Meniere’s Disease Treatment - Your Basics Guide

Meniere’s disease has no known cure, though there have been treatments for this. The treatment’s aim is to minimize the inner ear’s pressure to give relief to the patient from the symptoms. Since there is an acute stage and a chronic stage, Meniere’s disease treatment is divided into two.

Among the symptoms of the acute stage include pressure, discomfort or fullness in the ear, drop attacks, painful tinnitus, fluctuating hearing loss and severe vertigo or dizziness. Meniere’s disease treatment for this stage targets on giving relief to these symptoms. As first aid for the patients under attack of Meniere’s disease, they are asked to stay in one place or to lie down. They would also be asked to stare at one spot. Patients with the illness want their hands to be held, though there are some who would like to be alone. Under attack, they are not allowed to drink fluids as it may be a cause for choking. It can also induce vomiting. For the acute stage, Meniere’s disease treatment would be any of the following antihistamines, anticholinergics, sedative or hypnotics, anti-emetic agents, anti-nausea or diuretics.

These drugs are given to take care of the symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, and related nausea and vomiting. Different medications may be given between attacks to help normalize the fluid pressure in the inner ear, thus minimizing also the intensity and frequency of the attacks. Rest is very important during severe episodes until one week after the symptoms are gone, then the patient could resume to normal activities. Patients should use dim lights, no watching of television sets, no reading as this could trigger the symptoms to get worst.

In chronic stage, the symptoms would be vertigo, dizziness or light-headedness; frequent sensation of fullness or wax in the ear, on and off and irritating hearing loss; and the uncomfortable and agonizing ringing in the ear. Surgery would be Meniere’s disease treatment for patients with chronic stage. By doing surgery on the labyrinth, endolymphatic sac, or the vestibular nerve, it lowers the pressure inside the endolymphatic sac. There is also this procedure wherein a shunt, a small silicone tube would be placed in the inner ear to remove excess fluid. Another treatment is called vestibular neurectomy where the vestibular nerve that serves balance is detached so that the brain can no longer receive distorted messages.

Vestibular Neurectomy, labyrinthectomy, sacculotomy, ultrasonic irradiation, endolymphatic or subarachnoid shunt and cryosurgery are just some of the surgeries that could be performed when the situation is severe and is not responding to other treatments. And since there is no proven cure on Meniere’s disease, long term of having it could cause permanent tinnitus or a hearing loss. And even all surgeries on the ear could bring in the risk in losing sense of hearing.

Meniere’s disease treatment, combined with the right diet which includes low-salt diet to reduce fluid retention, abstinence from alcohol and cigarettes, less exposure to stress and avoiding sudden movements may lead to a relief on symptoms of the disease. Using this combination, it appears to regulate the inner ear fluid levels, as it nourishes depleted cells.