Are You Sure You Have Ménière's? Watch this!

[@matthewbaade-whittendale7292]

Vic I just want to say a huge thank you for your incredibly informative videos. I’m a Brit currently living in Norway and last Monday I underwent inner nasal valve grafts and turbinate reduction courtesy of the Norwegians NHS. Despite having a fantastic surgeon who gave me all the details and reassurance he possibly could, I still had some anxiety during the 9 month wait to get the operation due to reading about ENS online. Your videos have really helped me stay calm and focused on the positive aspects of nasal surgery during the wait and helped me gain a better understanding of my respiratory health. Keep up the great work mate 👍

[@VikVeerENTSurgeon]

I don't have much knowledge of Doctors in Norway, but the few I have met are excellent. glad you got through and it was all okay in the end. Well done! glad you found that some of my videos were helpful. take care.

[@vari3tee_569]

Thanks for this video. I have had tinnitus for 8 months and have for the past week experienced a weird dizziness everyday and are currently waiting on a doctors call to go further. Happy this has cleared up the menieres worry !

[@MiuFiuStudio]

I got diagnosed two years ago and I’m 35 now I did so fine for months but than I eat a pizza which was salty and it triggered a vertigo attack next day😢 I was throwing up whole day and in bed it was terrible 😢 my tinnitus is less loud but I still feel dizzy even 3 day later from time to time my balance is of… it’s a horrible feeling and it also triggers panic attacks, a whole decade or longer like this sounds like a nightmare… I thank for every informative video and wish everyone who suffers the best outcome ❤

[@DurhamHearingSpecialists]

Very useful video; 4:00 are you saying the hydrops never actually goes away? As a side point, Meniere's patients are really difficult to fit hearing aids to, there's all manner of distortion even with not too bad thresholds, probably due to BM scarring etc causing weird resonances with travelling wave. From a medical point of view, surely betahistine being a diuretic would help slow things down?

[@VikVeerENTSurgeon]

Hi Conor! The belief is that the betahistine reduces the number of attacks per year, so it needs to be taken constantly. very hard to prove how effective it is as the disease is quite variable in how it affects people. The hydrops (we believe), occurs at times and then tears through the membrane releasing all the pressure. then things are meant to be relatively stable until the next event when it all starts again. I didn't know that about these patients having changing distortion. I guess it makes sense if it is an active disease causing ongoing issues with the ears. normally setting hearing aids will be fine until they need to retuned when things change slightly a year or so later. in menieres I guess i could change day by day making it impossible to keep people happy. also they get a fullness in the ear that can be hard to bear with hearing aids as well. We really don't understand menieres at all, the treatment is rubbish and our ability to test for it is non-existent. i'll leave you on that cheery thought...

[@DurhamHearingSpecialists]

@@VikVeerENTSurgeon Just a thought, have you tried electrocochleography to help with diagnosis? Quite sensitive to hydrops, particular if patient is close to bursting reissner's.

[@rosehopkinson3830]

Hi Vik Im in Australia and follow your videos with interest as I have been told I have ATypical Menieres, ( Ive never had Vertigo ) I was put on Steroids then onto Serc Betahistine 3 x 16mg a day! I was told to "play around with the dosage when /if I felt my symptoms were stable! Im going to do just that in the coming weeks because its the only way to know if it is actually doing anything good at all. Thanks for all you do & share. Im following a facebook group of Menieres sufferes here in Australia and it seems Serc is still used a lot with many different results. Youre right, no one seems to know , drs and specialist's alike. Its so confusing trying to get a diagnosis at all. Thank you for helping . 🙏

[@rosehopkinson3830]

BTW, it's a year since my first hearing problem started. 🤨

[@CarnivoreAli]

I've had Meniere's for 26 years, had a labyrinthectomy 10 years ago because none of the medical advice and treatments ever worked for me. It's only been the last year and a half I've been able to put mine into remission. Much to my astonishment, I learned the recommended low salt diet was the absolute WORST thing for my disease. I went against all medical advice and healed lifelong chronic inflammation.

[@guntera282LeoMd]

So what was that thing that you did and chnaged everything.?

[@gordonmitchell729]

@@CarnivoreAli please tell us what you did to treat yourself.thank you 🖖👀

[@brianwaters8408]

@@CarnivoreAli how did you do it?

[@kimberlysmith2400]

Are you saying our salt intake controls the chronic inflammation?

[@garycupp2249]

For everyone asking what she did I looked at some of her older videos and it appears the labyrinthectomy put it in remission. She also had some autoimmune disorders and now is a big proponent of the carnivore diet which I think is what she's saying here. My wife struggles with Ménière's and I can tell you there is definately an uptick in symptoms when she doesn't watch her salt intake and I don't think its a fair bit of advice to say a low salt diet is the worst thing, It probably helps her with her inflammation to do the carnivore diet but since she had the surgery 10+ years ago and it put her Ménière's in remission and she started on the carnivore diet after this it is not a fair thing to say this would would for just anyone. Any ENT who has dealt with lots in middle/inner ear problems will tell you the lower your salt the better. Just remember to get your iodine from other sources if iodated salt is your main source.

[@caitlin8349]

Very insightful

[@VikVeerENTSurgeon]

Glad it was helpful!

[@debbiec2373]

I was diagnosed when I was around 6 years old. I am completely deaf in my right ear. This is from the damage to my head at birth from forceps. It damaged nerves. I occasionally have tennitus but it lasts only a few seconds. However, when I have vertigo, it is horrid. When I begin vomiting I have to lay completely still. Any movement causes the vomiting to stop. This will go on for hours. It's a trip to the emergency room to get the vomiting under control. I have had MRIs and no tumors were found. I am in my 60s now and I have not had an attack in a while. I will tell you certain movements will cause vertigo. It does not turn into a full attack but I have to go to bed and rest for a while. Things like looking under my bed or leaning my head off the side of the bed. I cannot look into cabinets from a standing position. Does this sound like Meniere's?

[@dhl2445]

Ten years ago I developed SNHL with tinnitus. Never has balance problems until 2 months ago when I started having lightheadedness and nausea attacks that developed into bad balance attack issues and vertigo attacks. Hearing which was very distorted in left ear before got worse with louder tinnitus sounds. Went to ENT and diagnosed with Meniers.My question is why after 10 years? The hearing is somewhat back to the same distorted way it was now after taking steriods but still getting balance attacks with nausea and sometimes vomiting.

[@SamuraiSunshine00]

My husband got it due to the booster for covid. I don’t think i know how to handle the violence. It is terrible hard to see him like this. I thought- do i need to be alive with the nightmare. I am at a loss. It is the disease. I hate seeing a person in this much trouble. I will stick it out of course. I just have pain watching it. It is s serious disease to him as well as us. He’s a veteran. I got to try harder but i don’t want to have to be unalivedd in the mist of no help.

[@andrewbradbery2895]

Hi I have been watching your videos in particular the sleep apnoea ones. I have had this for years and used a cpap machine on and off from different NHS departments from around the country with moving several times. My recent one was from the NHS in Essex. (Had for about 2 years now) I had the sleep test at home and they gave me a Resmed machine, but that was about it no checking of the nose or throat, never get any reports of how well it is working the only time there is any communication is if you need a new mask etc. Please could you tell me if I can still have referral from my GP to see you at the Royal National ENT Hospital in London. I find your videos very interesting and informative, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us all.

[@Withasee]

I have/had menieres but my attacks were never that bad. Unfortunately, I did also suffer from vestibular migraines and BPPV at the same time which confused things. I do now have total hearing loss in my right ear though. Am I right in thinking there's absolutely no treatment for getting the hearing back? I started with my symptoms when I was around 25, have been deaf for around 5 years now. Betahistines, as you say, did absolutely nothing

[@annieredding9489]

Thank you for this; I was given a Ménière’s diagnosis in Jan 2022 following balance tests, hearing tests and an MRI. I don’t get significant hearing loss & hearing tests came back normal. I don’t get tinnitus that often either. My main problem has been messed up balance & ear pressure/pain on my left side. The balance has improved greatly by taking B vitamins (max strength OTC complex) but the inner ear pain persists. I have 2 other things going in (confirmed by the MRI), sinusitis and a bulging disk in my neck on the left (C6 C7). Do you think it’s worth asking for a referral again to see if 1 of the other 2 is the root cause?

[@strikee]

Hi I have the same ear pressure / pain on my left side. More pain than anything else. I was given the diagnosis of Meniers by an ENT who didn't even read my notes and had me out the door in less than five minutes. I just don't fit the diagnosis, especially after watching this video. If you have any luck in working out the issue then pls let me know. At the moment i am working on reducing my anxiety and stress. Meditating and taking life easy.

[@scottk3292]

What about the sudden stuffyness of hearing in one ear with a new, lower-than-normal frequency of my tinnitus, but with no dizziness? It usually fades within 5-10 minutes. Shoud I go get checked for Menieres?

[@f1neman]

This is the first time I've heard of betahistine having a significant diuretic effect - can you point me to somewhere to find out more?

[@mikekaraoke]

Hey Vik, very informative video and I'm still having thesame hearing problems with my ears! How are you feeling now, as when my last appointment got ancelled due to MRSA which has now gone got told you wasn't doing any due to you being ill and that was over a month ago now! Reply back when you can-cheers 👍🏻

[@VikVeerENTSurgeon]

I've been back at work for a few weeks now. all good, hope to see you soon.

[@mikekaraoke]

@@VikVeerENTSurgeon Good to hear Vik, called up Admissions a while ago and they have said your all booked up with appointments till mid Autumn... So will put me on the waiting list to see you to reduce my turbinates finally 👍🏻

[@2Eil]

@VikVeerENTSurgeon So, I have bouts every once in a while, where my ears pop, then I stumble for no apparent reason. At times, this is accompanied with vertigo and a major headache that causes me to have to lay down. These bouts may also have a different "tinnitus" as my consistent everyday tinnitus where it feels and sounds like I'm underwater where everything is muffled. They never last long unless it's accompanied by vertigo and most of the time I can 'pop' my ears the moment the underwater starts and it'll clear up mostly. Any ideas to what this may be? I should add that I am active-duty military with a variety of sound pollution as well.

[@Matty72UK]

Hi Vik, Bit off topic, but have you read the press release about the new clinical trial results of sulthiame for OSA/snoring? Any initial thoughts?

[@craigagne876]

Vik, thanks for your youtube tutorials - always very interesting. I've been diagnosed with Meniere's starting about 4.5 months ago. The really bad vertigo episodes were much like you described but now I feel I've adapted to some mild vertigo that is manageable. My initial hearing loss has been variable but persistent, along with persistent tinnitus. I went through an initial prednisone course, a Kenalog intratympanic injection and now taking a daily treatment of Dyazide diuretic. I wish it had just gone away, but I seem to be stuck with permanent hearing loss and tinnitus. Any thoughts on different treatment options?

[@Nameloc1989]

I have an unrelated question, I have a Ching strap that also wraps around the neck but I get neck pain or neck discomfort. Do you know how I could fix this?

[@bbygrlpt2]

Dr my mom eas diagnosed with that decades ago and she has also lost complete hearing of one ear.. Now she only gets vertigo rarely. But one of my sisters supposedly also has Meniers.. Is it hereditary and does the everyone who has it lose their hearing completely in one ear or just some people do?

[@Tom-ps2cq]

I took a flu shot (first one in 60 yrs and within a month, I lost hearing in my left ear. I lost hearing yrs ago in my right (Dr says due to a virus).

[@l.d.walters4650]

From my experience, the roaring tinnitus comes first then the vertigo then I fall over. Then it rings at a high pitch. Slowly fades and I've lost some decibels. The lowest lasting one, i clocked at 10 mins. The longest was an hour 1 or 2.