Unilateral Ménière's disease (MD) is characterized by severe episodic attacks of rotational vertigo and audiovestibular signs that include fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, aural fullness, tinnitus, and vestibular loss. PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between the degree of audiovestibular loss, symptoms, and the number of vertigo attacks during the previous 6 months and 1 month of patients with MD.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists and vestibular specialists should not use the degree of audiovestibular loss as a proxy for current vertigo attack frequency when managing refractory unilateral Ménière's disease patients.
This finding challenges the common clinical assumption that disease severity (as measured by hearing/balance loss) tracks with active vertigo burden, which has implications for treatment decision-making in refractory Ménière's disease.
- 01Degree of audiovestibular loss does not correlate with current vertigo attack frequency in refractory unilateral Ménière's disease.
- 02Study population: patients with treatment-resistant (refractory) single-ear Ménière's disease.
- 03Findings suggest disease staging by hearing/balance loss may not reflect ongoing symptom burden.
- 04Clinicians should rely on symptom-based assessments rather than audiometric loss alone for treatment planning.
- 05Published in JAAA; adds nuance to existing Ménière's disease management frameworks.
The degree of audiovestibular loss is not correlated with current vertigo attack frequency in refractory unilateral Ménière's disease.
studysupported- PMID
- 42403960
- DOI
- 10.3766/jaaa.250018.
- Journal
- Journal of the American Academy of Audiology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Patients with refractory unilateral Ménière's disease
- Intervention
- Measurement of audiovestibular loss (hearing and balance function)
Primary outcomes
Correlation between degree of audiovestibular loss and current vertigo attack frequency