According to ClinicalTrials.gov a new set of trials are set to begin at Osaka University, related to stress and Meniere’s Disease.
One important aspect of this is that, while many doctors in the west may dismiss stress as a major factor the researchers in Osaka had this to say,
“Attacks in Meniere’s disease, characterized by vertigo and hearing loss, are well known to occur repeatedly under stressed environment.
Hitherto, its pathology was revealed to be inner ear hydrops through human temporal bone studies in 1938″
Stress And Meniere’s Disease – The Vicious Cycle
A 2013 study published in Acta Otolarygol, ‘Psychological condition in patients with intractable Meniere’s disease’ states:
“Physicians should consider additional treatment strategies for Meniere’s disease patients with a long history of disease and hearing loss in the secondary affected ear and also provide psychological support regarding future progressive bilateral hearing loss.”
This conclusion was based on the following:
“Between 1998 and 2009, we enrolled 207 patients with intractable Meniere’s disease in this prospective study. We used the Cornell Medical Index and the Self-rating Depression Scale to evaluate their psychological condition.
We also obtained demographic and background information relating to sex, age, duration of disease, vertigo frequency, hearing level in bilateral sides, and plasma vasopressin level.”
Vasopressin is stress hormone that was was initially viewed as strictly a beneficial hormone to help prevent water loss. It is also referred to as ADH, meaning ‘anti- diuretic hormone’.
This means when stress produces this hormone fluid is being retained. The most common medicine to given to Meniere’s patients is a diuretic. This is meant help reduce the fluid in the inner ear causing Meniere’s.
Vasopressin is a very damaging hormone to the body. It has been implicated as a mediator of renal injury, and acute effects including glomerular hyperfiltration and albuminuria.
Side effects of producing vasopressin include:
slow heartbeat
dizziness
headache
nausea
vomiting
Poor blood flow has been linked to Meniere’s disease. The vicious cycle of stress = Meniere’s = stress = Meniere’s is well known. If you have Meniere’s disease, there will be accompanying high stress and anxiety and in turn this will produce more Meniere’s symptoms.
Dizziness, headaches, nausea and vomiting with vertigo are all symptoms of Meniere’s.
Fight or flight fear literally turns the immune system off. A constant drip feeding of fear then, must impair the immune system constantly.
Stress, anxiety, fear and anger are extremely detrimental to human cellular health. The body has to be constantly in a state of building, regeneration on cells. Stress hormone impairs that process and can result in disease states developing.
This is why people who are calm, happy, meditate often are usually much healthier than constantly stressed or angry people.
It would seem stress can be both a contributing trigger and perhaps a root cause of Meniere’s disease.
The results of the above mentioned study were:
“Neurosis and depression was diagnosed in 40.1% and 60.4%, respectively, of patients with intractable Meniere’s disease.
Our results showed that surgical treatment significantly improved vertigo and hearing ability in patients with no psychological symptoms compared with those exhibiting psychological symptoms.
Patients with a longer duration and worse hearing level in the secondary affected ear had a significantly higher incidence of mental illness than those with a shorter duration and better level of hearing.”
It is Spring in the northern hemisphere and in many countries hay fever and allergens in the air, pollen from trees and flowers, grasses etc will be causing havoc for people with Meniere’s disease.
Meniere’s disease and allergies in the spring and the autumn/fall to a less extent ho hand in hand. Airborne allergies are a very common trigger and symptoms increase for many sufferers at these times.
If you have Meniere’s disease the pollen may get clogged up in your sinuses and cause dizziness and vertigo. This can happen even if you do not directly suffer from hay fever or pollen allergy.
Every year the number of people contacting Menieres-Help.Com increases significantly around this time of year.
Many sufferers of Meniere’s disease don’t need a doctor or studies to tell them allergies increase pressure and tinnitus and result in increased dizziness and other symptoms.
They can feel it every season. However there are many studies confirming this. To quote the conclusion of the 2015 study on the NIH, The link between Allergy and Meniere’s disease:
“MD, although described greater than 150 years ago, is still considered an idiopathic disease. Continued research is needed to further understand the etiology to assist in treatment.
An association between allergy and MD has been shown in cross-sectional and observational studies while animal studies have shown evidence of allergic activity within the inner ear.
Further studies are needed to demonstrate this association via well-designed randomized trials with inclusion of potential confounders. However, given the low risk to patients, inclusion of allergy avoidance and immunotherapy should be considered as part of the treatment plan to help patients control MD symptoms”
Meniere’s Disease And Allergies – Prevention
Prevention is always better than the cure as they say. When you know what your triggers are then why not take steps to avoid this triggers.
You could wear a dust mask during this season, steam your sinuses regularly. You can also make sure you take great care in other areas of your life that could increase the chances of Meniere’s attacks such as diet, stress and lifestyle (smoking, drinking etc).
There are always triggers in foods, drinks, the environment, your lifestyle etc . The more you are exposed to the more this will compound your symptoms. Reducing the chances of triggering an increase in symptoms as much as you can would seem prudent.
Steaming with pure clean steam, (not saline solutions), regularly during the allergy season and/or if you work in dusty/polluted environments can help a great deal in keeping symptoms at bay.
Cleaning your sinuses this way keeps them moist. Medications can dry up the sinuses and prevent them from doing their job. The symptoms of allergies are uncomfortable, but the sinuses are doing their job.
The sinuses, along with the tonsils are the first line of defense in your immune system and they should not be prevented from working.
Steaming is a safer and effective way to clean them.
Help other sufferers. Do you experience problems with Meniere’s disease and allergies ? Tell us all about it in the comments box below or email Mike at meniereshelp@gmail
Meniere’s Disease DNA Testing – Looking For Causes
There has been far too little “official” research into root causes and cures for Meniere’s Disease. In this corporate profit driven age the focus is always on “treatments” for the resulting symptoms. But we saw this today on Medstar Television’s website and had to spread the word. WRITTEN BY KRISTI RUNYON MONDAY, 15 MARCH 2010 11:08
Meniere’s Disease DNA Testing
Looking for a Cause
The exact cause of Meniere’s disease isn’t known. Researchers believe the symptoms may occur when fluid from one part of the inner ear mixes with another inner ear fluid. Rick Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., Neurotologist with the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, CA, says some patients report having a cold, sinus infection or some other illness prior to the onset of symptoms.
Meniere’s also tends to run in families, so there may be some genetic link to the disease. Researchers at the House Ear Institute are now looking for people with Meniere’s disease who are willing to submit saliva samples for DNA analysis.
Investigators will compare the genome from Meniere’s patients against those without the disease and look for differences in DNA. Friedman says finding those differences may provide clues that lead to a better understanding of Meniere’s and point the way for more effective treatment.
Currently, more than 700 patients have volunteered for the study. Patients from around the world may participate. For information or to find out how to become involved in the Meniere’s DNA study, call the House Ear Institute at (213) 483-4431, or visit their website at http://www.hei.org/research/genetics/menieres.html
Meniere’s disease and acoustic Neuroma can have similar symptoms
Meniere’s disease or acoustic neuroma? During the diagnosis process for Meniere’s disease, eventually you should have an MRI. One purpose of the MRI is to discount any tumors growing in areas that could cause the same or similar symptoms to Meniere’s,
There is a type of non cancerous tumor called ‘acoustic neuroma’.
What is an acoustic neuroma?
An acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma) is a benign tumor that develops on the balance (vestibular) and hearing, or auditory (cochlear) nerves leading from your inner ear to the brain.
The pressure on the nerve from the tumor may cause hearing loss, imbalance and tinnitus.
In rare cases, it is possible for an acoustic neuroma to grow large enough to compress the brainstem and become life-threatening.
In the United States, approximately 2,500-3,000 cases of the most common type of acoustic neuroma are diagnosed each year.
Also called: Acoustic neurilemmoma, Acoustic neurinoma, Auditory tumor, Vestibular schwannoma
The tumor usually grows slowly. As it grows, it presses against the hearing and balance nerves. At first, you may have no symptoms or mild symptoms.
Acoustic neuroma can be difficult to diagnose, because as stated above the symptoms are similar to those of Meniere’s and other ear conditions.
If the tumor stays small, you may only need to have it checked regularly. If you do need treatment, surgery and radiation are options.
If the tumors affect both hearing nerves, it is often because of a genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis.
The tumor can also eventually cause numbness or paralysis of the face. If it grows large enough, it can press against the brain and becoming life-threatening.
Possible connection with acidosis and Meniere’s disease
By Jean Perrins
Summary:
“There is currently inconclusive scientific proof as to the cause of Meniere’s disease, but all of the clients in my clinic have responded to alkaline, ionized water. That points a finger at dehydration. It makes sense because inflammation caused by acidosis and dehydration can cause tissues to swell. Some evidence points to middle ear infection, syphilis, head injury, viral illness, respiratory infection, stress, fatigue, use of OTC and prescription medications, allergies, smoking, alcohol use and genetic factors. All of the above creates acidity in the body with the exception of genetic factors which only govern 35 percent of what is going on. The other 65 percent is within our power to change.
I will continue to offer alkaline, ionized water to Meniere’s sufferers to see if they all respond to the alkaline, ionized water. It is a very specific kind of water, made in a machine that hooks up to your kitchen faucet. It changes the tap water into alkaline, super-oxygenated, super hydrating, high antioxidant water that rids the body of free radicals, free radical damage and toxins. It actually restores the body to its most natural pH, which is near neutral. Most importantly, it stops the dizziness, nystagmus and vomiting in its tracks.”
Dehydration has been linked to drop attacks and is thought of a trigger for Meniere’s in general.
Alkaline, ionized water helps to restore the body’s pH balance and thus symptoms that occur because this balance is lost, return to normal. If you are plagued with this debilitating condition, you may want to try adjusting your body pH.
However on the flip side, a 1976 study published in the Journal of laryngology and otology suggested the opposite.
Alkalosis is a condition in which the body fluids have excess base (alkali). This is the opposite of excess acid (acidosis).
Acid-base equilibrium in Meniere’s disease
57 patients suffering from Meniere’s disease were examined: metabolic alkalosis was found in 39 and metabolic acidosis in 4.
Meniere patients found in alkalosis were given acidifying drugs to normalize their acid-base equilibrium. Such treatment proved effective in preventing acute cochleo-vestibular crises and in improving tinnitus and deafness (in the fluctuating stage). On the interruption of treatment symptoms reappeared.
“However in conclusion the authors wrote: The physiological-pathological significance of metabolic alkalosis in Meniere’s disease still remains unclear and, consequently, this can be considered merely a predisposing factor in endolymphatic hydrops.”
So it would seem the imbalance of electrolytes either way can be present in Meniere’s. The level of significance in either acidosis or alkalosis in terms of cause is unclear.
However it is clear that dehydration is a trigger and acidosis is known to cause or contribute to disease states.
pH balance is important and acidic water/food can be a problem. Squeezing Lemon or lime into water creates an alkaline balance inside the body. Even cancer cells do not like an alkaline environment.
Noble prize Winner Dr. Otto H Warburg , who is credited with discovering the real cause of cancer, has found that the root cause of cancer is oxygen deficiency. Oxygen deficiency leads to an acidic state in the human body. Dr. Warburg also found that cancer cells are anaerobic (do not breathe oxygen) and cannot survive in the presence of high levels of oxygen, as found in an alkaline state.
“All normal cells have an absolute requirement for oxygen, but cancer cells can live without oxygen – a rule without exception. Deprive a cell 35% of its oxygen for 48 hours and it may become cancerous.”
Our diet plays a vital role in maintaining proper pH levels in the body. PH balance is the balance of acid and alkaline in all fluids and cells throughout your body. Your body must balance the blood’s pH levels at a slightly alkaline level of 7.365 in order to survive. Unfortunately, the typical American diet consists primarily of toxic and acid-forming foods like processed sugars, refined grains, genetically modified organisms etc. This leads to unhealthy acidic pH.
An imbalanced pH can interrupt cellular activities and functions. Excessively acidic pH can lead to many serious health problems such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and heartburn. If you keep your body in an acidic state for a long period of time, it can drastically accelerate aging. Robert O. Young in The pH Miracle, says, that most health problems arise from being acidic. This is because parasites, bad bacteria, viruses, and candida overgrowth thrive in acidic environments. But an alkaline environment neutralizes bacteria and other pathogens.
With this information in hand it may not be too far fetched that somewhere along the line during your onset of Meniere’s symptoms, dehydration, diets that cause acidosis and therefore acidic cells may contribute significantly to your problems.
Why your pH balance is important.
Acidosis is caused by an overproduction of acid in the blood or an excessive loss of bicarbonate from the blood (metabolic acidosis), or by a buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood that results from poor lung function or depressed breathing (respiratory acidosis).
This is interesting because when a Meniere’s patient goes to an ENT clinic in Japan, they will be rushed to the front of the queue and placed on a intravenous drip with a bicarbonate solution in it.
Metabolic acidosis is a serious electrolyte disorder characterized by an imbalance in the body’s acid-base balance. Metabolic acidosis has three main root causes: increased acid production, loss of bicarbonate, and a reduced ability of the kidneys to excrete excess acids.
This was originally posted in 2009. Now in 2020 I can say I have heard very little about this since. I am not dismissive of anything but it has to be said we have been shown very little evidence of acidosis itself being a major factor in the symptoms of Meniere’s.
However, given metabolic acidosis may have several connections to imbalances and disorders that have been suggested to be connected to Meniere’s symptoms, perhaps it is another possible factor that has been overlooked thus far.
