What is Meniere's Disease?

Meniere's disease tends to affect one ear, rather than both ears. The hearing problem causes several sensory issues, such as:

• Diminishing hearing ability.
• Chronic transient dizziness episodes.
• Severe pressure in the ears.
• Persistent tinnitus in the affected ear.

To be diagnosed with Meniere's disease, you'll need to have all four of the above symptoms occur, with at least two vertigo episodes. Meniere's disease occurs in three progressive phases. During the early stages, you may have random episodes of vertigo that last somewhere between 20 minutes to a full 24 hours. You might also have hearing loss, pressure in the ear, and have trouble hearing. During the middle stages of this disorder, your tinnitus and hearing loss become worse, while vertigo episodes decrease. You might also experience several months of remission of your Meniere's symptoms. Advanced stage Meniere's disease has symptoms that include sudden falls with no warning. Balance problems, and tinnitus may occur. Episodes of vertigo may decrease or stop altogether. This disease remains difficult to diagnose as well as debilitating. The first goal of treating Meniere's is to get an accurate diagnosis. After the diagnosis is made, a hearing device might treat hearing loss due to Meniere's disease.

Causes of Meniere's Disease

No one has yet determined the source of this hearing disorder. Many medical professionals think that fluid in the inner ear might cause the symptoms, however. Other possible causes of Meniere's disease might include:

• Bacteria, viruses, or other microorganisms growing in the ear.
• Genetic ear flaws.
• Structural abnormalities.
• Blockage from tumors.

What Treatment Options are Available for Meniere's Disease?

The treatments for this hearing disorder remain highly individualized. Since no specific therapies exist, doctors treat the symptoms by using antibiotics or steroids to alleviate the pressure in a person's inner ear. In extreme cases, surgery might be required. Thankfully, the hearing problems due to Meniere's disease remains treatable using proper hearing care and the right hearing aid.

Using Hearing Aids to Treat Meniere's Disease

If you have mildly to moderately reduced hearing due to Meniere's, you might benefit from using a hearing device to help you hear. Digital hearing aids and other devices increase the amount you'll hear. Devices that amplify sound can also be attached to any device you use to improve your ability to hear. Such devices include TVs, telephones, radios, and computers, to name just a few things. These contraptions make your technology louder as well as drowning out background noises. But if increasing the volume on your technology isn't enough, you'll need a hearing aid.

Some examples of hearing care products that can assist in helping you hear are amplified ringtones, voice amplifiers for phones, and the correct digital hearing aids. Your Beltone hearing care provider can program your aid to your best benefit. Please contact us at Beltone South for a free consultation to determine how we can improve your hearing through the use of Beltone digital hearing aids. We can design and set your hearing aid to help you achieve the best hearing possible for your situation.