What Is Ménière’s Disease?

Meniere’s disease is an idiopathic inner ear disorder. Its etiology includes two main causes: (1) viral or bacterial infection, and (2) mechanical injury. Clinical manifestations typically include vertigo—often sudden in onset—characterized by a sensation of the surrounding environment rotating in one direction, accompanied by nausea, vomiting, hypotension, and pallor. Additional symptoms may include tinnitus, hearing loss, and aural fullness or pressure. The duration of an acute episode varies, lasting from several minutes to several hours, but generally does not exceed 24 hours. In the early stages, the cochlear duct and saccule enlarge, endolymphatic hydrops markedly worsens, and the utricle as well as the ampullae of the semicircular canals become distended. Degenerative changes occur, including atrophy of the organ of Corti’s hair cells and stria vascularis; furthermore, the folds of the endolymphatic sac become shallower or even disappear.