Meniere

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Menieres Disease

• By Cindy Infante
• Psychology (HONORS)

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What is Menieres Disease ?

• Ménière disease is a syndrome in which you
  experience episodes of spinning vertigo (sense of
  the room spinning), hearing loss, and tinnitus
  (ringing in the ear). Between the unpredictable
  attacks, you usually do not have any problems or
  symptoms of the disease.

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Ménière disease was first described in 1861 by
the French physician Prosper Ménière.
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Causes

• The cause of Meniere's disease isn't well
  understood. It appears to be the result of the
  abnormal volume or composition of fluid in the
  inner ear.

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Factors that alter the properties of inner ear
fluid may help cause Meniere's disease.

• Improper fluid drainage, perhaps because of a
  blockage or anatomic abnormality
• Abnormal immune response
• Allergies
• Viral infection
• Genetic predisposition
• Head trauma
• Migraines

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How is Menieres disease diagnosed?

• Diagnosis is based on a combination of the right
  set of symptoms (usually episodic dizziness and
  hearing disturbance) hearing tests, which
  document that hearing is reduced after an attack,
  and then gets better and exclusion of
  alternative causes.

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Target Population

• Ménière disease affects people of all ages,
  especially those of middle age or older. It is,
  however, uncommon in children
• Menieres disease affects roughly 0.2 of the
  population. Interestingly, the Framingham study
  found that 2 of the population of the United
  States believe they have Menieres disease,
  suggesting that there is considerable chance of
  misdiagnosis.

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Affects with CNS/PNS

• An acute attack of Menieres disease is generally
  believed to result from fluctuating pressure of
  the fluid within the inner ear. This is called
  hydrops. A system of membranes, called the
  membranous labyrinth, contains a fluid called
  endolymph. The membranes can become dilated like
  a balloon when pressure increases. One way for
  this to happen is when the drainage system,
  called the endolymphatic duct or sac is blocked.
  In some cases, the endolymphatic duct may be
  obstructed by scar tissue, or may be narrow from
  birth. In some cases there may be too much fluid
  secreted by the stria vascularis. Recently, some
  have pointed out that this central hypothesis
  of Menieres is questionable, as many normal
  people without Menieres have evidence of
  increased pressure in the inner ear too.

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Symptoms

• Hearing loss
• Ringing in the ear (tinnitus)
• Feeling of fullness in the ear
• Headache that is unusual or severe for you
• Double vision or loss of vision
• Speech impairment
• Leg or arm weakness
• Loss of consciousness
• Falling or difficulty walking
• Numbness or tingling
• Chest pain

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Prognosis

• Ménière's disease often can find the right
  combination of lifestyle changes and medication
  to reduce the frequency and severity of attacks.
  Patients with severe, disabling symptoms may get
  relief with surgery, but the risks and benefits
  need to be weighed carefully.

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Cure / Vaccine or Treatment

• No cure exists for Meniere's disease, but a
  number of strategies may help you manage some
  symptoms. Research shows that most people with
  Meniere's disease respond to treatment, although
  long-term hearing loss is difficult to prevent.
• Long-term medication use
• Noninvasive therapies and procedures
• Rehabilitation
• Hearing Aid
• Meniett Device- For vertigo that's hard to treat,
  this therapy involves the application of positive
  pressure to the middle ear to improve fluid
  exchange. A device called a Meniett pulse
  generator applies pulses of pressure to the ear
  canal through a ventilation tube. The treatment
  is performed at home, usually three times a day
  for five minutes at a time.

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Notable Case

• Alan Shepard - (November 18, 1923 - July 21,
  1998) was the first American in space and the
  fifth person to walk on the moon, commanding the
  Apollo 14 mission. In the early 1964 Shepard was
  diagnosed with Meniere's Disease. The condition
  caused him to be removed from flight status for
  most of the 1960's as the disease cause
  disorientation, dizziness and nausea. In 1963
  Shepard was designated Chief of the Astronaut
  office which involved monitoring the
  coordination, schedule, and control of all
  activities involving the NASA astronauts. Shepard
  was eventually restored to full flight status by
  1969 after going through corrective surgery. At
  the age of 47 years old, he was the oldest
  astronaut in the program when he took part in his
  second space flight as commander of the Apollo
  14.

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Celebrities with Meniere Disease

• Emily Dickinson - poet born 1830's
• Peggy Lee - singer 1920 2002

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Organizations and Facilities

• Vestibular Disorders Association
• RSS Feeds
• Directory of Organizations (Deafness and
  Communication Disorders)

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Citations

• http//american-hearing.org/disorders/menieres-dis
  ease/diagnosed
• http//www.menieresinfo.com/
• Meniere's disease - MayoClinic.com