What is Meniere’s disease?
Family Health
St. Joseph’s/Candler – Ga. ENT Specialists audiologist explains this hearing and balance disorder
There’s a reason we have fluid in our inner ears. It keeps hearing and balance in order. However, too much fluid can disrupt our hearing and balance systems.
One such condition that can result from too much fluid in the inner ear is Meniere’s disease. Meniere’s disease is an inner ear disorder that affects the hearing and balance systems, resulting in sudden onset, and often severe, attacks of vertigo and hearing-related symptoms, such as fullness or pressure, ringing or roaring in the ear and low-pitch hearing loss, explains Rachel Goldsmith, Au.D., CCC-A, senior audiologist at Georgia Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists.
“For it to be a Meniere’s disease diagnosis, you usually have to have vertigo and most of those hearing-related symptoms, and it has to occur two times or more,” Goldsmith says. “If someone has these symptoms, they should call their primary care doctor immediately, or if they are established with an ENT, get an appointment.”
And because these symptoms can be signs of other conditions, such as a stroke or tumor in the ear, it’s important to be medically evaluated to get a correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
What causes Meniere’s disease?
The inner ear is filled with fluids and other substances – oxygen, blood, potassium and sodium, for example – that bathes the sensory receptors for hearing and balance. In healthy ears, the fluid level is constant; however, in cases of Meniere’s disease, the fluid is off balance which disrupts the hearing and balance sensors causing those symptoms, or Meniere’s attacks.
“Usually Meniere’s attacks come on very intense, very suddenly,” Goldsmith says. “It can be very debilitating. Those attacks can last for a few hours, a few days or for some, a week or more.”
Unfortunately, the exact cause of why the fluid in your ears gets off balance isn’t known yet. Research proposes the disease occurs due to circulation problems, viral infections, allergies, an autoimmune reaction, migraines or even a genetic connection.
However, we do know that certain triggers may cause Meniere’s attacks such as salt, caffeine, processed cheese, foods with nitrates and alcohol.
“Patients who have Meniere’s will sometimes be able to manage their symptoms with diet, so low-sodium, low-salt and avoiding caffeine, chocolate and wine,” Goldsmith says. “If they do not do well with diet and the symptoms are coming on more frequently, the physician can recommend a medication to help reduce the attacks.”
Meniere’s disease is rare with about 200,000 cases reported each year in the United States and can develop in anyone at any adult age. (It’s not common in pediatrics.) Because of the risk of hearing loss and quality of life due to balance and hearing disorders, it’s important to talk to your physician, an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist or an audiologist if you experience any symptoms of Meniere’s disease.
“Sometimes patients will have it and it will be active for a period of time and then it will just stabilize,” Goldsmith says. “The problem though is when you have Meniere’s disease, with those attacks, the hearing loss gets worse, so over time they can have a permanent hearing loss. It’s possible the vertigo goes away, but the hearing loss does not.”
Related Article: Five things to know about adult hearing loss