Vestibular Disorders Association Review

Vestibular Disorders Association is a non-profit organization and was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1983. This organization is funded with membership dues, donations, and additional support from corporations and foundations. They serve people with vestibular disorders and the health professionals who treat them. Vestibular Disorders Association raises awareness about vestibular disorders by giving patients, family members, and health care professionals the most up-to-date information on treatment, research, support groups, statistics, and other resources.

What is Vestibular Disorders?
Vestibular Disorders are inner ear disorders. It can cause dizziness, vertigo, imbalance, hearing changes, nausea, fatigue, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and other symptoms. These symptoms can affect a person's daily life, ability to work, relationships, and quality of life. The hard part is diagnosing and treating these disorders. Vestibular Disorders are often invisible making it hard for others to understand how disabling it can be for someone suffering from them.

I have Meniere's Disease, which is one of these Vestibular Disorders. What I didn't know was there are 17 other Vestibular Disorders. I'm only going to discuss Meniere's Disease. If I discuss ALL the Vestibular Disorders, my review would turn into a novel.

Meniere's Disease~
The exact cause of Meniere's Disease is unknown. Some of the theories include circulation problems, viral infection, allergies, an autoimmune reaction, migraine, and the possibility of a genetic connection. Some of the triggers that can set off attacks could be stress, overwork, fatigue, emotional distress, additional illnesses, pressure changes, certain foods, and too much salt in the diet.

The main symptoms are violent episodes of vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, ear fullness, and/or tinnitus. Extreme fatigue or exhaustion can occur after an episode. This often prompts the need for hours of sleep. These attacks can last from 20 minutes to 24 hours. It can occur couple times per week or it can be separated by weeks, months, and even years. The symptoms can disappear one day and never return, or they might become so severe that they are disabling.

The late stage of Meniere's disease is much worse. Hearing loss is more significant and is less likely to fluctuate. Tinnitus and/or aural fullness may be stronger and more constant. Vertigo attacks can be replaced by continuous struggles with vision and balance. This will include difficulty with walking in the dark and occasional sudden loss of balance.

The key is reducing the severity and number of attacks. The long-term treatment of Meniere's Disease in the United States involves reducing sodium intake and using diuretics (water pills). The goal of this treatment is to reduce inner ear fluid pressure. However, some physicians outside of the United States are also weighing the effectiveness of using Betahistine HCl (Serc) as a vestibular suppressant for Meniere's Disease.

There are several medication that are being used during an attack to reduce the vertigo, nausea, and vomiting. These drugs are Diazepam (Valium), Promethazine (Phenergan), Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine Original Formula), and Meclizine Hydrochloride (Antivert). Sometimes therapy is used to help with the imbalance problem that can plague between attacks. This therapy is called Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy. The goal of this therapy is to help retrain the ability of the body and brain to process balance information.

The 20-40% of people who do not respond to medication or diet can have a chemical Labyrinthectomy. This will destroy vestibular tissue with injections into the ear of an Aminoglycoside antibiotic (Gentamicin). There is another treatment, which is in the form of a device that delivers a series of low-pressure air pulses designed to displace inner ear fluids. "The use of this device is approved for general use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is currently undergoing clinical trials in the United States."

A less conservative surgery can be done although this is not as widely used now. It will relieve the pressure on the inner ear. This surgery can destroy either the inner ear or the vestibular nerve so that balance information isn't transmitted to the brain.

The other Vestibular Disorders are Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV); Secondary Endolymphatic Hydrops; Labyrinthitis & Vestibular Neuritis; Perilymph Fistula; Acoustic Neuroma; Ototoxicity Vestibular Migraine; Mal de Debarquement; Pediatric Vestibular Disorders; Aging, Dizziness, and Balance; Cervicogenic Dizziness; Otosclerosis; Cholesteatoma; Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct; Vestibular Hyperacusis; Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease; and Superior Canal Dehiscence.

Treatments~
I have discussed the different type of treatments for Meniere's Disease. However, the form of treatment depends on your symptoms, medical history, general health, diagnostic test results, and physical exam. The treatment can include medication, special diet, change in activity levels, therapy, and procedures/surgery.

My Story
Three years ago, my world felt like I was in a spinning tornado. I woke up one morning so dizzy that I couldn't get out of bed. This happened unexpectedly with no warning. I kept hearing this ringing or buzzing sound in my ears. The other symptoms I was experiencing were extreme nausea, fatigue, ear pain, ear fullness, and headaches. I also lost partial hearing in my right ear.

The flu virus that I had that year is the probable cause of me coming down with Meniere's Disease. My doctor put me on a low-salt diet and prescribed a diuretic pill and Phenergan for the nausea. I also went through the Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy. Every couple of weeks I went to a qualified therapist in Atlanta, Georgia. She initially performed a thorough evaluation on me to find out how I felt when I moved my head or body this way and that way. By the end of the evaluation, my therapist had developed a treatment plan for me. This consisted of exercises that I would do at home.

It took about 6-months for the vertigo and other symptoms to go away. I'm no longer on the diuretic pill nor Phenergan, but I have continued with the low-salt diet. I do get vertigo from time to time, but it is nothing compared to three years ago. If I feel the vertigo coming on, I do those Vestibular exercises and I'm usually fine. However, my partial hearing loss has not returned and my doctor said it is probably permanent. I do have hearing aids that I wear sometimes. Right now, I don't have too much trouble with the hearing loss.

I would recommend anyone with vertigo or know someone with it to visit the Vestibular Disorders Association website at vestibular.org. They have excellent information about these disorders, latest treatment methods, support groups, research, statistics, and a healthcare finder. I give this website 5 stars!