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Meniere Disease
Meniere disease brings episodes of vertigo, hearing changes, ear fullness, and tinnitus. Alongside your ENT, we address fluid balance, triggers, inflammation, and balance.
What you may be noticing
Sudden spinning vertigo that lasts minutes to hours, often with nausea and vomiting. Before or during an attack, one ear feels full, sounds become muffled, and a low roaring tinnitus rises. Between attacks you may feel off balance and worry about the next episode. Over time, hearing in the affected ear may decline.
Sudden hearing loss is an emergency and needs evaluation within days. Vertigo with weakness, numbness, slurred speech, or severe headache needs emergency care to rule out stroke.
Why it is rarely one thing
Meniere disease is associated with endolymphatic hydrops, an excess of fluid in the inner ear compartment that controls hearing and balance. Why that fluid builds up is not fully understood. Contributors under study include genetics, autoimmunity, allergies, viral infections, vascular factors, and migraine, which overlaps with Meniere in many people.
Triggers that influence fluid balance and inner ear sensitivity include high sodium intake, caffeine, alcohol, stress, poor sleep, and hormonal shifts. Diagnosis relies on the pattern of symptoms and hearing tests performed by an ear specialist. Not only the ear, but the immune, vascular, and nervous systems that influence it.
Patterns we look for
- Fluid and sodium balance.
- Caffeine and alcohol intake.
- Allergies and histamine patterns.
- Autoimmune markers.
- Migraine features and vestibular migraine overlap.
- Stress load and autonomic balance.
- Sleep quality.
- Blood sugar regulation.
- Vestibular function between attacks.
How I evaluate it
The comprehensive functional neurological exam assesses vestibular reflexes, eye movements, and balance between attacks, showing how well the brain is compensating.
Functional labs may include inflammatory markers, autoimmune markers, allergy testing, vitamin D, fasting glucose, and a thyroid panel. I coordinate closely with your ENT or otologist for hearing tests, vestibular testing, imaging, and medical treatment.
How we address it
- Coordinate with your ENT specialist for diagnosis and treatment, including medication decisions.
- Keep sodium intake steady and moderate, and spread fluids evenly through the day.
- Reduce caffeine and alcohol.
- Address allergies, histamine load, and inflammation.
- Manage migraine physiology when it overlaps.
- Calm the stress response and protect sleep.
- Use vestibular rehabilitation between attacks to strengthen balance and compensation.
Keeping a simple diary of attacks, meals, sleep, stress, and weather often reveals personal triggers, which makes prevention more precise.
The unpredictability of Meniere attacks can be as distressing as the attacks themselves. Many people begin to limit driving, travel, and social plans. Restoring confidence is part of the plan, and vestibular rehabilitation between attacks often helps people feel steadier and more willing to live fully again.
When migraine overlaps, treating the migraine side of the picture often reduces vertigo episodes as well, which is one reason a careful neurological view matters.
Fewer triggers and stronger compensation can make attacks less frequent and life more predictable.
Book your Comprehensive Functional Medicine Eval/Neurological Exam today to discover what the contributing root causes are that are underlying your health concerns.