Living with Meniere's Disease

I have Meniere's disease. So do over 600,000 other individuals in the United States alone. Many have it and do not even realize it. The cause is unknown; hence there is no cure at this time. I will have it for the rest of my life, although it is not fatal. It comes and goes, as unpredictable as the New England weather. It has the power to drop me flat on the ground with no warning whatsoever. Intrigued? Read on.

I first came down with the symptoms of Meniere's disease in the late spring of 1995, at age 37. Out of nowhere, I had a series of sudden debilitating dizzy spells, unlike anything I had ever experienced. The room would suddenly start to spin at such a high rate that I would be forced to lie down immediately, or I would have fallen over. These spells sometimes lasted up to half an hour or more and became more and more common. I then began to notice that I had a steady ringing in my ear; the kind you would get if you clapped your ears with your hands really hard. The sound would not go away, and combined with the dizzy spells it was a frightening combination. On top of this, I began to have a hard time hearing out of the affected ear, my right one. Time to go to the doctor.

A specialist took note of my symptoms and scheduled an MRI to rule out anything resembling a tumor. After undergoing one at the local hospital, I was told that there was nothing abnormal going on in my head. Returning to the doctor, I was told that I more than likely had Meniere's disease. He ran a series of hearing tests on me that confirmed I had suffered some loss of hearing in my right ear. He suggested I try a low salt diet and gave me some pills for dizziness and then sent me on my way, telling me there was no cure. The pills made me so tired that I stopped taking them. Thanks, doc!

As the dizzy spells became more and more prevalent and the ringing in my ear got louder, I made it my business to learn more about Meniere's disease. Here is what I learned:

Meniere's disease was first described by the French physician Prosper Meniere in 1861.

It is diagnosed in 45,000 new patients each year, all with the same symptoms, in varying degrees, that I have. It is thought to be caused by an imbalance of inner ear fluids in a part of the ear known as the labyrinth. The labyrinth is comprised of two parts, a bony labyrinth and a membranous labyrinth, necessary for maintaining balance and hearing. The latter is filled with endolymph, a fluid that controls your balance. As you move your head, the endolymph moves along with it. Nerve receptors are made to send signals to your brain about the body's motion. Scientists are of the belief that if a tear, or rupture, occurs in the membranous labyrinth, the fluid there can mix with perilymph, a fluid found between the bony inner ear and the membranous labyrinth. This, they conjecture, causes the symptoms of Meniere's disease.

These symptoms vary from person to person with Meniere's disease. Some suffer them as I do, with hearing loss, bouts of vertigo {extreme dizzy spells} and tinnitus {the ear noises}. The levels of each can be very different from person to person. In some patients, the vertigo is so bad that it can precipitate vomiting and nausea. Often times a person will experience what can be described only as "fullness" or "pressure' in the affected ear. This comes and goes as well. I have had this sensation before some of my worst vertigo attacks. People usually show the first signs of Meniere's disease in their thirties. It does not afflict children and it is hardly ever noticed for the first time in senior citizens.

Never fatal, unless you crash your car into a tractor trailer while having a dizzy spell while driving {yes, this happened to me}, Meniere's disease will never go away either. You will have it in some form for the rest of your life, although in my case, luckily, the violent dizzy spells are much more infrequent. This could be due to the fact that the balance controlling areas of my right ear may have been irreversibly harmed and no longer function. The loss of hearing has increased; eventually I will lose all hearing in the ear. The ringing NEVER goes away. It is louder some days than others. It has been with me for over ten years now, and unless I think about it on some days, I am so used to it that I don't notice it.

Reduction of salt intake, which can control fluid levels in the body, is a common treatment of this malady. Smokers with this disease should stop immediately, as smoking constricts blood flow to the inner ear. Caffeine should also be avoided. With severe cases, where the vertigo has virtually incapacitated the patient, surgery can be performed to reduce the fluid, but this can also result in total hearing loss for that ear. The chances of my left ear eventually contracting Meniere's disease are one in four, according to research. Stress seems to play a role in the onset of a Meniere's attack; however researchers are unsure just how this works.

To sum things up, I have a disease that no one is certain what causes it or how to cure it. At this point in my life, I do not suffer as often from the vertigo attacks associated with Meniere's disease, but I am aware that this could change I have not had a serious one in almost two years, but have "small" ones every now and then. My right ear rings all the time and my hearing is getting worse in it. Living with Meniere's isn't easy, but what choice do I really have?