Meniers Disease, still a cure less disease, is being heavily researched through out the years in the search of its cause. People who have been diagnosed with Menier’s disease suffer from a variety of symptoms including: vertigo, hearing loss, tinnitus (a load sound in the ear), sensation of fullness in the ear and in some cases sudden falls. It estimated that over 600,000 people suffer from Melniers in the US and that tens of thousands are diagnosed each year.
The traditional research focused on the labyrinth, an inner ear part. Scientists studied how fluid composition and movement in the labyrinth affect hearing and balance. Their conclusion was that a swelling or even a rapture in the labyrinth, causes a change in the ear’s liquids volume and leads to Meniers symptoms. This swelling condition is called endolymphtic hydrops.
However, the following statistics should raise questions about the connection between hydrops and Meniers, even if you are not a scientist. It seems that hydrops is not found in all people with Meniers Disease. And out of all the autopsies studies done, hydrops was found in 6% of the cases in people who did not suffer from Meniers Disease. Compare that with only 0.2% of the population who do have the disease. So obviously hydrops might have a connection to Meniers but is either not a direct cause of or not the only cause.
Some research suggests immune diseases may contribute to a substantial percentage of Menieres disease, or different types of viruses, but there is still not enough evidence to support that. Head injuries can definitely cause changes in the inner ear, but that cannot explain the situation of other people with Meniers. Allergies are often associated with Meniers but since this approach matches the more traditional hydrops theory, it might needs revision.
All these different ideas put together can suggest that Meniers Disease appears to be the final common pathway that the inner ear responds to nearly any injury, and that Meniers Disease has many separate causes. Hopefully research will be able to track each and every one of them.
Sources and more information:
http://www.entnet.org/healthinfo/balance/meniere.cfm
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/balance/meniere.asp
http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/menieres/men_eti.html
