This is a summary of the UHC Hearing article “Ménière’s disease, explained” which can be read here.
If you’ve ever felt the room spinning even while standing still, you may have experienced vertigo. Vertigo is one of the hallmark symptoms of Ménière’s disease, a rare inner ear condition that affects both hearing and balance.
Ménière’s disease is an inner ear disorder partially characterized by unpredictable bouts of vertigo and hearing issues. With medical support, lifestyle changes, and sometimes hearing aids, most people can control their symptoms and improve their quality of life.
Audiologist Kristen Conners offers Insights on Ménière’s disease
In a recent article for United Health Care Hearing, Prescription Hearing’s chief audiologist Kristen Conners expounded on some of the issues people have with vertigo as a side-effect of Ménière’s disease:
“Most patients with Ménière’s disease have vertigo. You could be driving in the car, you could be lying in bed. These vertigo attacks can last 20 minutes, or they could last all day.”
According to Conners, people can be taken by surprise the first time they experience vertigo:
“Some people end up in the emergency room the first time they get a vertigo attack. They have no idea what’s going on. They think they’re having a stroke or heart attack.”
Diagnosis
Understanding whether Ménière’s is the culprit can be difficult, because the disease shares many overlapping symptoms with other conditions.
Conners said that a person experiencing consistent vertigo will often start by seeing an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist. “They’ll look to see if there’s a family history of the disease or of autoimmune diseases,” she said.
From there they’ll run a series of tests to determine the underlying cause of the vertigo, including hearing exams, balance tests, inner ear inspection and more.
Treating Ménière’s Disease with Hearing Aids
Since those living with Ménière’s Disease may also experience tinnitus or some hearing loss, it’s often recommended they start wearing a hearing aid.
“Most of the time we can mask or cover up the tinnitus, so the patient doesn’t notice the tinnitus when they’re wearing the hearing aid,” Conners said.
Getting Help With Ménière’s-related Hearing Loss
After you’ve received a Ménière’s disease diagnosis, it’s smart to turn to audiologists to address hearing issues that are related to the disease. Audiologists at Prescription Hearing are ready to help you rediscover your hearing potential, no matter the cause.
Contact our Team of Audiologists today to get help with hearing loss
