I know Meniere’s Disease may seem like a pointless topic to write about (what the heck is Meniere’s Disease?), but I’ve had an absurd amount of patients contacting me about it.
The most common scenario involves a patient calling on the phone in tears about their new diagnosis and how miserable they feel.
“The ringing in my ears is so loud that I can’t hear anything”
“I’m nauseous because I’m so dizzy and it won’t go away”
Meniere’s Disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes dizziness, ringing or buzzing of the ears, and progressive hearing loss. The dizziness comes on suddenly and lasts up to 24 hours. You can get so dizzy that it throws you off balance and/or leads to nausea/vomiting. The ringing of your ears can get so loud that it may lead to temporary but significant hearing loss. It is common for only one ear to be affected as this occurs in about 50% of patients.
Meniere’s is caused by the buildup of fluid which in turn increases the pressure in the inner ear. The cause of the increased fluid and pressure is unknown.
Early on, your symptoms may go away between episodes (you may not even have another bout for a whole year!), but as the disease progresses so do your symptoms.
Risk factors for the disease may include a family history, allergies, trauma to the head or ear, already existing autoimmune disorders, and even syphilis.
With all that being said, your treatment options are as follows:
1) Anticholinergicslike Phenergan (promethazine) and Compazine (prochlorperazine) for nausea/vomiting.
2) Antihistamines like Benadryl (diphenhydramine) and Antivert (meclizine) or Benzodiazepines such as Valium (diazepam) to calm the sensory system (meaning the dizziness or off-balance sensation will be decreased).
3) A Corticosteroid burst like prednisone tapered down over time for acute episodes.
4) A low-salt diet (less than 1.5 grams per day)
5) NO alcohol or caffeine
6) Diuretics (aka water pills) like hydrochlorothiazide for possible help with the dizziness or to help steady your balance.
The treatments listed above are to help relieve symptoms. As of right now there is no known way to stop the progression of Meniere’s Disease. I can tell by my conversations with patients that Meniere’s and the symptoms it causes can be upsetting so please e-mail me (Cate@getpharmacyadvice.com) or simply comment on this post with any questions or concerns – I want to help!