Meniere’s Disease is a disorder of the inner ear thought to come about when excess fluid builds up in the inner ear. It most commonly occurs in people between 20 and 50 years of age. Symptoms can come on suddenly, and include:
- Disabling vertigo attacks
- Fluctuating hearing loss
- Ringing in the affected ear (tinnitus)
- The sensation of fullness in the ear
These symptoms usually last between 1 and 6 hours. For Meniere’s disease sufferers, an attack might be preceded by the feeling of fullness in the ear. Tinnitus can also begin or worsen before the vertigo begins. Vertigo attacks can be disabling, and because of the severity can also cause nausea, vomiting, and loss of balance.
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What’s Causing my Meniere’s Disease?
The exact mechanism that causes Meniere’s disease is still somewhat of a mystery. There is evidence that an abnormal level of fluid in the inner ear is to blame. Within the inner ear, fluid is continually being secreted and reabsorbed to keep the fluid level constant. There are two ways that fluid can build up in abnormal quantity – either an excess amount of fluid is being produced or there is a decrease in fluid reabsorption. Other known risk factors include a family history of the condition, allergies, recent illness, and certain prescription medications.
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Natural Options for Managing Meniere’s Disease
Fortunately, Meniere’s disease sufferers have drug-free, non-invasive options available to them that have the potential to reduce the frequency and/or severity of episodes. Most of these natural ways of managing Meniere’s disease center around trying to maintain a healthy fluid balance in the body:
- Low-sodium diet – salt is known to cause fluid retention in the body. Reducing your dietary sodium intake can be a way for Meniere’s disease sufferers to potentially limit the buildup of excess fluid in the inner ear by allowing the body to maintain a normal fluid balance. Excess salt intake can increase fluid retention and worsen symptoms.
- Avoid alcohol – alcohol can change the quantity and composition of the fluid in the inner ear. Even one drink can have adverse effects, so eliminating it entirely or only partaking on infrequent, special occasions can help.
- Eliminate caffeine – caffeine consumption can worsen the ringing in the ears, or tinnitus, associated with Meniere’s disease.
- Quit smoking – aside from the better-known and more obvious negative health effects associated with smoking tobacco, nicotine constricts the blood vessels in your body, which can cause an increase in Meniere’s disease symptoms.
- Manage stress levels – dealing with chronic, high levels of stress can put people at risk for developing Meniere’s disease or make those already affected feel even worse. Effective stress reduction techniques include meditation, music therapy, going for a walk, individual or group therapy, and yoga.
- Drink adequate water – managing your water intake and making sure you’re drinking it throughout the day (and not all in one sitting) can help promote more stable inner ear fluid levels.
Meniere’s Disease and Vertigo
Most Meniere’s sufferers we have worked with consider their vertigo to be the most debilitating symptom. The vertigo attacks associated with Meniere’s disease can be severe and sudden. Your brain relies on signals from your body’s vestibular system in order to properly maintain its sense of balance. When excess fluid builds up in the inner ear, it can interfere with the signals that tell your brain how your body is positioned in space relative to gravity, causing a vertigo episode.
Getting Your Balance Back with Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care
Meniere’s disease sufferers have been finding answers and lasting relief with a specific type of chiropractic care. Upper cervical chiropractic has a particular focus on the uppermost vertebrae in the spine since their positioning can have in influence on the vestibular system. A recent study of 300 Meniere’s disease patients who underwent a course of upper cervical chiropractic care showed remarkable results:
- All 300 patients suffered some type of whiplash trauma in their past resulting from incidences such as car accidents, sports injuries, or serious falls. Some injuries were mild, others severe.
- All 300 patients showed evidence of a misalignment in their upper cervical spine.
- 97% of the patients reported significant improvements that allowed them to return to their normal day-to-day activities (driving a car, going to work, having a normal social life, etc.)
An interesting thing to note is that it took an average of 15 years from the time of the head or neck trauma for the onset of Meniere’s disease symptoms to occur.
The vertebrae of the upper cervical spine, the atlas (C1) and axis (C2) are positioned at the base of the skull where they have the potential to disrupt normal nerve function, blood flow, and fluid drainage. Correcting misalignments in this area can have the potential, as shown in the study above, to provide relief of Meniere’s disease symptoms.
Because of how precise upper cervical chiropractic adjustments are, they are extremely gentle and do not require a great deal of force. If you have a history of head or neck injury and are experiencing any of the symptoms of Meniere’s disease (tinnitus can be an early warning sign of the condition), then having your neck examined by an upper cervical chiropractor is the next logical step.
References:
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/menieres-disease
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