Meniere’s is a medical calamity (or simply said, disease) that affects the inner part of your ear. Till date, the causes are still unknown owing to the absence of consistent results. But as the populous sights, it may be due to the overgrowth of bio fluids in the ear. On the safe side, Meniere’s cannot spread through any medium such as air, water, touch or sexual communication i.e. it’s not transmissible. As far as the health risk goes, it can be quite a ‘bug in the ear’ but not to the extent to being fatal.
The “Attack”:
Not in the sense of a proper onset of activation of the disease, but actually a short-termed stimulation of the fluid causing various well-known symptoms resulting in pain and displeasure to the patient. The period of attack may vary from 20 minutes to 2 hours or even more. While many of the symptoms are common, it is not possible to detect Meniere’s disease without the help of a qualified doctor. This is because the symptoms may also have been caused due to some other illness. The attack, as seen in most patients occurs only in one ear at a time but don’t be surprised if it does occur in the two simultaneously (such cases have also been registered, although very low in number).
The Symptoms:
When defining Meniere’s disease or tracing one, four symptoms are the most reliable. It is when you must acknowledge the probability that this might be the disease troubling you.
Note: The symptoms are not consistent in patterns of appearance and act. They are episodic and fluctuating.
Hearing Loss:
Temporary hearing loss may occur throughout the attack. One may have difficulty to even notice sounds around them, particularly with a low pitch and tone. The amount of damage with the hearing loss may increase consecutively after a number of attacks.
Rotational Vertigo:
Vertigo is the feeling of non-uniform circular motions in you or around your vicinity. Described commonly as dizziness by sufferers, it causes the person to be off-balance and may result in a fall. Vertigo occurs when the parts in the brain responsible for balancing the body are disturbed.
Tinnitus:
The patient hears whistling sounds in his affected ear while no such sound is actually being made externally. Pitch of sound can be to any audible range. In some cases, the sound goes loud enough to not let patients sleep.
Aural Fullness:
This is a phenomenon of feeling your ear plugged in and happens normally because of higher air pressure in closed environments. But in the case of Meniere’s Disease, there is no such requirement. Patients may experience aural fullness anytime and anywhere during an attack.
Nausea and Vomiting:
These are NOT the symptoms of Meniere’s disease. Although the patient may suffer nausea and vomiting in consequence to having an attack and suffering from the main symptoms, but in no way are these to be related to Meniere’s Disease.
Terms used:
‘Episodic’ refers to the fact that patients suffer from episodes of the symptoms. The symptoms are not consistent in nature.
‘Fluctuating’ means that the effects of the symptoms can vary in intensity and time duration. There is also no fixed pattern in the change of these attributes.
