Meniere’s disease: causes and natural treatment

Meniere’s disease is an illness affecting the inner each.  It is not very well known and it is difficult to diagnose making it take longer to treat.  It was first discovered by the French doctor Prosper Meniere in 1861.  This is the first time that any problem had been described in the inner ear, like vertigo crises’.  It is characterized by a triad of symptoms: rotating crisis, ringing in the ears, hearing loss.

How does Meniere’s disease present itself?

It is caused when the endolymphatic cochlear canal dilates dues to an increase in endolymph volume.  Endolymphatic pressure causes this increase in volume, which is related to a blockage in the cochlear aqueduct, a perilymphatic canal that drains excess endolymph from the membranous labyrinth.  Meniere’s disease symptoms are often times confused with ear infections, brain damage, persistent infections in the upper respiratory tract, etc.

Symptoms of Meniere’s disease

• Vertigo
• Tinnitus (buzzing or noises in the ear)
• Hearing loss and nausea
• Vertigo crises’: generally appear in sudden episodes that could last for hours, although the ringing in the ears and the dizziness could continue on for days in those that suffer from this disease.

Causes of Meniere’s disease

• There still is no clear cause for this disease, but it is believed to be related to the endolymphatic system of the inner ear, which is responsible for our sense of balance.
• Overusing aspirin could lead to toxicity, which is related to the appearance of this disease, especially in children.
• Excessive pressure or accumulated tension in the ear, which could be from being resistant to listening to something or for feeling angry about what you hear.
• Deficient nutrition or excessive toxins in the body.
• Overuse or excessive use of caffeine or salt, which could increase symptoms.

Natural treatment for Meniere’s disease

• You should avoid overeating salt and irritants, like caffeine or chocolate.
• You must follow a cleansing diet that helps reduce general body toxemia, which could be causing imbalances or wearing out of the body.  This eliminating diet should consist of eliminating refined sugar and flour from your diet, as well as fried and packaged foods, junk food, cow’s milk and its byproducts, because these products increase the body’s toxicity.
• You must include diuretic foods in your diet.  Eating pineapple in the morning before breakfast is excellent, as well as drinking carrot juice with aloe or alfalfa throughout the day, or trying out a diet for one day whereby you eat only grapes with their seed (you must chew the seeds because they are an important source of antioxidants).  You should also include linseed, chia seed, aloe juice, fresh or partially cooked vegetables in soups or broths.  You should eat fresh ginger, one small piece each day will help reduce inflammation in the ear.
• If you have allergies, respiratory infections, or sinusitis, you should use natural antibiotics like eating one clove of garlic before breakfast or at night, increase your vitamin C consumption, and drink at least two liters of water a day to keep your body’s toxins flowering, and to prevent them from becoming congested.
• You should avoid surgery in your semicircular canals, the vestibular nerve, or the labyrinthectomy because these surgeries just remove the symptoms.  They don’t actually cure the body.  They also eliminate normal sensation of the patient’s balance and cause a low-quality life.

Alternative therapies for Meniere’s disease

Reflexology, reiki, and bioenergetics are therapies that help the patient to treat the disease in a wholesome fashion.  If you only treat the disease on the body or symptom level, you won’t be able to cure yourself.  Each person must be treated individually and consider their own way of feeling and living life.  Holistic therapies can help people to heal their bodies and can make their energy more fluid and their feelings better understood.

Acupuncture is also another alternative to keep in mind.  The tensions causes by controlled emotions, or emotions that are not understood, are stored in the body and sooner or later they manifest in imbalances, pains, and bodily diseases.

References

1. Espinosa-Sanchez, J. M., & Lopez-Escamez, J. A. (2016). Meniere’s disease. Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 137, 257–277.
2. Gurkov, R., Pyyko, I., Zou, J., & Kentala, E. (2016). What is Meniere’s disease? A contemporary re-evaluation of endolymphatic hydrops. Journal of Neurology, 263 Suppl, S71-81.
3. Xu, B. R., & Ge, S. H. (1987). Treatment of Meniere’s disease by acupuncture: report of 75 cases. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine = Chung i Tsa Chih Ying Wen Pan, 7(1), 69–70.
4. Gao, X., & Sun, C. (2015). [Case of Meniere’s disease]. Zhongguo zhen jiu = Chinese acupuncture & moxibustion, 35(10), 1052.
5. Watanabe, Y., Shojaku, H., Junicho, M., Asai, M., Fujisaka, M., Takakura, H., … Yasumura, S. (2011). Intermittent pressure therapy of intractable Meniere’s disease and delayed endolymphatic hydrops using the transtympanic membrane massage device: a preliminary report. Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 131(11), 1178–1186.
6. Pritchard, M. J. (2007). Understanding Meniere’s disease 2: treatment options. Nursing Times, 103(46), 30–31.

Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 11/18/2018

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