube. The treatment is performed at home, usually three times a day for five minutes at a time. Initial reports on the Meniett device show improvement in symptoms of vertigo, tinnitus and aural pressure, but its long-term effectiveness has not been determined.
Middle ear injections
Medications injected into the middle ear, and then absorbed into the inner ear, may improve vertigo symptoms:
Gentamicin, an antibiotic that's toxic to your inner ear, reduces the balancing function of your ear, and your other ear assumes responsibility for balance. The procedure, which can be performed during local anesthesia in your doctor's office, often reduces the frequency and severity of vertigo attacks. There is a risk, however, of further hearing loss.
Steroids, such as dexamethasone, also may help control vertigo attacks in some people. This procedure can also be performed with local anesthesia applied by your doctor. Although dexamethasone may be slightly less effective than gentamicin, dexamethasone is less likely than gentamicin to cause further hearing loss.
Surgery
If vertigo attacks associated with Meniere's disease are severe and debilitating and other treatments don't help, surgery may be an option. Procedures may include:
Endolymphatic sac procedures. The endolymphatic sac plays a role in regulating inner ear fluid levels. These surgical procedures may alleviate vertigo by decreasing fluid production or increasing fluid absorption.
In endolymphatic sac decompression, a small portion of bone is removed from over the endolymphatic sac. In some cases, this procedure is coupled with the placement of a shunt, a tube that drains excess fluid from your inner ear.
Vestibular nerve section. This procedure involves cutting the nerve that connects balance and movement sensors in your inner ear to the brain (vestibular nerve). This procedure usually corrects problems with vertigo while attempting to preserve hearing in the affected ear.
Labyrinthectomy. With this procedure, the surgeon removes the balance portion of the inner ear, thereby removing both balance and hearing function from the affected ear. This procedure is performed only if you already have near-total or total hearing loss in your affected ear.
contact ent specialist.