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Ménière's disease

Morbus Ménière (hydrops endolymphaticus) · Ménièrova choroba

What it is

Too much fluid in the inner ear: attacks of spinning vertigo with ringing, fullness and fluctuating deafness in one ear.

Symptoms & signs

  • Attacks of vertigo lasting 20 minutes to hours
  • ringing in one ear
  • pressure or fullness in the ear
  • fluctuating then lasting hearing loss
  • nausea and vomiting

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Vertigo with double vision, slurred speech, weakness or cannot walk
  • call 112 / 911 now Sudden deafness in one ear — needs treatment within days
  • see a doctor soon New vertigo with a severe headache
  • see a doctor soon Falls without warning

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Hearing tests and MRI to rule out other causes
  • betahistine (no better than placebo in the large BEMED trial)
  • diuretics (evidence weak)
  • anti-sickness drugs in attacks
  • steroid or gentamicin injection into the middle ear
  • surgery rarely

Natural & lifestyle

  • Low-salt diet
  • limit caffeine and alcohol
  • sleep and stress management

Emerging & experimental

  • Pressure-pulse devices
  • inner-ear drug delivery gels

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Betahistine — widely used; the large BEMED trial found no benefit over placebo mixed evidence
  • Ginger for nausea — trials in other nausea support it early / small studies
  • Ginkgo biloba — anecdotal anecdotal / traditional
  • Low-salt diet — plausible; small studies early / small studies

ICD codes