Ben Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, almost had to give up his careers because of the debilitating symptoms of Meniere’s ‘disease’ and almost lost his hearing. Cruel for a musician of such standing. He would have to leave concerts half way through.

“They told me it was Meniere’s disease and there was nothing they could do about it,” said Zander.

I can not count the times we have heard this…..and it is simply NOT TRUE. There is much you can do.

He went from doctor to doctor, and no one could help. He was eventually referred tp biological dentist Dr. G. Robert Evans of the Groton Wellness Dental Spa and Medical Center. Evans traced his symptoms to the amalgam fillings in his mouth. Fillings that were partly mercury. Evans removed 15 fillings immediately.

Mr Zander completely recovered after having the amalgam/mercury removed and has not had an attack since.

“Mercury is the most toxic non-radioactive substance known to man. It is 1,000 times more toxic than lead, said Evans.

The American Dental Association said the FDA acted appropriately last month when it found that dental amalgam is a safe and effective treatment option for the general public. But the ADA also supports the feds’ recommendation to continue review of existing and new scientific information as it becomes available.

However, “The World Health Organization declared there’s no safe level of exposure to mercury,” said Evans, who runs a mercury free practice.

“The fact that I got over my Meniere’s disease because I had the metal out of my teeth is not proof it caused a problem but that’s what happened,” said Zander, who said he has never missed another concert after having his fillings removed.

When a dentist removes amalgam and the mercury in it, it is so toxic that it can not be thrown away because it is deemed a environmental hazard. A toxic waste hauler is called in to dispose of it.

Dr Evans says,” if you took a good size mercury filling and placed it in a ten acre lake, it would warrant a fishing advisory that you can’t fish in that lake.

You make your mind up, but I know I had my solitary amalgam filling removed and replaced with ‘ozone treatment’ here in Japan (the technology used for ozone dental treatment actually comes from Ireland).

You can read the full story and watch a video report by the bostonchannel.com here

This doctor obviously feels strongly about this…..HAVE YOU BEEN CHECKED FOR THIS?? Ask your doctors about a test called: FUNCTIONAL IMMUNE SYSTEM EVALUATION

Strange, on a disability lawyer’s website they actual describe Meniere’s better than a lot of ‘medical’ websites……
…” The most common vestibular balance disorder is Ménière’s disease. The symptoms of vestibular balance disorders include vertigo, nausea, vomiting, profound dizziness, disorientation and blurred vision.”

In this article you can find:

Can I Get Disability for My Vestibular Balance Disorder?
What Type of Medical Evidence Do I Need?
What if My Vestibular Balance Disorder Doesn’t Meet the Listing?

Here is a snippet:

Listing 2.07: Disturbance of Labyrinthine-Vestibular Function
The SSA discusses the criteria for automatic approval for vestibular balance disorders (including Ménière’s disease) under Listing 2.07. To meet the criteria for Listing 2.07, you must prove that your labyrinthine-vestibular disorder or Ménière’s disease has caused recurrent problems with your balance, tinnitus, and a gradual decrease in your ability to hear. In addition to these basic requirements, you must provide the SSA with the following:
Results that show abnormal function of your vestibular labyrinth established by examinations such as positional or caloric testing (where cool or warm water or air is placed in the ear), and
A test that demonstrates your hearing loss.
If you can prove that your vestibular hearing disorder meets all of the criteria, your claim will be automatically approved.

Read the full article on Meniere’s and Disability here

It took a 17 year old High School boy in L.A. to come up with the discovery of the presence of cochlin (a protein unique to the inner ear) in vestibular endorgans obtained at surgery from patients diagnosed with Meniere’s disease.”

Malhotra, the student, said: “If we can find a way to fix these proteins that are malfunctioning or possibly open the passages, then we can get rid of this disease or at least lessen the severity of it. Meniere’s can definitely be crippling. It is difficult to function in society.” (How come a 17 year old school boy understands this yet so many doctors do not??

We should all give him a huge thank you and encouragement to succeed and wish him all the best. We may owe him a great deal. Read about the Meniere’s research here

Kathleen Hofferica, a registered nurse, was granted intermittent FMLA leave for an inner ear disorder known as Meniere’s disease.

Hofferica then took extended leave to get treatment for the disorder. She said she regularly provided her supervisor with updates on her condition, but her manager often failed to return her calls.

Just before she was scheduled to return, Hofferica submitted a certification saying she could return to work but needed a one-week extension.

The manager never called her back. Instead, she received a letter saying she’d been fired for exceeding the agreed-to amount of FMLA leave.

Hofferica filed suit, claiming the hospital retaliated against her for taking leave.

The court agreed.

STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS

you can read the full story here: FMLA leave for inner ear disorder ‘Meniere’s disease.’

Hu Xi-Shu (???): Two cases of Meniere’s disease
Case #1

A 25 year old female Q?ng Huá University student presented at the clinic on October 16, 1965: For the last four to five months she has been experiencing dizzy head and vision, accompanied with nausea, flusteredness, inability to eat, and difficulty reading. A western medical doctor diagnosed her condition as Meniere’s disease, and administered medications which were ineffective. Her blood pressure was normal, she had a dry mouth with no desire to drink, a desire to sleep, a lack of strength, but with no problems moving, and her cycle had arrived late but was slightly scanty. She had a white tongue coat with a slippery root, and her pulse was deep, thin and wiry.

This is a pattern of blood vacuity with water exuberance. She was administered D?ng Gu? Sháo Yào S?n combined with Xi?o Bàn Xià T?ng and Wú Zh? Yú.

Results: After taking three packages of the formula, her symptoms resolved completely.

Commentary: In this case the blood vacuity was pretty obvious which is why D?ng Gu? Sháo Yào S?n was administered. This was coupled with yang vacuity of the stomach with counterflow of thin mucus, so Xi?o Bàn Xià T?ng and Wú Zh? Yú were used in combination.

read more about Chinese medicine and Meniere’s here

In my opinion (for what it’s worth) it can vary greatly from person to person in terms of cause, triggers and individual circumstances affecting their Meniere’s condition…

But the study hopes to find a common thread in sample DNA from Meniere’s disease patients. And then try to develop an effective treatment that tackles the disease direct rather than the symptoms…….the sooner the better!

Watch the video here

You can download a full report here and read an abstract report regarding a clinical study taken out in the US.

It’s time to pull the mysterious “dizzy terror” which afflicts at least 50,000 Australians out of medical science’s too hard basket, an Australian researcher says.

Dr Daniel Brown, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Sydney’s Medical School, heads the world’s first research facility solely dedicated to finding the cause and a cure for Meniere’s Disease.

The debilitating condition of the middle ear has been baffling scientists since it was first described by French physician Prosper Meniere in 1861.

Its cause remains unclear – genetic, hormonal or even a viral trigger for fluid or pressure fluctuations within the body’s balancing mechanism, the middle ear – but its impact on sufferers is well known.

They experience sudden and recurring bouts of dizziness, each lasting up to 24 hours and accompanied by nausea and vomiting, with the first of these attacks usually occurring in a person’s mid-30s.

“Some people will get these attacks and will immediately drop to the floor and other people they can sense it is coming on,” Dr Brown, who heads the Meniere’s Laboratory, told AAP this week.

“Imagine being so dizzy that you have to call an ambulance and stay in hospital for a couple of days.

“… Or if you’ve ever had a big night out and then the room is spinning and you just want it to stop – well times that by 10.”

When a sufferer experienced one of these attacks, which they dub the “dizzy terror”, in public they may be dismissed by onlookers as simply being drunk.

Dr Brown said these attacks often occurred in clusters. Stress could bring on an attack as could a diet high in salt while sufferers would also experience worsening hearing and balance problems over time.

It was also common for sufferers to report feeling increasingly sensitive to certain sounds and changes in atmospheric pressure.

Sufferers could feel uncomfortable driving in a car with the window down while routine sounds could also have a “distressing” effect.

“When you have a complex hearing loss, your brain reorganises itself,” Dr Brown said.

“They’ll flush the toilet and say that sounds awful … it can have a high-pitched wheeling. It won’t sound right.”

Dr Brown said this all added up to a debilitating condition that was enough to force some sufferers out of the workforce.

While 50,000 Australians were diagnosed with the condition the total number of sufferers could be triple this as the condition was often confused for migraine or vertigo.

Diagnosing was also no guarantee of fixing the problem, Dr Brown said, as conventional treatments alleviate the dizzy spell but do not halt the decline in hearing or balance.

“Clinicians all know about it, and know of Meniere’s sufferers, but because they can’t really help them it gets put to the side,” Dr Brown said.

“People have been studying it for the last 100 years and they drop it because they think that’s old Meniere’s Disease, no one is ever going to come up with an explanation for that or come up with a cure.

“It’s done with – we can’t work it out.”

The Meniere’s Laboratory was established last year as the culmination of about eight years of fundraising by the Meniere’s Research Fund, a group formed by Australian sufferers.

Dr Brown’s work is now focused on trying to find an improved diagnostic test for identifying excess fluid in the ear and determining the effects of the resultant build-up of pressure.

Recent studies overseas had made some headway in understanding what a sufferer experienced at the height of a dizzy attack, he said, including a spike in sensitivity for the middle ear without temporary deafness.

Dr Brown said there was a growing global momentum behind the research effort, with the aim of pushing treatment to the next step.

“The you-beaut treatment would stop the attack and prevent the degeneration of hearing and balance,” he said.

“.. And that would be a god-send for these people, allowing them to get back on with their normal lives.

“These people are distraught with the fear of when one of these attacks is going to come on.”

Taken from http://news.ninemsn.com.au

You can see the whole article here: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/1068824/aussie-bids-to-crack-middle-ear-disease