Living with Meniere's Disease

Symptoms and Possible Causes

I have Meniere’s disease. So do over 600,000 other individuals in the United States alone. Many have it and do not even realize it. The cause is unknown; hence there is no cure at this time. I will have it for the rest of my life, although it is not fatal. It comes and goes, as unpredictable as the New England weather. It has the power to drop me flat on the ground with no warning whatsoever. Intrigued? Read on.

I first came down with the symptoms of Meniere’s disease in the late spring of 1995, at age 37. Out of nowhere, I had a series of sudden debilitating dizzy spells, unlike anything I had ever experienced. The room would suddenly start to spin at such a high rate that I would be forced to lie down immediately, or I would have fallen over. These spells sometimes lasted up to half an hour or more and became more and more common. I then began to notice that I had a steady ringing in my ear; the kind you would get if you clapped your ears with your hands really hard. The sound would not go away, and combined with the dizzy spells it was a frightening combination. On top of this, I began to have a hard time hearing out of the affected ear, my right one. Time to go to the doctor.

A specialist took note of my symptoms and scheduled an MRI to rule out anything resembling a tumor. After undergoing one at the local hospital, I was told that there was nothing abnormal going on in my head. Returning to the doctor, I was told that I more than likely had Meniere’s disease. He ran a series of hearing tests on me that confirmed I had suffered some loss of hearing in my right ear. He suggested I try a low salt diet and gave me some pills for dizziness and then sent me on my way, telling me there was no cure. The pills made me so tired that I stopped taking them. Thanks, doc!

As the dizzy spells became more and more prevalent and the ringing in my ear got louder, I made it my business to learn more about Meniere’s disease. Here is what I learned:

Meniere’s disease was first described by the French physician Prosper Meniere in 1861.