Relationship to Menieres Disease
The data on how often progression to Menieres disease occurs is mixed, but the majority of recent studies suggest a low likelihood. A 1984 study from Japan looked at patients with Menieres disease and classified them into subcategories based on their first symptoms. The study found that the majority of patients with Menieres disease (104 out of 163, or 63.80%) presented vertigo with their first symptoms, and only 59 out of 163 (36.19%) of patients presented with cochlear symptoms first, such as "tinnitus or deafness." However, the study found that 59 out of 74 (79.72%) patients who started out with a cochlear hydrops diagnosis progressed to Menieres disease, and concluded that "cochlear Menieres disease frequently develops into Menieres disease. "Conversely, A 2006 study from doctors at the House Ear Institute found that “conversion from cochlear hydrops to Menieres disease occurred in 33%” of diagnosed patients in a study including 46 subjects. A 2009 study from Japan found that only about 10% of their diagnosed patients with sudden low-frequency hearing loss (SLFHL) went on to develop full Menieres disease, and about 18% with recurring SLFHL developed Menieres disease. From this study, about 70% of patients who did not develop Menieres Disease maintained their hearing in the end.
Depression or anxiety that the condition will worsen or progress to Menieres disease.As with Menieres disease, atypical, early, or mild cases may only present some symptoms. Diagnosis
Diagnosis is based on symptoms and a hearing test that documents a loss in the low and mid frequencies, usually only in one ear. For patients with mild or atypical hydrops, the hearing thresholds may be normal, but they may experience a subjective, unilateral distortion of sounds in lower frequencies, such as diplacusis or that voices are sounding "robotic". Patients may also mention a feeling of pressure or fullness in the ear.To objectively test for the presence of hydrops, an electrocochleography (or ECOG) procedure can be done to detect elevated inner ear pressure. It is also possible to reveal the presence of hydrops with an MRI.If vertigo is experienced, the diagnosis progresses to Menieres disease. This occurs if the fluid increase leads to a leak or rupture of the membranes in the inner ear, causing a mixture of perilymph and endolymph. Treatment
Treatment for cochlear hydrops is the same as for Menieres disease. Currently, no cure exists for either.If a patient has undergone sudden sensorineural hearing loss, a course of steroids is often prescribed in an attempt to recover the hearing. Steroids may be injected directly through the eardrum.Like Menieres Disease, a low salt diet is recommended as a preventative measure. A diuretic may be prescribed to help lower salt content.Betahistine is the most widely prescribed medication for the treatment of Menieres disease.