No one’s quite certain what causes Meniere’s disease. But it’s hard to dismiss its effects. Ringing in the ears, vertigo, dizziness, and hearing loss are all typical symptoms of this disorder. Symptoms of Meniere’s disease appear to stem from an accumulation of fluid in the inner ear, but researchers aren’t really sure what causes that accumulation in the first place.
So the question is: if a condition doesn’t have a discernible cause, how can it be treated? The answer is, well, complicated.
Exactly what is Meniere’s disease?
Meniere’s disease is a persistent disorder that impacts the inner ear. For many people, Meniere’s disease is progressive, meaning symptoms will get worse as time passes. Here are some of those symptoms:
Unpredictable spells of vertigo: Regrettably, there’s no way to determine when these episodes of vertigo may occur or how long they will last.
Tinnitus: It’s fairly common for individuals with Meniere’s disease to experience ringing in the ears or tinnitus, which can range from mild to severe.
Fullness in the ear: This is experienced as a sensation of pressure in your ears and is medically referred to as aural fullness.
Hearing loss: In the long run, Meniere’s disease can lead to a loss of hearing.
If you experience these symptoms, it’s essential to receive a definitive diagnosis. Symptoms of Meniere’s disease can come and go for many people. But over time, symptoms can become more consistent and noticeable.
How is Meniere’s disease treated?
Meniere’s disease is a progressive and persistent condition for which there is no known cure. But there are some ways to manage the symptoms.
The following are some of those treatments:
- Positive pressure therapy: There’s a non-invasive technique employed when Meniere’s is especially hard to treat. It’s known as positive pressure therapy. This therapy involves subjecting the inner ear to positive pressure in order to limit fluid buildup. While positive pressure therapy is encouraging, the long-term advantages of this approach have not been borne out by peer-reviewed research.
- Rehabilitation: There are rehabilitation and physical therapy strategies that can help you preserve balance when Meniere’s disease is flaring up. If you’re perpetually dizzy or dealing with vertigo, this approach may be warranted.
- Surgery: In some situations, surgery is used to address Meniere’s. Normally, however, only the vertigo part of the disease is affected by this surgery. It won’t affect the other symptoms.
- Steroid shots: Some symptoms of Meniere’s, especially vertigo, can be temporarily alleviated with injections of specific steroids.
- Hearing aid: It may be time to try hearing aids if Meniere’s disease is advancing to the point where your ability to hear is failing. The advancement of your hearing loss won’t necessarily be slowed by hearing aids. But it can help keep you socially active which can improve your mental health. Hearing aids can also help you manage the symptoms of tinnitus in a number of ways.
- Diuretic: Another type of medication that your physician could prescribe is a diuretic. The concept is that reducing the retention of fluids might help minimize pressure on your inner ear. This is a long-term medication that you’d use as opposed to one to reduce extreme symptoms.
- Medications: In some instances, your physician will be prescribe anti-dizziness and anti-nausea medications. If those specific symptoms show up, this can be helpful. So, when a bout of dizziness happens, medication for motion sickness can help relieve that dizziness.
Get the best treatment for you
You should get checked out if think you might have Meniere’s disease. Treatments for Meniere’s can sometimes reduce the advancement of your condition. But these treatments more often help you have a greater quality of life in spite of your condition.
