Treatment of Meniere’s Disease

Like most conditions related to balance, Meniere’s disease is a condition which can be misunderstood. Aside from the fact that most people don’t really understand what it is, sufferers can be held up in obtaining a solid diagnosis and therefore receiving treatment. It can be 'rule everything else out' kind of scenario, before arriving at the final, firm diagnosis.

It can be a difficult condition to confirm, as for some people the initial symptoms may be quite mild and don't always fit the standard Meniere's picture. 

Typical Meniere's Symptoms

The classic picture for Meniere's is periods of vertigo (a spinning feeling) for 30 minutes to up to 24 hours which is associated with a low pitched tinnitus (or ringing in the ear noise). There will typically also be a feeling of "fullness" in the affected ear, like a blocked ear feeling. Some people report that symptoms are eased by lying on the affected side.

Treatment of Meniere's Disease

Conventional management of Meniere's Disease revolves around medications to control the pressure of fluids in the inner ear.  At the Eastern Brain Centre we add an additional layer of treatment to assist you.

Some people respond well to modifying a diet, however the evidence for this is inconclusive as some people don't notice much change.(1) It is thought that ginkgo biloba can help some people, but again the results are variable.(2) We're particularly focused on helping your brain adjust and compensate to the problems produced by the problems in your inner ear. As the repeated on again-off again nature of the attacks can cause issues with compensation, rendering you more susceptible to vertigo attacks.

The aim of vestibular rehabilitation, the primary therapy that we use, is to balance the interpretation of the signals from the inner ear into the brain. This therapy has been shown to help many people with Meniere’s Disease.(3) To see if we can assist you in the relief of your symptoms from Meniere's Disease call our centre now.

(1) Aldren, I.S.C. Meniere's Disease. International Journal of Clinical Practice 2012 [cited 2016 8th Sept 2016]; Available from: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/757730_8.
(2) Drew, S. and E. Davies, Effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba in treating tinnitus: double blind, placebo controlled trial. BMJ, 2001. 322(7278): p. 73.
(3) McDonnell, M.N. and S.L. Hillier, Vestibular rehabilitation for unilateral peripheral vestibular dysfunction. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2015. 1: p. CD005397.