Menieres Disease

What is Ménière’s disease?

• Ménière’s disease is a balance disorder caused by an abnormality found in a section of the inner ear called the labyrinth.
• There are an estimated 615,000 people in the US who have Ménière’s disease, with 45,500 new cases diagnosed each year.

What causes Ménière’s disease?

The labyrinth has two parts:

• bony labyrinth
• membranous labyrinth

• The membranous labyrinth is encased in bone and contains a fluid called endolymph.
• When the head moves, the endolymph also moves, which causes nerve receptors in the membranous labyrinth to signal the brain about the body’s motion.
• When, for some reason, the endolymph increases, the membranous labyrinth balloons or dilates (a condition called endolymphatic hydrops).
• If the membranous labyrinth ruptures, the endolymph mixes with another inner ear fluid called perilymph.
• The mixing of the two fluids is believed to cause the symptoms of Ménière’s disease.

Treatment for Ménière’s disease:

Specific treatment for Ménière’s disease will be determined by your physician based on:

• your age, overall health, and medical history
• extent of the disease
• your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
• expectations for the course of the disease
• your opinion or preference