Although middle ear pressure therapy (MEPT) has been used for treating refractory Ménière's disease (MD), its physiological mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate vestibular and autonomic changes over time in patients with stage 4 MD treated with MEPT (using EFET01®) compared with a non-MEPT control group.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Middle ear pressure therapy may influence the autonomic nervous system in refractory Ménière's disease, but the retrospective design limits causal conclusions; audiologists managing these patients should note potential vestibular-autonomic interactions but should not change protocols based on this study alone.
Understanding vestibular-autonomic interactions in Ménière's disease could refine how clinicians monitor treatment response and counsel patients about systemic symptoms beyond hearing and vertigo.
- 01Retrospective cohort design examining middle ear pressure therapy in refractory Ménière's disease.
- 02Study measured both vestibular outcomes and autonomic nervous system effects.
- 03Published in Auris Nasus Larynx, a peer-reviewed ENT journal.
- 04Retrospective design limits causal inference; unmeasured confounders likely.
- 05Findings may prompt further prospective studies on vestibular-autonomic links in Ménière's.
Middle ear pressure therapy produces measurable vestibular-autonomic effects in patients with refractory Ménière's disease.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42976487
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.anl.2026.10.008.
- Journal
- Auris Nasus Larynx
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Patients with refractory Ménière's disease
- Intervention
- Middle ear pressure therapy
Primary outcomes
Vestibular function outcomes; Autonomic nervous system effects