Chiropractic Care for Meniere’s Disease

Do you sometimes get the sensation that you, or the world around you is spinning?

Not in the figurative, pandemic-driven sense, but more literally, where you sometimes feel dizzy?

If this happens in conjunction with muffled hearing or some form of hearing loss, and ringing in your ears, then you may be suffering from Meniere’s disease without even knowing it.

Meniere’s Disease Explained

Meniere’s disease is a condition that causes vertigo, tinnitus, and progressive deafness. There is no cure, but some treatments can ease the symptoms (Newman, T: 2020). Joy Victory, the Managing Editor of Healthy Hearing, further describes the disease as a chronic inner ear disorder that can cause problems with hearing and balance. This is caused by increased pressure in the inner ear, which is full of a liquid called endolymph (Victory, J: 2021). This fluid imbalance of the inner ear causes tinnitus, aural fullness, fluctuating hearing loss, as well as vertigo and dizziness.

The vestibular system is the sensory system in your inner ear that helps your body maintain the feeling of balance. Vertigo, or a vertigo attack will affect this system directly and is why you feel sensations of dizziness and other related symptoms, which may negatively affect your quality of life over the long term.

This area is linked via cranial nerves to your upper cervical and atlas vertebrae at the very top of your spine, and a build-up of fluid in this area is typically associated with all the symptoms of Meniere’s disease.

If you have experienced these symptoms in combination, and more than once, then it’s important to consult your doctor for a medical diagnosis. There is unfortunately no known cure, just as there is no known cause for Meniere’s disease, but your doctor or specialist may conduct an assessment to test your hearing and the pressure in your ear, and to rule out other possible causes. For example, you may take the Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) test to determine how the brain responds to sound.

Managing Meniere’s Disease

While there is no direct treatment for Meniere’s disease, there are treatments and alternative therapies that can help manage the associated symptoms and reduce the severity of vertigo episodes (NIDCD: 2017).

Treatments may include motion sickness medications such as meclizine or diazepam (valium), and anti-nausea medications such as promethazine. Your doctor may also prescribe a diuretic medicine that will help rid your body of sodium (salt) and water by increasing your urine production, which may help to reduce imbalances and excess fluid build-up in your ear.

Diet plays a crucial role in your overall well-being with studies suggesting that limiting your salt, caffeine, alcohol and tobacco intake may reduce the frequency and severity of vertigo attacks. It’s always a good idea to adopt a healthy, balanced lifestyle of exercise and functional nutrition to help promote your overall health.

A chiropractor may also be able to assist with your vestibular rehabilitation, or more simply put, restoring your balance. Chiropractic care can help identify misalignments in your upper cervical spine, upper neck, and the temporomandibular joint in your jaw that may be linked to the imbalances in your inner ear. Dr Matt le Roux is a specialist chiropractor specializing in chiropractic adjustments and functional medicines. Matt can help you manage the symptoms associated with Meniere’s Disease by correcting spinal subluxations that restore the natural pathways of your nervous system and reduce or even eliminate the feeling of vertigo.

If you are suffering from any of these symptoms, contact Matt for an online consultation where he can assess your symptoms, and help you towards an improved quality of life.

Frequently Asked Questions:

References:

Newman, T: 2020. What You Need to Know About Meniere’s Disease

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163888

Victory, J: 2021. Meniere’s Disease

https://www.healthyhearing.com/help/tinnitus/menieres-disease

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD): 2017. Ménière’s Disease

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/menieres-disease