Meniere's disease (MD) is an inner-ear disorder that can heavily impact your life. It primarily causes vertigo or spinning sensations but can also trigger other equally debilitating symptoms such as vertigo and tinnitus. The cause of Meniere's disease is unclear, but numerous studies have associated it with viral infections, allergies, and trauma to the head or neck. Although medications can alleviate some symptoms, they do not resolve the root cause or its most notable symptom – vertigo. 

As a result, many people continue looking for lasting MD or vertigo relief and make several adjustments to their everyday schedule. Want to know the secrets to thrive despite having Meniere's? We have covered everything you need to know in our article.

Meniere's Disease: Its Symptoms and Key Mechanisms

Depending on your diagnosis, this condition or syndrome will cause you to experience episodes of vertigo – the feeling of spinning or tilting that come suddenly and lasts from 15 minutes to several hours, even days. Alongside vertigo, you may also experience nausea, vomiting, hearing loss, and ear-ringing (also known as tinnitus).

Of all the symptoms accompanying Meniere's disease, vertigo is possibly the worst. That's because it can become a chronic problem affecting your ability to handle tasks, walk around, and keep your balance. Additionally, vertigo can be quite fickle, causing you to feel on edge constantly. 

With that, it becomes challenging to do anything that uses your sense of balance, such as:

• Walking downstairs
• Riding in a car or bus
• Standing up from a chair or couch

Even the simple act of getting out of bed early in the morning can become an obstacle course full of false starts and stops as vertigo attempts to take over again and again. 

The most frustrating part about having vertigo is that there's no instant vertigo relief or an easy way around it. Instead, it will keep returning until your condition runs its course and subsides on its own (which could take years).

Living with Meniere's Disease

Meniere's disease is not life-threatening or contagious. But even so, it can dampen your quality of life with random symptom attacks that can take days to subside. Luckily, while it can be debilitating, you can potentially work around its symptoms with the help of simple adjustments and helpful remedies. 

Coping with Meniere's disease while in transport

Here are some tips to help you better address and manage your Meniere's disease while driving, commuting, or traveling.

• Try to keep a steady speed and don't accelerate or brake suddenly.
• Pull over in a quiet area and wait for the vertigo episodes to subside.
• Ask a loved one or friend to ride shotgun and switch places with you when you go on a long road trip.
• Bring anti-nausea medication to dampen the symptoms of your episodes.
• Avoid winding roads that might cause you to lose control of the car. 
• If you're planning to take public transportation, taking a seat near the door may be helpful so you can get off at the next stop when you experience your symptoms.
• Avoid sitting near noisy people who could trigger an attack. 

Managing Meniere's disease when at work

A Meniere's diagnosis can sometimes mean dealing with crippling symptoms every single day. Hence, it would help to have a concrete plan consisting of actionable steps that can provide immediate and sustainable vertigo relief even at the office. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Find the quietest place in the office while you work or on the phone in meetings.
• Use earplugs or headphones if you don't have other ways to block out noise. 
• Take frequent breaks from computer screens and fluorescent lighting because both light sources can cause headaches and eye strain.

Managing Meniere's symptoms during holidays

Holidays are the best time to bond and celebrate with family and friends. Sadly, these can sometimes leave you vulnerable to experiencing the symptoms of Meniere's disease. Thankfully, you can still enjoy the holidays by following these tips:

• Try not to overdo it. Don't take on too much activity or stress during the holidays.
• Ask for help with cooking and cleaning up after meals; this will give you more energy to enjoy other activities during the day.

Managing Symptoms and Finding Vertigo Relief

Managing Meniere's disease can feel overwhelming. But there are the best things you can do to help ease your Meniere’s symptoms.

Avoiding triggers

Avoid situations that worsen your symptoms, such as loud noises or stress. You may also want to avoid caffeinated and alcoholic drinks if they're known triggers for you.

Dedicating enough time for exercise

Involvement in certain physical activities can also help manage Meniere's disease and its symptoms. A few stretching, head tilts, bending, and aerobic exercises can support your health and dampen the effects of your Meniere's disease symptoms.

Using a hearing aid

If you have hearing loss due to Meniere's disease, talk with your doctor about getting a hearing aid or cochlear implant. These devices can help improve your ability to hear in noisy situations and reduce fatigue from tiring out your ears from the constant effort of filtering out the sounds around you.

Trying upper cervical care

If you have had Meniere's disease for some time, you may have found that the best treatment for it is a combination of medication, dietary changes, and exercise. Notably, besides these things, we strongly suggest taking advantage of upper cervical chiropractic care. It’s a scientifically proven source of vertigo relief that involves making well-calculated chiropractic adjustments to correct neck bone misalignments. 

It is a gentle and noninvasive vertigo remedy that works wonders for a broad spectrum of patients – even those with persisting conditions like Meniere’s.

Its goal is to realign your topmost neck bones, so they follow the natural curvature of your spine and alleviate pressure on your vestibular system. It can also improve fluid drainage in the inner ear – one of the critical factors affecting the prevalence and severity of Meniere's disease symptoms like ear congestion and hearing loss. 

If you have Meniere's disease, vertigo, dizziness, or other balance problems, check out Upper Cervical Awareness. The Upper Cervical Awareness page can help you find sufficient information on Meniere's disease, possible vertigo relief options, and upper cervical chiropractors in your area through the UCA doctors portal.

to schedule a consultation today.