What are the symptoms of Meniere’s disease?

  It is a disease of the inner ear membrane vagus with paroxysmal vertigo accompanied by nausea and vomiting, with clinical manifestations such as fluctuating deafness, tinnitus and a feeling of fullness in the ear. The cause is unknown, but in 1861, a French doctor, P. Ménière, published four articles on vertigo in a journal, describing the clinical symptoms in detail. Later scholars named it as Meniere’s syndrome for those who repeatedly had the above symptoms.  Symptoms: 1. Vertigo Sudden onset of vertigo is the main reason why patients feel most distressed and visit the clinic. A small number of patients may have a premonition before the attack. During the attack, the patient feels that he or she or the surrounding objects are spinning and is in fear of falling at any time, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. The duration of dizziness varies from a few minutes to several hours, and it usually returns to normal after one to several days. If the dizziness lasts for more than 2 weeks, other diseases should be considered. The frequency of vertigo attacks varies, from 1 in a few days to 1 in most weeks or months. In acute attacks, spontaneous nystagmus is seen, mostly of the horizontal type. In the interval, all the symptoms disappear.  2, hearing impairment Early low-frequency hearing loss, intermittent improvement. High-frequency hearing loss is more severe in long-term recurrent attackers, and sensorineural deafness may appear.  3.Tinnitus There may be tinnitus before the attack, which is persistent and worsens during the attack.  4.Sense of fullness in the ear Patients have a feeling of fullness or stuffiness in the head during attacks. There are many explanations for the paroxysmal attacks of this disease. Some people believe that when the water in the membrane vagus swells to a certain degree, the membrane wall is distended, resulting in the mixing of endolymph and ectolymph, which leads to acute potassium ion poisoning and dysfunction of the auditory nerve and causes the attacks of this disease. Another explanation is that the joint canal of the membrane vagus is blocked by the deposited mucopolysaccharide and other substances, and the lymph accumulates in the cochlea. When the pressure rises to a certain degree, the joint canal is flushed open and the endolymphatic fluid flows in the direction of low pressure, stimulating the jugular ridge and producing vertigo.  (1) Diagnosis: A detailed medical history is very important and can help narrow down the diagnosis. The signs of the disease are mainly in the changes of hearing and vestibular function. (1) Hearing examination. The pure tone hearing curve is more pronounced in the low frequency hearing loss than in the high frequency area in the early stage of the disease, with perceptual deafness and a positive loudness balance test. ②Vestibular function examination. Most of the patients showed vestibular dysfunction, which was more obvious in the advanced stage. ③Nystagmus. Spontaneous nystagmus may appear at the climax of the attack, which is one of the important objective signs, and it is more objective and accurate if necessary with the help of nystagmography.  (2) Treatment: In the acute stage, bed rest, low salt diet, sedation and anti-dizziness drugs should be given. Antihistamines and peripheral vasodilators, such as nicotinic acid and low molecular dextran, are effective. Surgical treatment, such as endolymphatic capsulostomy and silicone duct shunt, vestibular neurectomy, vagotomy, etc., can be considered in recalcitrant cases as appropriate.