What is Meniere disease?
Meniere disease is a problem with your inner ear that causes episodes of severe dizziness, hearing loss, and ringing in one of your ears.
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Symptoms come on suddenly, and you may feel sick to your stomach and throw up
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An attack of dizziness usually lasts 1 to 6 hours but sometimes lasts up to 24 hours
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Meniere disease affects only one ear
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Meniere disease usually happens in people ages 20 to 50
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Attacks usually come and go
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Eventually you may lose some or all of your hearing in the ear that's affected
What causes Meniere disease?
Sometimes Meniere disease runs in families. Some doctors think it might be caused by poor circulation or problems with your immune system Overview of the Immune System The immune system is your body's defense system. It helps protect you from illness and infection. The immune system's job is to attack things that don’t belong in your body, including: Germs... read more .
What are the symptoms of Meniere disease?
How can doctors tell if I have Meniere disease?
Doctors suspect Meniere disease based on your symptoms.
There's no test to say for sure that you have Meniere disease. But doctors sometimes do an MRI
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
MRI is a test that uses a machine with a powerful magnet to make pictures of the inside of your body. A computer records changes in the magnetic field around your body. The computer then uses...
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to be sure something else isn't causing your symptoms. You'll usually have a hearing test.
How do doctors treat Meniere disease?
Doctors usually give you medicine to treat the dizziness, nausea, and throwing up. They advise you not to take part in any activities that increase the risk of falling.
To cut down on the number of attacks, doctors may suggest these changes to your diet:
Doctors may also:
Doctors can’t stop your hearing from getting worse with time. You may need a hearing aid.
If you have severe dizziness and medicine doesn't help, doctors may:
