Meniere's disease can cause severe dizziness, a roaring sound in your ears called tinnitus, hearing loss that comes and goes and the feeling of ear pressure or pain. It usually affects just one ear. It is a common cause of hearing loss.
Scientists don't yet know the cause. They think that it has to do with the fluid levels or the mixing of fluids in the canals of your inner ear. Symptoms occur suddenly and can happen as often as every day or as seldom as once a year. An attack can be a combination of severe dizziness or vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss lasting several hours.
There is no cure. However, you may be able to control symptoms by changing your diet or taking medicine so that your body retains less fluid. Severe cases may require surgery.
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
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Meniere's Disease(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/096.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/articles/096.printerview.html
- Ménière's Disease(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/balance/meniere.asp
- Meniere's Disease(American Hearing Research Foundation) - http://www.american-hearing.org/disorders/menieres/menieres.html
- Diagnostic Tests for Vestibular Disorders(Vestibular Disorders Association) - http://www.vestibular.org/vestibular-disorders/diagnostic-tests.php
- Vestibular Testing(American Hearing Research Foundation) - http://www.american-hearing.org/testing/vestibular_testing.html
- Dietary Considerations(Vestibular Disorders Association) - http://www.vestibular.org/vestibular-disorders/treatment/diet.php
- Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT)(Vestibular Disorders Association) - http://www.vestibular.org/vestibular-disorders/treatment/vestibular-rehab.php
- Atlas of the Body: The Ear(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZYXNW46JC&sub_cat=198
- Article: Meniere's disease. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18675691&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Modelling stabilograms with hidden Markov models. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18666007&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Digital craniocorpography and peripheral vestibular diseases. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18616084&tool=MedlinePlus
- Meniere's Disease -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=meniere+disease[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- NIDCD Glossary(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/glossary/
- Directory of Organizations (Deafness and Communication Disorders)(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/directory/
- Find an Otolaryngologist (ENT)(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery) - http://www.entnet.org//findanentmore.cfm
- Local Support Groups (Vestibular Disorders)(Vestibular Disorders Association) - http://www.vestibular.org/support-groups/find-support-group.php
- Search for a Vestibular Disorders Health Professional(Vestibular Disorders Association) - http://www.vestibular.org/find-medical-help/search-for-a-health-professional.php
- American Hearing Research Foundation - http://www.american-hearing.org/
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/
- Vestibular Disorders Association - http://www.vestibular.org/
- Dizziness and Vertigo - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dizzinessandvertigo.html
- Ear Disorders - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/eardisorders.html
- Hearing Disorders and Deafness - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hearingdisordersanddeafness.html
- Ear, Nose and Throat - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/earnoseandthroat.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Meniere's Disease is the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/