The cause of Meniere’s isn’t well understood. But it’s hard to overlook its effects. Ringing in the ears, vertigo, dizziness, and hearing loss are all typical symptoms of this disorder. Researchers aren’t really sure why, but for some reason, fluid can build up in the ears and this seems to be the underlying cause of Meniere’s disease.
So here’s the question: if a condition doesn’t have an identifiable cause, how can it be dealt with? It’s a complicated answer.
What exactly is Meniere’s disease?
Meniere’s disease is a persistent disorder that affects the inner ear. Symptoms of Meniere’s will get worse as time passes, for many individuals, because it’s a progressive disease. Here are some of those symptoms:
Unpredictable spells of vertigo: Sadly, when these bouts of vertigo will occur and how long they will last can’t be predicted.
Tinnitus: The severity of this tinnitus may ebb and flow, but it’s not unusual for those with Meniere’s Disease to experience ringing in their ears.
Fullness in the ear: This symptom is medically referred to as aural fullness, the feeling of pressure in your ear.
Hearing loss: Eventually, Meniere’s disease can lead to a loss of hearing.
It’s critical that you get an accurate diagnosis if you’re noticing these symptoms. For many individuals with Meniere’s, symptoms are irregular. But as the disease advances, the symptoms will probably become more consistent.
Treatment for Menier’s disease
There is no known cure for Menier’s disease which is chronic and progressive. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any way to treat it.
Some of the most common treatments include the following:
- Positive pressure therapy: When Meniere’s disease is particularly hard to treat, this non-invasive strategy can be used. Positive pressure therapy is the medical name for this treatment. This treatment entails exposing the inner ear to positive pressure in order to limit fluid buildup. While positive pressure therapy is promising, the long-term benefits of this method have not been borne out by peer-reviewed research.
- Hearing aid: It might be time to get 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 down by hearing aids. But it can help your mental health by keeping you socially active. There are also a number of ways hearing aids can help deal with tinnitus.
- Medications: In some cases, your physician will be prescribe anti-dizziness and anti-nausea medications. This can help when those particular symptoms occur. For example, medications created to help with motion sickness may help you feel less dizzy when a bout of vertigo takes place.
- Steroid shots: Injections of specific kinds of steroids can temporarily help relieve some Meniere’s symptoms, especially in regards to vertigo.
- Surgery: In some cases, Meniere’s disease can be treated with surgery. However, these surgical techniques will typically only affect the vertigo part of symptoms. Other Meniere’s symptoms will continue.
- Rehabilitation: There are rehabilitation and physical therapy methods that can help you preserve balance when Meniere’s disease is acting up. This approach may be a useful technique if you’re experiencing frequent dizziness or vertigo.
- Diuretic: Another type of medication that your physician might prescribe is a diuretic. The concept here is that the pressure in the inner ear can be lessened by reducing retention of fluid. This is a long-term medication that you’d take rather than one to minimize acute symptoms.
The key is finding the treatment that’s best for you
You should get an exam if think you might have Meniere’s disease. The development of Meniere’s disease may be slowed by these treatments. More often, however, they reduce the impact that Meniere’s will have on your everyday life.