You have seen your health care provider for Ménière disease. During Ménière attacks, you may have vertigo, or the feeling that you are spinning. You may also have hearing loss (most often in one ear) and ringing or roaring in the affected ear, called tinnitus. You may also have pressure or fullness in the ears.
During attacks, some people find bed rest helps relieve vertigo symptoms. Your provider may prescribe medicines like diuretics (water pills), antihistamines, or anti-anxiety medicines to help. Surgery may be used in some cases with persistent symptoms, although this has risks and is rarely recommended.
There is no cure for Ménière disease. However, making some lifestyle changes can help prevent or reduce attacks.
Hydrops - self-care; Endolymphatic hydrops - self-care; Dizziness - Ménière self-care; Vertigo - Ménière self-care; Loss of balance - Ménière self-care; Primary endolymphatic hydrops - self-care; Auditory vertigo - self-care; Aural vertigo - self-care; Ménière’s syndrome - self- care; Otogenic vertigo - self-care; Ménière disease - self-care
Eating a low-salt (sodium) diet helps reduce the fluid pressure in your inner ear. This can help control symptoms of Ménière disease. Your provider may recommend cutting back to 1000 to 1500 mg of sodium per day. This is about ½ to ¾ teaspoon (2.5 to 4 grams) of salt.
Start by taking the salt shaker off your table, and do not add any extra salt to foods. You get plenty of salt from the food you eat.
These tips can help you cut the extra salt from your diet.
When shopping, look for healthy choices that are naturally low in salt, including:
Learn to read labels.
Foods to avoid include:
When you cook and eat at home:
When you go out to eat:
Try to eat the same amount of food and drink the same amount of fluid at about the same time every day. This can help reduce changes in the fluid balance in your ear.
Making the following changes may also help:
For some people, diet alone will not be enough. If needed, your provider may also give you water pills (diuretics) to help reduce the fluid in your body and fluid pressure in your inner ear. You should have regular follow-up exams and lab work as suggested by your provider. Antihistamines may also be prescribed. These medicines may make you sleepy, so you should first take them when you do not have to drive or be alert for important tasks.
If surgery is recommended for your condition, be sure to talk with your surgeon about any specific restrictions you may have after surgery.
Contact your provider if you have symptoms of Ménière disease, or if symptoms get worse. These include hearing loss, ringing in the ears, pressure or fullness in the ears, or dizziness.
Baloh RW, Jen JC. Hearing and equilibrium. In: Goldman L, Cooney K, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 396.
Crane BT, Minor LB. Peripheral vestibular disorders. In: Flint PW, Francis HW, Haughey BH, et al, eds. Cummings Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 167.
Wackym PA. Neurotology. In: Winn HR, ed. Youmans and Winn Neurological Surgery. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 16.