Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Meniere Disease

Lukas Koenen  1 , Claudio Andaloro  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Free Books & Documents
Book

Meniere Disease

Lukas Koenen et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Meniere disease (MD) is a disorder of the inner ear characterized by hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo. In most cases, it is slowly progressive and significantly impacts the social functioning of the individual affected.

Hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo are all common symptomatic complaints with many potential causes, yet true Meniere disease is quite rare and is fundamentally a diagnosis of exclusion. The current diagnostic criteria defined by the Barany society by Lopez-Escamez, et al. can help differentiate between probable and definite Meniere's disease.

Patients with a definite Meniere disease, according to the Barany Society, have:

  1. Two or more spontaneous episodes of vertigo with each lasting 20 minutes to 12 hours

  2. Audiometrically documented low- to medium-frequency sensorineural hearing loss in one ear, defining and locating to the affected ear on in at least one instance prior, during, or after one of the episodes of vertigo

  3. Fluctuating aural symptoms (fullness, hearing, tinnitus) located in the affected ear

  4. Not better accounted for by any other vestibular diagnosis

Probable Meniere disease can include the following clinical findings:

  1. Two or more episodes of dizziness or vertigo, each lasting 20 minutes to 24 hours

  2. Fluctuating aural symptoms (fullness, hearing, or tinnitus) in the affected ear

  3. The condition is better explained by another vestibular diagnosis

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Lukas Koenen declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Claudio Andaloro declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Magnan J, Özgirgin ON, Trabalzini F, Lacour M, Escamez AL, Magnusson M, Güneri EA, Guyot JP, Nuti D, Mandalà M. European Position Statement on Diagnosis, and Treatment of Meniere's Disease. J Int Adv Otol. 2018 Aug;14(2):317-321. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lopez-Escamez JA, Carey J, Chung WH, Goebel JA, Magnusson M, Mandalà M, Newman-Toker DE, Strupp M, Suzuki M, Trabalzini F, Bisdorff A, Classification Committee of the Barany Society. Japan Society for Equilibrium Research. European Academy of Otology and Neurotology (EAONO) Equilibrium Committee of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Korean Balance Society Diagnostic criteria for Menière's disease. J Vestib Res. 2015;25(1):1-7. - PubMed
    1. Attyé A, Eliezer M, Medici M, Tropres I, Dumas G, Krainik A, Schmerber S. In vivo imaging of saccular hydrops in humans reflects sensorineural hearing loss rather than Meniere's disease symptoms. Eur Radiol. 2018 Jul;28(7):2916-2922. - PubMed
    1. Zou J, Zhao Z, Zhang G, Zhang Q, Pyykkö I. MEFV, IRF8, ADA, PEPD, and NBAS gene variants and elevated serum cytokines in a patient with unilateral sporadic Meniere's disease and vascular congestion over the endolymphatic sac. J Otol. 2022 Jul;17(3):175-181. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alexander TH, Harris JP. Current epidemiology of Meniere's syndrome. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2010 Oct;43(5):965-70. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources