No one’s really sure what causes Meniere’s disease. But it’s hard to ignore its impact. Some prevalent symptoms of this disorder are vertigo, dizziness, ringing in the ears, and hearing loss. Scientists aren’t really certain why, but for some reason, fluid can accumulate in the ears and this appears to be the underlying cause of Meniere’s disease.
So here’s the question: how can you treat something that doesn’t appear to have a discernible cause? It’s a complex answer.
Exactly what is Meniere’s disease?
There’s a persistent disorder that affects the inner ear and it’s known as Meniere’s disease. Symptoms of Meniere’s will get worse as time passes, for many people, because it’s a progressive disease. Those symptoms may include:
Unpredictable bouts of vertigo: Sadly, when these bouts of vertigo will occur and how long they will last can’t be predicted.
Tinnitus: It’s relatively 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 manifests as a feeling of pressure in your ears and is medically called aural fullness.
Hearing loss: Meniere’s disease can lead to hearing loss over time.
It’s important that you get an accurate diagnosis if you’re noticing these symptoms. For many individuals with Meniere’s, symptoms are irregular. But over time, symptoms can become more regular and noticeable.
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 prevalent treatments include the following:
- Positive pressure therapy: There’s a non-invasive technique used when Meniere’s is particularly hard to treat. Positive pressure therapy is the medical name for this treatment. This treatment involves subjecting the inner ear to positive pressure in order to limit fluid buildup. While positive pressure therapy is promising, the long-term advantages of this method have yet to be backed up by peer-reviewed studies.
- Medications: In some situations, your doctor will be prescribe anti-dizziness and anti-nausea medications. This can be helpful when those specific symptoms occur. So, when an episode of dizziness occurs, medication for motion sickness can help relieve that dizziness.
- Surgery: Sometimes, Meniere’s disease can be treated with surgery. Normally, however, only the vertigo side of the disease is affected by this surgery. It won’t affect the other symptoms.
- Hearing aid: It may be time to try hearing aids if Meniere’s disease is progressing to the point where your ability to hear is failing. Normally, a hearing aid won’t necessarily impede the progress of your hearing loss. But it can benefit your mental health by keeping you socially engaged. Hearing aids can also help you manage the symptoms of tinnitus in several ways.
- Diuretic: Another kind of medication that your physician may prescribe is a diuretic. The idea here is that the pressure in the inner ear can be minimized by reducing fluid retention. This medication is not used to manage acute symptoms but instead is taken long-term.
- Steroid shots: Some symptoms of Meniere’s, especially vertigo, can be temporarily relieved with injections of specific steroids.
- Rehabilitation: There are rehabilitation and physical therapy strategies that can help you preserve balance when Meniere’s disease is acting up. If you’re regularly dizzy or experiencing vertigo, this approach may be warranted.
Get the right treatment for you
You should get checked out if suspect you might have Meniere’s disease. The advancement of Meniere’s disease may be slowed by these treatments. More frequently, however, they minimize the effect that Meniere’s will have on your everyday life.