Mistaking Menier's disease for Men Ears disease...

The first time I heard my professor say "Menier's disease" I thought I heard him say"Men Ears disease" and I started panicking.

My brain started running the words marathon... "Men having ears are diseased??? Oh no! All the men around me have ears! Is it contagious? What if I get two more ears from them. That will make me look like a ..... I don't know... A woman version of yoda cat. People will start calling me Yoman instead of a woman..."

My panic state was resolved once I heard "Menier's disease, aka endolymphatic hydrops is
fluid (endolymph) in the inner ear (membranous labyrinth)."

Alan Shephard, the first american to go to space and Marilyn Monroe, the american actress had something in common. Both suffered from Menier's disease.

They might have had the following symptoms:

 Vertigo: rotational in nature sometimes associated with nausea and vomiting.

Tinnitus can be unilateral or bilateral

Hearing loss: The hearing loss is sensorineural in nature.

Menier's disease symptoms (classical triad) are intermittent and may worsen with time.  

Symptoms are more prone to occur during:

• Middle ear/upper respiratory tract infection, 
• Head trauma, 
• Aspirin ingestion, 
• Smoking cigarettes,  
• Drinking alcohol. 
• Excessive consumption of salt 
• Reactivation of a latent herpes virus

One may remember this using:

"A person with middle ear and upper respiratory tract infection meets with an accident that leads to head trauma. In order to relieve the pain he has aspirin, smokes and drinks. Along with these he eats loads of chips. Reactivation of herpes virus is just a random event."

While studying about this disease, I kept wondering about the reason behind fluid retention in the inner ear. Stria vascularis, the structure secreting endolymph into the inner ear over secretes it. This results in the dilation of labirynth membranes and subsequently cause blockage. The swelling disturbs the vestibular system of the inner ear, which is responsible for the body's sense of balance.

Obstruction might also be due to scar tissue or narrow endolymphatic duct.

Menier's is one of those diseases that don't have a definitive test for diagnosis. This makes it tough for physicians to be sure of the diagnosis.

One can mostly be sure of the diagnosis when the patient responds to the treatment. Therapy is similar to the regime used in any kind of fluid retention. Steroids along with salt restriction is the main array of treatment. The following steps may be followed if the patient doesn't respond to initial treatment.

Following therapy one can bid adieu to the patient once she (increased incidence in female) is cured. Although disease remission is possible in quite a number of cases.