Why does Meniere's Disease occur? How is it treated?

Meniere's Disease is a disease that occurs in attacks, manifested by ringing in the ears, buzzing, a feeling of fullness, hearing loss and dizziness. The patient may experience nausea and vomiting during the attack. Hearing loss is temporary in the first attacks, typically includes low frequencies, ie deep sounds, and hearing returns to normal after the attack. However, as the number of attacks increases, permanent hearing loss can also be seen. In some patients, falls may occur without loss of consciousness. Meniere can be bilateral in approximately one third of patients. The exact cause of Meniere's disease is unknown. It is thought that there is a 'swelling' in the inner ear, which is caused by the mixing of the endolymph and perilymph fluids, which contain different salts that should not normally mix with each other, 

Medical treatment should come to the fore in treatment patients, which has two stages: attack treatment and preventive treatment. In the treatment of attacks, if the patient has nausea and vomiting, he should be hospitalized and intravenous therapy can be given to calm the attack. After the attack, preventive treatments are given. The first step in preventive treatment is lifestyle changes. The patient is advised to eat without salt, quit smoking if he smokes, and stay away from stress. In addition, various drug treatments can be given to strengthen the inner ear between attacks, to reduce the number of attacks and to prolong the attack-free periods. If the attacks cannot be controlled despite these treatments, ear injection treatment may be considered. Here, cortisone injections are primarily applied to the middle ear in a patient with intact hearing. This procedure can be performed under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting. Gentamicin injections can be made into the middle ear with the method just described in cases whose attacks are still not controlled and who have permanent hearing loss. Gentamicin is an antibiotic that is particularly toxic to the balance nerve. Attacks can be prevented by canceling the impaired balance system in the patient's ear.

 

Source http://www.kbb.org.tr